Musket ball age??

[smf399]

Found this at a really old site. It has a weird shallow hole in it and looks crude. Any idea on the age?

 

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[duggap]

Are you sure it is lead? Lead should be closer to white.

 

[smf399]

Are you sure it is lead? Lead should be closer to white.

It's definitely lead

 

[BosnMate]

The shallow hole is in the spru, and that was because the mold was cold when he made the ball, and the lead sucked in as it became solid. Yes, it is a rifle/musket/pistol bullet, they are still being cast and shot today by people like me, in some cases from reproduction guns, but I have been known to also shoot old original firearms also. Need exact measurements to be able to identify the caliber. Round bullets in rifles tended to be smaller than the musket balls, and that is so especially in the Kentucky long rifle.

 

[smf399]

The shallow hole is in the spru, and that was because the mold was cold when he made the ball, and the lead sucked in as it became solid. Yes, it is a rifle/musket/pistol bullet, they are still being cast and shot today by people like me, in some cases from reproduction guns, but I have been known to also shoot old original firearms also. Need exact measurements to be able to identify the caliber. Round bullets in rifles tended to be smaller than the musket balls, and that is so especially in the Kentucky long rifle.

Is that good?

 

[donkarlos]

Did you happen to clean it extensively? Kind of wondering about the lack of white also.

 

[smf399]

Did you happen to clean it extensively? Kind of wondering about the lack of white also.

I did clean it with a brush a lot yeah

 

[BosnMate]

Is that good?

If you are talking about the hole, no it's not good, different weights affect accuracy, and the holes don't make the balls uniform in weight. Usually several balls are cast and re-melted to heat up the mold, before keeping the cast balls to shoot. The best I can tell from your photo with the ruler is the ball is slightly larger than half an inch. If the ball is .54 to .58 inch I'd guess it's dropped a rifle ball. .54 was a very common caliber with the fur trappers out west. What state did you find the ball.

 

[smf399]

If you are talking about the hole, no it's not good, different weights affect accuracy, and the holes don't make the balls uniform in weight. Usually several balls are cast and re-melted to heat up the mold, before keeping the cast balls to shoot. The best I can tell from your photo with the ruler is the ball is slightly larger than half an inch. If the ball is .54 to .58 inch I'd guess it's dropped a rifle ball. .54 was a very common caliber with the fur trappers out west. What state did you find the ball.

New Jersey

 

[BosnMate]

New Jersey

Well, that kind of rules out buffalo hunters. At this point your guess is as good as mine. Either rifle or musket is a possibility, and don't rule out pistols either. Flintlock pistols tended to have larger bores also.