Rifle cartridges

[confederate83]

Dug these at an old military site that burned in the 1890's no markings on the base they are centerfire just trying to identify and date em

 

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[cheese]

What do the bottoms look like? I'm thinking you have a couple rimfire .44 henrys, and a .357 magnum or ? The bottom will tell the rest of the story.

 

[confederate83]

No markings to big for .357

 

[New Seeker]

Could be a 50-70 Government introduced just after the Civil war for the Springfield model 1866 Trapdoor rifle. The dimensions are a little off but could be ball park for your finds the 50 70 was .565 at the base .660 at the rim and case length was 1.75 pretty close to what you show but not exact (condition?).

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I would think 50-70 as well

 

[cheese]

Which one are you showing the bottom of? Are the other 2 rimfires?

 

[confederate83]

All three are the exact same no rimfire all center

 

[atprolen]

Found same case last week. Is it seem copper not brass. And I to believe it to be 50-70

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[turtlefoot13]

Although not an exact match, your measurements are closer to .45-60 Winchester than to a .50-70. What is the diameter of the rim itself?

Doug

 

[confederate83]

.59 65 is pretty close and yes they do seem to be copper

 

[turtlefoot13]

Here are the exact specifications for the .45-60 Winchester. I still think it is a possible match.

Doug

http://www.loaddata.com/images/database/45-602.gif

 

[confederate83]

My cartridges are quite a bit shorter close but still not sure

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Confederate83, although your first photo of your casing is a bit out-of-focus, it seems to show your non-headstamped centerfire casing has a "beveled edge" head. To confirm it for us, please examine the photos of various examples of beveled-edge .50-70 casings here THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR
and some beveled-edge .45-60 casing photos on a different page at THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR
(Though each casing in the .45-60 photos has a headstamp, you can clearly see the head's beveled-edge form.)

Please let us know whether your casings have a beveled-edge head, or not.

Also, caliper measurements of your casing's diameter just above the head, AND at its upper rim, should tell us whether it is a .45-60 or .50-70 casing. (For example, the diagram posted by Turtlefoot13 shows a .45-60 casing's diameter is .508-inch just above the head's rim and its upper-end diameter is .479-inch.)

 

[confederate83]

The measurment just above the rim is .50 10 the top of the casings are smashed so I can't get accurate measurement and yes the rim is beveled and very similar to the 45/60 picture it seems to be the best match so far

 

[BosnMate]

In your photo, the center case seems to be a bit smaller than the other two. Is that true, or just me? The copper case would be proper for early 1870 cartridges. They were made from "gilding metal," which is essentially copper. Without looking it up, I think that by the 1880's cartridge cases were pretty much all brass.

 

[confederate83]

No they are all the same size I have 5 of em total

 

[cheese]

In your photo, the center case seems to be a bit smaller than the other two. Is that true, or just me? The copper case would be proper for early 1870 cartridges. They were made from "gilding metal," which is essentially copper. Without looking it up, I think that by the 1880's cartridge cases were pretty much all brass.

That's what I thought too, which is why I said 2 different calibers. They don't look like tapered cartridges to me from the pics provided.

 

[confederate83]

The pics are deceiving it's because the middle cartridge isint smashed as bad as the others