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Strange Bullet

mrtwintower

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I found this bullet the other day and thought it strange. I see a earlier post where a bullet has been forced down hard into the barrel and the ramrod left an impression. Same thing here? I think the one on the left is 58cal so what is this one? To me its looks like the end of a hot dog and bun or a bullet that is wrapped. I dont know much about
this so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks much.
 

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Based on comparing with the ruler's markings, the 3-groove minie-ball on the left is a .69-caliber, not .58-caliber.

Does the bullet on the right have a large cavity in its base? If so, it is also a minie type. We'll need a base-view photo for certainty about its ID. It appears to be an Enfield-pattern minie, either a .577/.58-caliber or .54-caliber. It appears to be another "hard-rammed" fired minie, just a different version of minie than the one you saw in another post. Need a photo showing the top from an angle to be sure about that.

I think I see signs of 3-groove rifling marks on it ...meaning it could have been fired out of either a British rifle or a US Springfield rifle.
 
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Here are two more photos showing the top and bottom.
 

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Kosher on left, Christian on right. sorry....it's been snowing or raining up here for 10 days straight ...cabin fever!!!!
 
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danthecanuck said:
Kosher on left, Christian on right. sorry....it's been snowing or raining up here for 10 days straight ...cabin fever!!!!

I DIDN'T GET IT TILL I SAW THE PIC... :laughing9: :laughing9: :laughing9:
 
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Thank you for making and posting the nose-view and base-view photos.

The base-view shows your bullet did have a cavity in the center of its base ...though it appears to be somewhat distorted, perhaps by firing. Therefore, even with the distortion, I think your bullet is an Enfield-Pritchett version. The ruler shows it is an uncommonly long minie ...approximately 1.25" long, even after that hard ramming re-shaped its nose. The only minies which are so lengthy and are .54-to-.58 caliber are Enfield-Pritchett types. See the bullets numbered 219 and 220 in the McKee-&-Mason book on civil war bullets. I am not aware of any specimens of M&M219 and M&M220 coming from yankee-occupied battle trenches or campsites. I can tell you from personal digging experiences that significant quantities of those two types have come from Confederate positions in the Atlanta Campaign ...especially around Kennesaw Mountain.

All of that having been said... both M&M219 and M&M220 are approximately .52" in diameter, when in unfired condition. Please try to get your minie's diameter measured with digital calipers -- or if a ruler is the only measuring tool available to you, give us the closest estimate you can.
 
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cannonballguy thank you for helping me on this. I went to a neighbor with a caliper and it read .56 or .58. We measured near is base. Hope that is ok. If not I can get more measurements.
I went on amazon to look for that book. Sounds like the one to get.
Thanks again
 
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