Civil War bullets....

[Phishfarmer]

Went to a spot in my town where I've found a few CW relics. It didn't let me down this morning either. I dug a couple pieces of trash but mostly bullets about 8" deep. A large percentage are Williams Cleaners with one round ball and a couple of bullets with a solid base thrown in.

What a beautiful morning to be in the woods relic hunting. If I die this evening I will be ok with it.

 

[peruna]

you don't have permission to die yet...there is much more for you to do and to find...but that is one GREAT feeling when a day like today happens.

Nicely done!

 

[Joe-Dirt]

I wonna come hunt with you

 

[JBnNC]

Nice hunt, you keep digging like you're digging and you're going to be posting some great finds---JB

 

[relic nut]

That's a feeling only us diggers understand. Congratulations on a sweet lead filled hunt.

 

[RiverRat3]

It’s always nice to find some lead. Beside finding cool stuff the peace you feel while out in the field and woods is a true get away from reality.

 

[ivan salis]

the cleaner bullets were often discarded --being they were a bit over sized and thus hard to get started in a dirty shot rifle..the military's ideal was that every 10th shot one of the cleaner bullets should be used to help keep the bore clean so that the other bullets would load easier ...however the men hated the cleaner bullets because when your fighting for your life the cleaner bullets were hard to load ..so they upon being issued ammo would often go thru the packs and "pick out / dump" the cleaner rounds or when fighting if they got one out of the pack they would drop it and get another bullet instead --the zinc base on them makes them easy to ID from a regular bullet

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice Phishy! Good assortment. I wish my town had CW activity.

Best of luck to you sir!

 

[Phishfarmer]

Ivan I've never read that Cleaners were over-sized but I am no authority. My area saw most of its' action at the very end of the war; the siege of Petersburg was followed shortly thereafter by the surrender at Appomattox. I've also read the mix of Cleaners to regular rounds increased to over 50% by the end of the war. These are just things that I've read which does not mean they are true.

One thing I can say that is true though is the Williams Cleaners I find have all been fired. Out of 200 or so bullets I've found this year I've found exactly 2 that were dropped.

On a side note one of the oddest finds I've made is a 3-ringer in South Florida. I eyeballed it when I was preparing ground for a garden. I've always wondered what the story behind it was.... hunter I guess.

 

[builderb1]

very nice find.

 

[against the wind]

Congrats on the bullets.
Were those Williams cleaners and 3 ringers used by both the North and the South?

 

[Truth]

Now that’s what I call getting the lead out! Congratulations

 

[civilman1]

Hey Phish,most of cleaner's i've ever found have been fired as well.Some have been crazy.Nice dig,s brother

 

[ivan salis]

the cleaners were basically union made bullets --but since the south found / raided and battle field looted and used union equiptment (esp rifles and ammo)--both sides could have used them during the war --the ideal was the zinc bases were a very tiny bit bigger than a normal lead round so that it had to be very forcefully shoved down the barrel --as it did it scraped the rifling in the barrel clean of lead and burnt powder and when fired as it went down the barrel it also scraped things clean on the way out -- I personally hunt and shoot with a blackpowder rifle in muzzleloader season --so0 I understand the process --- and in combat the last thing you will want when you need a high rate of return fire is a hard to load bullet which will slow you down a bit