✅ SOLVED Need Ammo Expert Help

cambria09 · Mar 4, 2013

Hello. I found this brass at a river camp site that I believe goes back to the mid-1800's. The center primer diameter is upwardly rounded. I have never seen an old round that is a rim-fire struck on two sides by the firing pin.

Questions:
1) Was it fired twice?
2) What is it?
3) How old is it?

Thank you for any info and HHTA. C9

TheCannonballGuy · Mar 4, 2013

It is definitely a civil war era yankee .44-caliber Henry Repeating Rifle cartridge-casing. The Henry rifle was one of only three versions of 19th-century firearms which had a "dual" firing-pin. So, no, your casing wasn't fired twice, that is the dual firing-pin's mark. Your civil war era .44 casing marked with a raised letter H was also manufactured by Henry. Shortly after the end of the civil war, Henry got bought out by Winchester, who continued to use an indented-letter H mark for approximately another 20 years.

GMD52 · Mar 4, 2013

I believe what you have found is a cartridge from a Henry rifle, first successful lever action breech loading rifle that became the Win 66, when Oliver Winchester purchased the patents from Henry, one of his designers. The caliber was .44, and the two indentations on the case head are from the firing pins. The Henry was a rimfire, and thus did not have a primer, the priming compound was contained in the rim of the case like todays .22 rimfires. Hope this helps.