Civil War Chewed Bullet!!!!!

[RingMaster44]

Lund this chewed bullet today. Do you think it's a 3 ringer or an enfield. And do those pics look like molar marks. Thanks Here are the pics

Here is a 3 ringer found 5 feet away from the chewed one

 

[chazman]

While no one could completely say that they have never been under an amputation process through a civil war surgeon. The science that a human can simply not make those marks is out there. Also - there is almost NO historical accounts of a doctor giving a patient a bullet to chew on during a process - there are however accounts of wooden rods and leather straps. The reason being, they are wider than the mouth and do not provide a choking hazard. The last thing a surgeon wanted to do was to pull a object (perfect enough to choke on) out of a patients mouth in the middle of an amputation. This is just common sense vs folklore.

I have also found modern (late 1800's rounds) with animal chew marks on them. There is a reason why known civil war relic experts and those of us who have spent hundreds and thousands of hours in the field recovering items refute the folk lore. I too once (when I began digging) thought they were all human chewed - years of experience have changed that.

dude, i was cracking a joke about the primitive doctoring of the time... it was funny until I had to explain it.

the choking hazard makes sense to me.
but...
keep in mind, not everyone trying to help a wounded soldier would have been a doctor or even a medic. would they have known any better?
who would be first on the scene? one of their comrades no doubt.
but we're beating a dead horse with this.

what I was pointing out (and please compare the chew marks in the photo I put up to the earlier chewed bullets) is that the chew marks on the previous bullets shown are in no way rodents... unless the rodents you folks have down there are gigantic ice age rats with human or pig sized molars.

these are NOT rodent chew marks on the bullets. (at least no rodent I've ever seen)

 

[thrillathahunt]

There is no denying the fact that chewed (by human teeth) bullets exist. I have found a few. I don't know why. I do know this though, when I was a teenager, I just loved to bite down on the little lead "split shot" fishing weights when I attached them to my fishing line. Felt good in a weird way.

 

[chazman]

There is no denying the fact that chewed (by human teeth) bullets exist. I have found a few. I don't know why. I do know this though, when I was a teenager, I just loved to bite down on the little lead "split shot" fishing weights when I attached them to my fishing line. Felt good in a weird way.

maybe they were just chewed out of boredom or to deal with fear? fear in war will make folks do some mighty odd things.

 

[JRich98150]

Hogs and cows love to chew on them. Why is it that you find a "pain" bullet or two in a field but no other hospital discarded junk? I have found many "chewed" bullets in many cow pastures.

 

[wheatfinder13]

I think they were used as caltrops ..

Do you have to bring that adventure back to us?

 

[CSA2K]

I've found many "pain bullets" over the years and most teeth marks were clearly made by woodland creatures. Once I caught my dog chewing on a minie ball he'd found in my room so there you go. I did find one bullet though that has a molar imprint so "human" that I had my dad look at it. He practiced dentistry in DC for 40yrs.. and said it was probably so. But when I look at it I don't see a hospital bullet but rather a bunch of bored/scared/homesick soldiers sitting around a campfire betting on who could "bite the bullet" best or bite it the deepest before their tooth cracked or something of the sort. They've done stranger things. C'est la guerre!

 

[Tnmountains]

When a bullet hits and skips and lands in chert or rocky ground they look chewed up. They fired millions of rounds so it's only natural that some look chewed. "Bite the bullet" is a poor phrase. I think maybe a wooden stick or cloth or leather but not a bullet. I would probably swallow the thing as they removed my leg! Also their teeth were not in the best of shape to begin with.
I think our imagination of the violence and suffering gets away with us sometimes.

 

[creskol]

Do you have to bring that adventure back to us?

Which one in particular are you referring to ? There have been many!

 

[Muddyhandz]

Halleluiah for this thread!!!!

Years and years of civil war chewed lead believers going back to reading my first treasure mags in the early 80's.

I have found HUNDREDS of chewed musket shot, three-ringers, you name it.....Out here on the Canadian Prairies.

No Rev./Civil war, no battles, skirmishes......NADA!

At first I thought there must have been a lot of Indians in pain out here but it didn't take long before I became a nonbeliever.

Years and years I kept my mouth shut on various forums but now I just want to say.....

THANK YOU!

Cheers,
Dave.

 

[Davers]

A very interesting read.
The debate goes on ( tho I go with the animal theory).

And that Sweet taste of lead is what made so many small kids eat lead paint chips for years.

Davers

 

[RingMaster44]

A very interesting read. The debate goes on ( tho I go with the animal theory). And that Sweet taste of lead is what made so many small kids eat lead paint chips for years. Davers

Yeah,

I'm going with animal

 

[exahab]

How bout this one boys

Found this weekend

It is a chewed bullet the size and thickness just less than a quarter. Looks to have been made for a button. with hole dead in the center.

 

[Davers]

Hmmmm , Could be about anything Imo.
Could have been chewed on could have been stepped on (many times) on a gravel Road.
Tho I still wonder what it is.
Davers