✅ SOLVED Bullet ID Help, Please

Dougie Webb

Sr. Member
Jun 14, 2019
399
692
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Garrett Ace 200
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I find a lot of bullets and shell casings on the land that I usually detect on here near Atlanta, but it?s usually obvious that they?re fairly recent, within in the past 50 years or so. But this one looks a little unusual to me. I couldn?t place it, even after doing some research. Admittedly, I don?t know much about ammunition at all.

The battery on my caliper is dead, so I had to use the physical scale. The best I can figure, it?s about 18 mm long, in between 9-9.5 mm wide. Which I think would make it either a 357, 38, or 375. It weighs 9.31 g as you can see on the scale (143 grains?). It?s solid brass, or at least it appears to be.

Any ideas as to its identity and or age? Thanks so much and advance!

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Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Likely not solid brass but a FMJ .38 Special (brass jacket over lead). These were used by the US military for airbase and other MP patrols for sidearms.

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fyrffytr1

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Mar 5, 2010
7,465
11,746
Southwest Georgia
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XP Deus, White's DFX
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All Treasure Hunting
I agree with Charlie P. and I would like to offer a little advice. You measured your bullets weight in grams. If your scale weighs in grains it would be best to post that. 9.31 grams equals 143.6753 grains. Also, please include a diameter size in inches, not millimeters. I am passing this onto you because I used the grams and metric measurements in the passed and was taught the best way to measure.
 

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Dougie Webb

Dougie Webb

Sr. Member
Jun 14, 2019
399
692
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Garrett Ace 200
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thanks Charlie! I'm going to mark it as solved. Appreciate everyone's help.

Charlie - would you think this was a 1940's era bullet? Or is there no real way to tell?
 

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Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
No real way to tell. I'm still shooting surplus ammo loaded for WWII/Korean War. It keeps.

You can only say it's "no earlier than" but not when it was used. The Hague Convention of 1899 forbade the use of unjacketed lead bullets for warfare - so yours is likely from after that time. :dontknow: Officers, embassy guards, and rear-echelon soldiers issued sidearms could have ended up with .38 Special anytime after 1898 through the 1970's. May still be in use some places. Last I knew the Air Force was still phasing out the .38 Special revolver in 2017!
 

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Dougie Webb

Dougie Webb

Sr. Member
Jun 14, 2019
399
692
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Garrett Ace 200
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Right on Charlie P, I would add the we use inches and grains in this country.
Thanks man, I do too. It's just my scale weighs in grams, which is why I converted it to grains in my description, along with converting the 9-ish mm measurement to 38, 357, or 375.

Never the metric system.
Unless, of course, you're the US Army or Marine Corps, who began using the metric system as their primary system of measurement for weaponry in 1957.
 

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Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
My first handgun was a 38 S&W police special. Loved that gun!

I used to shoot PPC with a local Sheriff's group and still have my 1955ish K-38 Target Masterpiece M-14. It is a honey.

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Dougie Webb

Dougie Webb

Sr. Member
Jun 14, 2019
399
692
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Garrett Ace 200
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I used to shoot PPC with a local Sheriff's group and still have my 1955ish K-38 Target Masterpiece M-14. It is a honey.

Man, that is a sweet sweet weapon. Just a classic. I defiled mine by putting a Bianchi rubber grip on it, but I'll plead the ignorance of youth.
 

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