pretty sure they missed their target..

[sweetrelease]

had some nice weather yesterday in south jersey so got out for a hunt. hit the same place I got the 1808, 1818 large cents. not much going on except for some plan flat buttons and the ever exciting clad. after about two hours I get a good hit at about 4 inches. I dig my plug and see nothing that looks metal.i pinpoint the hole and it hits on a piece of wood. I double check with detector and sure enough its going crazy.. so at that point I start to break it open. I find this (see pic). you guys ever find a bullet in a piece of wood or tree.it's a first for me. it's not the coins I was looking for but its cool to me.i'm going to leave it in the wood so I can display it.also anyone know what kind of bullet it maybe? it has vertical lines in it and is lead. thanks for looking HH ~matt~

 

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[antique man]

Hey Sweetrelease. I was thinking it might be a civil war bullet. Where did you find it? Anywhere near a civil war battlefield? Congrats on the find.

 

[beez0404]

Could be a civil war period bullet, but don't believe there were any battles fought in NJ during the CW.

 

[Beeps in my sleep]

Awesome!!! My only question would be, if it were civil war.. That wood being in the ground should have decayed long ago. I could be wrong though because I don't know your soil conditions. That is an awesome find though!! I wonder if you can put a protectant on it to preserve the wood. That is definitely a display piece for sure. Congrats and HH

 

[mirage83]

While I could be wrong, it looks like a post-CW period cast handgun bullet, maybe .38 caliber. Interesting find in any case, and definitely something to keep an eye out for while detecting. CW-era bullets in old wood make for really nice finds.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Very neat find!

 

[parsonwalker]

Once in a blue moon, we CW guys will still find a bullet in wood. Especially in wet, swampy locations. One theory is that the hot bullet "sears" the wood at entry and it makes a kind of man-made knot which survives better. Evidenced by finding a hunk of wood that looks like a knot, there's a bullet in it . . . but no sign of the rest of the tree! I dip all of mine in satin-finish polyurethane to preserve the wood.

 

[mirage83]

Once in a blue moon, we CW guys will still find a bullet in wood. Especially in wet, swampy locations. One theory is that the hot bullet "sears" the wood at entry and it makes a kind of man-made knot which survives better. Evidenced by finding a hunk of wood that looks like a knot, there's a bullet in it . . . but no sign of the rest of the tree! I dip all of mine in satin-finish polyurethane to preserve the wood.

Soil and/or water condition plays it's part as well. If it gets buried in heavy, clay-rich soil the lack of oxygen can help preserve the wood to a certain degree. Same thing even in water sources if the bottom is the right makeup.

 

[sweetrelease]

that's funny because the ground I'm searching is swampy. old cedars I believe . the piece of wood is drying out very fast.this morning it was "flaking" so I sprayed it with some deck seal. seems to have worked. thanks guys for the info,this site is giving up some cool finds cant wait to get back out.~matt~

 

[mirage83]

Cedar is a highly resilient wood, tends to last even in highly humid or wet conditions. The deck seal will help, especially in case you find something in a type of wood less durable than cedar.

 

[parsonwalker]

Here are a couple of examples after dipping in satin-finish poly. A Confederate enfield, and a yankee three-ringer.

 

[sweetrelease]

cool

 

[pong12211]

That's a really neat way to find a bullet.. Great find..

 

[hamiddetecting]

Nice and story, congratulations!!

 

[DigIron2]

I agree with post war.still a old sucker nice find

 

[DigIron2]

Here are a couple of examples after dipping in satin-finish poly. A Confederate enfield, and a yankee three-ringer.

View attachment 948765

That Enfeild piece is killer

 

[Davers]

Yeah the bullet in wood looks to be an older Cast 38 but still cool esp , when the bullet is exposed the way that one is.
(Rings showing & stuff).

In around 1999 I found a 3 ring minie in a small piece of wood & it showed it's self very nicely (flat nose ,3 rings & the cavity full of wood.).

They are rare finds these days [CW types in wood]

A few times a year I detect a bullet in wood & 9 times out of 10 it's a 22.

They are very nice pieces . (The larger Calibers that is)

Davers

 

[treblehunter]

Pretty cool finding a bullet like that, could very well be a modern muzzleloader bullet. I have discharged my muzzy into the middle of ceders by missing deer. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Check out this assortment of modern bullets for muzzleloaders, click on this link.

Sabots and Reloading Bullets - Muzzleloading Ammo : Cabela's

I tried before researching for civil war action in NJ, I don't think there was any action, but I have seen plenty of civil war statues and such. You never know maybe they had some shooting practice, or went deer hunting on there way to the war. Cool display of a bullet no less.

 

[MT_Joe]

I was cutting firewood a few years back on my property and found a round ball in a dead tree I was cutting up. I cut it in half as smooth as could be, then lost it before I got back to the house.

 

[Ahab8]

I've built lots of log cabins and occasionally would find a piece of lead in a piece of v-match. I still have a chunk of wood at home with a signal in it that I still haven't cracked open. Maybe it's time