Musket balls?

[clutch33]

Found near stoney creek on canada... possible to age?... battle of 1812 was fought within kilometers...weight in grams..

 

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[HAPPYCAMPER]

Just a guess but believe if musket ball they are newer than dug ones i see here in mid MA from old cellar holes we do...those look perfectly made and molded

 

[G.A.P.metal]

clutch
An older lead ball,that has been in the ground years will have Lead Oxide on it.. a white patina ...the older the more pronounced.
Gary

 

[FreeBirdTim]

An older lead ball,that has been in the ground years will have Lead Oxide on it.. a white patina ...the older the more pronounced.

Not always true. All the musket balls I find here in RI are brown, due to the abundance of evergreens around here. The soil is black and rich, which gives them their dark color.

Here's my collection of musket balls. All were dug from spots that had buttons and coins from the 1700's and early 1800's:

 

[clutch33]

Not always true. All the musket balls I find here in RI are brown, due to the abundance of evergreens around here. The soil is black and rich, which gives them their dark color.

Here's my collection of musket balls. All were dug from spots that had buttons and coins from the 1700's and early 1800's:

View attachment 1087273

I also found an 1842 bank of montreal half penny bank token in area

 

[HAPPYCAMPER]

Wouldnt have guessed that...3 on left are very round.those are from your time frame?,will have to check all mine as cant remember getting one that uniform in shape.

Not always true. All the musket balls I find here in RI are brown, due to the abundance of evergreens around here. The soil is black and rich, which gives them their dark color.

Here's my collection of musket balls. All were dug from spots that had buttons and coins from the 1700's and early 1800's:

View attachment 1087273

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Clutch33, the 8.79-grams weight of your lead ball translates to 135.6 grains, which means the ball is approximately .45-to-.46-inch in diameter, and that means it is for a .44-caliber "Cap-&-Ball" Revolver (such as a Colt) from the 1840s through 1860s.

Unlike balls (and bullets) for revolvers, which by definition are cylinder-loaded (the projectile enters at the rear of the gunbarrel), balls for muzzle-loading pistols and muskets were slightly smaller in diameter than the firearm's caliber. Your ball is a little bit too small to be for a .50-caliber muzzleloader.

Here's a photo showing an American civil war era Colt .44 Revolver's bulletmold, which cast a ball that looks exactly like yours, showing the small circular sliced-off moldcasting sprue.

 

[clutch33]

Excellent info cannonballguy...thank you

 

[gldnbrew]

clutch
An older lead ball,that has been in the ground years will have Lead Oxide on it.. a white patina ...the older the more pronounced.
Gary

Not necessarily so, I found a couple, from an 1813 battle, buried in mud with very, very little oxide on them. They were drops. I have over 70 musket balls from this battle, and yes the rest have the oxide on them, although some of them are stained rust colored or dark brown (similar to his other one) from the soil conditions.

Something appears to be amiss with the weight. If that says 8.79 grams, that is way too light for an 1812 musket ball. The Brown Bess ball should be in the neighborhood of 29 - 31 grams (68 - 74 cal. ball). The American Springfield should be in the neighborhood of approximately 20 grams (62 - 68 cal. ball). The Harper's 1803 (48 - 52 cal. ball) I haven't found one so I can't give you the approximate weight in grams. NOTE: these weights are based on my actual finds and not out of a book.

PS: In my collection I have never seen a sprue that pronounced on a musket ball.

 

[jan nielsen]

Nice.

 

[MuckyBottles]

clutch
An older lead ball,that has been in the ground years will have Lead Oxide on it.. a white patina ...the older the more pronounced.
Gary

My round balls that come out look like that, with the use of my fingernail, it reveals the patina.