Is this a bullet?

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I found this today at an 1880's school site that I've been hunting lately. It appears to be made of brass or something similar and has a odd rusty red color to it. It measures 8mm wide x 35mm long.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Dave

 

[kuger]

yep,def a boat tail bullet

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Thanks very much for your help guys!

Excuse my ignorance when it comes to bullets, afterall I do live in Canada,
but what type of metal is it made from?

After researching the article below I would assume the bullet is brass.

Boat-Tail Bullet

The latest advancement in bullet shape was the boat tail, a streamlined base for spitzer bullets. The vacuum created as air moves at high speed passes over the end of a bullet slows the projectile. The streamlined boat tail design reduces this form drag by allowing the air to flow along the surface of the tapering end. The resulting aerodynamic advantage is currently seen as the optimum shape for rifle technology. The first combination spitzer and boat-tail bullet, named Balle "D" from its inventor (a lieutenant-colonel Desaleux) , was introduced as standard military ammunition in 1901, for the French Lebel Model 1886 rifle.

The 8×50mmR French (8 mm Lebel) rifle cartridge was the first smokeless gunpowder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886. Formed by necking down the
11 mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle ammunition. Standard 8mm Lebel ammunition was also the first to feature a Boat tail bullet (Balle D) which was adopted in 1898.

 

[kuger]

I cant say it isnt,but I have personally have never seen a brass bullet.I have seen copper turn red in different soil conditions.The most used "Jacket",on bullets is copper

 

[stefen]

You also have a door handle for a 55 thru 59 chevy 3100 truck...

 

[DevilDog812]

You also have a door handle for a 55 thru 59 chevy 3100 truck...

could the D be from FORD?

 

[NOLA_Ken]

.792 Mauser

 

[TiredIron]

yep,def a boat tail bullet

?......definately "not" a boattail. This is "Boat Tail" projectile.....
http://www.swampworks.com/jlk/images/30LBT-1a.jpg

From looking at your photo....and assuming the rifle projectile is approximately .30/8mm..... the empty shell casing looks to about .40/.41cal..... looks like a 41 rimfire. More photos and firing pin strikes would possibly tell more.
It would take a pair of calipers and exact weight of the projo to tell you anymore.
Thanks
TiredIron

 

[kuger]

yep,def a boat tail bullet

?......definately "not" a boattail. This is "Boat Tail" projectile.....
http://www.swampworks.com/jlk/images/30LBT-1a.jpg

It would take a pair of calipers and exact weight to tell you anymore.
Thanks
TiredIron

Your right my bad

 

[Almy]

It is a copper jacketed, lead core (see the core in the base) modern rifle bullet. It is not boat-tailed (the boat tail would be a tapered back) but appears to be hollow point or maybe full metal jacket.

 

[DevilDog812]

full metal jacket, and it looks like its fired. you can see faint rifling marks on the bullet and the tip is a little smashed

 

[Mileaway]

You also have a door handle for a 55 thru 59 chevy 3100 truck...

could the D be from FORD?

Looks just like it.

 

[Monty]

May be a semi-boattail, but a boattail has a much different shape. I don't have a boattail bullet picture handy but they can be easily found at google. That looks more like a common spitzer bullet with an open base. The base was left open to allow or slight expansion to fit the grooves in early rifles, especially a military rifle. Military rifles are notorious for having oversize or under size bores. I collect early military bolt action rifles and since I reload for all my guns I have to slug the bores to determine the proper bullet diameters to reload them for the best accuracy. The tolerences in early military arms were not nearly as close as they are in modern firarms. This was often purposly done to allow for interchangeability of parts and to assure proper functioning when shooting corrosive ammo or being exposed to inclimate weather or conditions. The jacket was usually made of an alloy of copper called gilding metal. Pure copper was too soft and would foul the bores. A few bullets were made with iron or steel jackets when copper supplies ran low, but they were soon found to cause excessive bore wear. Many military cartridge cases were made of steel and some are still in production and are imported mainly from Russia. They can't be reloaded so they are usually purchased for plinking ammo. (I have a couple thousand rounds in 7.62 Russian that I use for plinking). Monty

 

[Silver]

The D has to b from a ford if it was from a dodge it would not have fell off.

 

[jeepcj5]

Me thinks it is an 8 mm Mauser and have to agree with NOLA_Ken, sorry Kugar buddy this is def not a boattail bullet.. it looks to be a 155gr. standard ball (FMJ) bullet, you can tell by the cannelure (ringed groove around the bullet), used for a roll crimp, most military rounds employ this to hold the bullet tighter in the case, if it were the 199gr the cannelure would sit way back from the ogive.... here are a couple photos of the 8mm one with 199gr boattails the other with 155gr steel case. this round has been around a LONG time:

In 1903 an improved form of 7.92x57 ammunition was introduced. This is what we call the 8mm Mauser. It featured a lighter "spitzer" (pointed) bullet of .323" diameter (as opposed to .318") and provided superior ballistic potential.

 

[kuger]

Me thinks it is an 8 mm Mauser and have to agree with NOLA_Ken, sorry Kugar buddy this is def not a boattail bullet.. it looks to be a 155gr. standard ball (FMJ) bullet, you can tell by the cannelure (ringed groove around the bullet), used for a roll crimp, most military rounds employ this to hold the bullet tighter in the case, if it were the 199gr the cannelure would sit way back from the ogive.... here are a couple photos of the 8mm one with 199gr boattails the other with 155gr steel case. this round has been around a LONG time:

In 1903 an improved form of 7.92x57 ammunition was introduced. This is what we call the 8mm Mauser. It featured a lighter "spitzer" (pointed) bullet of .323" diameter (as opposed to .318") and provided superior ballistic potential.

Yep,I had a huge Brain fart....ashamed of myself!! Especially seeins how I just loaded 500 of em!!

 

[jeepcj5]

Hahaha no worries brother happens to the best of us!!!
Especially if one was awaken @ 0343 this morning by their mastiff
Getting after a skunk on the back deck );

 

[kuger]

Hahaha no worries brother happens to the best of us!!!
Especially if one was awaken @ 0343 this morning by their mastiff
Getting after a skunk on the back deck );

I hear ya,the deer have been driving my Bloodhounds crazy every night!!!

 

[Monty]

Any idea what the bullt's diameter is? I have several calibers of military surplus ammo and the bullet could be from any one of these depending on diameter and/or weight. Monty