BigCypressHunter wrote:
> How rare a find is this? This is the first one I have seen and a great ID.
Coming from a What-Is-It veteran as knowledgeable as you, that is a high compliment. Thank you.
How rare a find? Well, that depends on whether you mean the model-1882 Maynard cartridge found by Xmarks73, or the civil war era version in the Wikipedia photo you posted. (By the way, I hope you noticed that it shows no grooves encircling the exposed part of the lead slug ...unlike the 1882-model.) For the sake of discussion, I'll assume your question refers to the civil war era model.
Civil War era ones are rare, but not quite "extremely" rare. That's because -- as the Wikipedia article mentioned -- not many Maynard Breechloaders were issued to troops, in comparison to the tens-of-thousands (or even hundreds-of-thousands) of other rifles, such as the Springfield, Enfield, Sharps, Spencer, etc.
Enhancing the rarity situation, in a way, is the fact that the cartridge's gunpowder charge causes it to corrode to bits. The majority of unfired-and-INTACT Maynard cartridges we dig are no longer intact by the time we get them out of the ground. Even a "decent" one looks like what Xmarks73 found.
Judging the rarity of Xmarks73's unfired model-1882 Maynard cartridge is difficult. I can only say that it is definitely more rare than a civil war era one, for two reasons:
1- The US Army purchased hundreds-of-thousands of rounds of Maynard ammo during the civil war ...and I doubt that Civilian game-hunters purchased anywhere near that much.
2- Civilian game-hunters are actually more careful about not losing bullets than soldiers are. Unlike game-hunters, soldiers don't have to purchase their ammo with money out of their own pocket ...and thus they are notoriously wasteful.
Any markings? Rimfire?
