Papa Bear wrote:
> The head stamp on the casing, starting at the top around the percussion cap: R (top), 8 (right), F (bottom), 6 (left).
The R designates the cartridge was intended for use in the Rifle version of the .45-70, instead of the Carbine version.
The F designates it was manufactured at the Frankford Arsenal (Pennsylvania).
The numbers on the left and right are the month and year of manufacture. There definitely was originally a second digit in the number on the right (for example, 82). As the number on the right is incomplete, all I can tell you is that your cartridge-casing was made in June of a year in the 1880s.
> I am still curious about the two bullets that look over rammed. If anyone can confirm that,
> I would appreciate it. Also, both bullets had 7 grooves of rifling on them.
Having very closely examined many thousands of dropped, fired, "hard-rammed" and "pulled" minies during the past 30-something years, I am quite certain your guess is correct, those two minies are hard-rammed/over-rammed.
You say one of them is a .54-caliber and the other is a .58-caliber. Did you measure them with Digital Calipers, of are you just making an approximate guess? I'm asking because we need super-precise measurements of their diameter to be certain about their caliber, and thus figure out which type of rifle your minies got rammed into.
It's very odd for a Minie to have 7-groove rifling marks. As you already know, the hard-ramming means they were being used in a Muzzleloading firearm, not a Breechloader. The only 7-goove Muzzleloading .58-caliber in my rifling-lists is a Confederate rifle, made by the Dickson Nelson in Georgia.
The .54 Perry Carbine had 7 goove rifling, but it is a Breechloader ...so, nobody would be ramming minies into one of those.
Muzzleloading .54-caliber with 7 grooves are:
USA Model 1804 Rifle
USA Single-Shot Pistol, Model 1843
Muzzleloading .56-caliber with 7 grooves:
Bavarian Tige Rifle
The .56 Colt Revolving Rifle technically is neither a Breechloader nor a "typical" Muzzleloader rifle. It had a cylinder, and a (very short) ramrod was used to load bullets into the front of the cylinder. So, the .56 Colt Revolving Rifle may be responsible for one of your hard-rammed/over-rammed minies.
A class act and nice finds.....
