Can anyone tell me what a buck from a buck and ball mics at and what the smaller cal. pistol balls mic at???

[Anonymous]

I find alot of small cal. round balls in my area and was wondering if they are pistol balls or buck.
Also do the bucks have a flat spot where it was attached to the round ball? Any help would be appreciated.
Scott

 

[Anonymous]

Scott - do a search on Buck and Ball. I posted a series on them and how to measure. Yes, you should see three small dimples in the ball and if you turn the ball 90 degrees to the dimples you should see where the ball is distorted on firing and came into contact with the bore. If you measure at this point you should get close .69. If you check closely on the ball you should see where the cartridge strings were imprinted into the ball on firing. Ball should weigh about 406 grains and .30 buck should weigh about 60 grains. There were also special 12 buck rounds that fit into shotguns and other ML. Abundant B&B might indicate an early campsite say 1861 to 1862.
Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[Anonymous]

I find a variety of different sizes and the smaller ones I felt were too small for pistol balls. I'll have to examine my collection again.
Thanks again,
Scott (ihuntrelics!)