Huntin With Civilman (A First, Pain Bullet Included)

[Getty]

Got out with Civilman1 today. We got started at 6:00 am this morn.We hit a site where shortly into the hunt I thought I dug a pistol ball.So Im excited. I later dug the buckle, Merry Widows condom tin, another tin (not shown) which had some white paste in it ,and what I think to be some sortof heel plate. I dug what I believe to be a sort of heel plate. I also dug on of those BIG forged nails that I like to dig.I was DRENCHED with sweat and said OK. I brought a change of clothes and changed. As we goin down the road Joe says " are you done or do you want to hit another site?" I....being the team player said yeah I got shorts and tennis shoes on now. I wnet ahead and change socks and put on boots. BOY AM I GLAD I DID!. my 3rd signal was a three ringer all mashed up. We hunted and were relentless for couple more hrs. After we returned, I cleaned up the three ringer and realized that it was not mashed up, but my 1ST PAIN BULLET as there are obvious teeth marks on it. All in all it was a great day . I do appreciate having a huntin pardner who is as relentless as I am about leaving with ONE CW relic. Thank You Joe.

 

[Curious The George]

As far as no hogs in Maryland, I ain't buying that either.

Hog meat was a farm staple. One of the least expensive meat animals to keep. Easy to preserve the meat for future use. Most usable material of any animal out there. Produced lard another very important commodity for any family in those days. Smoked ham, bacon, fat back, sausage and lard all were what kept a family going throughout the year. The hogs were slopped with waste from the household. A bucket of slops were dumped at the same spot in the woods and that's what kept the hogs in the area and how you got one to come close when you harvested it.

It would be a rare farm, Maryland or anyplace else, that didn't have a few hogs running in the woods. Even the poorest families could afford a pig in the woods. There would always be a few small pigs that didn't get their ears notched for a poor family to adopt and make their own.

 

[Getty]

Getty wrote:
> Can anyone prove/cite that "biting the bullet" DID NOT happen?

Sure. Try it yourself and tell us what happens to your molars when you try to squash a bullet between them.

Don't want to try it to prove your belief in "pain bullets?"

There are two tests you can safely do to prove or disprove the claim that such bullets are "pain bullets":
1- Try using a pair of steel pliars to distort a .58-caliber or .54-caliber civil war bullet to the degree seen on so-called "pain bullets." Let's be generous... you can use both hands at once on the pliars. Remember, the pliars give you the advantage of Leverage, increasing your hand-strength beyond what your human jaw-muscles can produce with the mere "direct force" of biting.
2- Show your own dentist a "pain bullet" and ask him if human jaw-muscles and teeth are capable of doing that much damage to the bullet without breaking.

I'll tell you what every dentist I've asked has told me. Human jaw muscles are not strong enough to crush a bullet as deeply as we see on almost all "pain bullets." Even if a human had the necessary jaw-strength (called "bite-force"), their teeth will break before being able to put more than slight dents in the bullet.

In no-anesthesia situations, soldiers were given a piece of rope, or tightly-twisted cloth to bite on, or a finger-sized section of green tree-branch, because biting on such things is much less likely to break your teeth than biting down hard on metal.

Forget trying to document the existence of "wild hogs" in Maryland. Not just hogs tried to eat bullets, thinking they've found an acorn. Other large herbivores, such as cattle and deer, possess enough jaw-strength to turn a bullet into a "pain bullet."

Dont need to test with biting a bullet. Ive bitten plenty of split shot fishin weights in my day.Didnt break my teeth but surely left teeth marks on it.

 

[VOL1266-X]

Nice Finds Roger!!! As Colleen says, "here we go again" on the pain bullet controversy . A long time veteran relic hunter and dealer told me years ago that most bullets have been gnawed on by animals (hogs, cattle, squirrels, groundhogs, etc.) or came from a roadbed. However, some are bullets with human teeth marks. Notice the "pain" or gnawed on bullets mixed in my accumulation of 12# of campfire lead, and junk bullets.
I dug a 3 ring bullet in a Morgan CSA Cav. camp last year that had tooth marks in it. I had my dentist examine it just for curiosity and he said they WERE human teeth marks on it.
It doesn't have to be a dropped bullet to be a "pain" bullet as some bullets were field molded and mis shaped and useless to the soldier as it wouldn't load or they feared it wouldn't shoot accurately. I'm sure some soldiers chewed on bullets in camps but I would imagine leather was better for their teeth for surgery. As to your bullet, I'm no expert on CW bullets or dental science so I can't say whether it's a human chewed bullet or not. I can say to proudly put it in your collection irregardless. Good luck and HH, Quindy.

 

[aquachigger]

Getty wrote:
> Can anyone prove/cite that "biting the bullet" DID NOT happen?

Sure. Try it yourself and tell us what happens to your molars when you try to squash a bullet between them.

Don't want to try it to prove your belief in "pain bullets?"

There are two tests you can safely do to prove or disprove the claim that such bullets are "pain bullets":
1- Try using a pair of steel pliars to distort a .58-caliber or .54-caliber civil war bullet to the degree seen on so-called "pain bullets." Let's be generous... you can use both hands at once on the pliars. Remember, the pliars give you the advantage of Leverage, increasing your hand-strength beyond what your human jaw-muscles can produce with the mere "direct force" of biting.
2- Show your own dentist a "pain bullet" and ask him if human jaw-muscles and teeth are capable of doing that much damage to the bullet without breaking.

I'll tell you what every dentist I've asked has told me. Human jaw muscles are not strong enough to crush a bullet as deeply as we see on almost all "pain bullets." Even if a human had the necessary jaw-strength (called "bite-force"), their teeth will break before being able to put more than slight dents in the bullet.

In no-anesthesia situations, soldiers were given a piece of rope, or tightly-twisted cloth to bite on, or a finger-sized section of green tree-branch, because biting on such things is much less likely to break your teeth than biting down hard on metal.

Forget trying to document the existence of "wild hogs" in Maryland. Not just hogs tried to eat bullets, thinking they've found an acorn. Other large herbivores, such as cattle and deer, possess enough jaw-strength to turn a bullet into a "pain bullet."

What this guy says...
Plus, just go ahead and "bite the bullet" by actually biting down on a bullet. It is very painful way before you even begin to make an impression. That experience will make a believer out of you in 1 second. I've done it several times being a somewhat slow learner. Plus...If you have ever seen a "old fashioned" hog lot, you will notice that every square inch of dirt will be turned and "plowed" by the hogs looking for tubers and nuts. I've seen a ten acre woods just like that. Plus, bullets as issued were coated with tallow or animal fat so that they were slick could be loaded more easily. Think about chewing on that. Plus... many bullets, possibly including this one were fired first and then chewed. Did the soldiers dig them out of trees and dirt banks just to chew on them during surgery? Plus... I have at least a hundred of these "pain" bullets I have dug. Many have clearly been chewed on by rodents. Heck, I even have salt water dug ones that have been chewed. Possibly by skates and rays looking for clams. Plus... according to The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 90% of all Civil War surgeries were done under anesthesia. No chewing on anything there. I could go on and on, and have on other forums until it just gets ridiculous. It always ends with "Prove to me they didn't chew on bullets" which is the opposite of how it's supposed to work. If anyone wants to see a bunch of "pain bullets" and "pain melted lead blobs" from my collection, I'll dig them up and post a wide variety. Regardless, the bullet the original poster found is very cool and allows us to connect with the past. It should be admired, treasured and valued by us all.

 

[creskol]

Animal chew .. people chew .. whatever chewed it , chewed it a loooooooong time ago, and no matter who the chewer was that's a darn fine chewed bullet, by chewy!!! Put it in your display and display it proudly!



I am curious about one thing .. Maybe CannonballGuy or somebody can help me: Does the property of lead change over the course of 150 years, or, is the lead in a dug bullet just as soft (or hard) as it was when it was molded 150 years ago?

 

[Getty]

Thanx for all the replies/comments on this matter. You guys are correct, it is still a great bullet and will (does) display nicely. Its very well possible that its not but ... Ive certainly learned alot on this matter. The bottom line is thats what Im here for, learning about our past. Thanx all.

 

[aquachigger]

Getty wrote:
> Can anyone prove/cite that "biting the bullet" DID NOT happen?

Sure. Try it yourself and tell us what happens to your molars when you try to squash a bullet between them.

Don't want to try it to prove your belief in "pain bullets?"

There are two tests you can safely do to prove or disprove the claim that such bullets are "pain bullets":
1- Try using a pair of steel pliars to distort a .58-caliber or .54-caliber civil war bullet to the degree seen on so-called "pain bullets." Let's be generous... you can use both hands at once on the pliars. Remember, the pliars give you the advantage of Leverage, increasing your hand-strength beyond what your human jaw-muscles can produce with the mere "direct force" of biting.
2- Show your own dentist a "pain bullet" and ask him if human jaw-muscles and teeth are capable of doing that much damage to the bullet without breaking.

I'll tell you what every dentist I've asked has told me. Human jaw muscles are not strong enough to crush a bullet as deeply as we see on almost all "pain bullets." Even if a human had the necessary jaw-strength (called "bite-force"), their teeth will break before being able to put more than slight dents in the bullet.

In no-anesthesia situations, soldiers were given a piece of rope, or tightly-twisted cloth to bite on, or a finger-sized section of green tree-branch, because biting on such things is much less likely to break your teeth than biting down hard on metal.

Forget trying to document the existence of "wild hogs" in Maryland. Not just hogs tried to eat bullets, thinking they've found an acorn. Other large herbivores, such as cattle and deer, possess enough jaw-strength to turn a bullet into a "pain bullet."

Ive bitten plenty of split shot fishin weights in my day.Didnt break my teeth but surely left teeth marks on it.

I am curious about one thing .. Maybe CannonBallGuy or somebody can help me: Does the property of lead change over the course of 150 years, or, is the lead in a dug bullet just as soft (or hard) as it was when it was molded 150 years ago?

Here is a link to an answer. I just Googled the question and it looks like there are plenty of links to explore.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=67640