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My Brother tells me....

B

Billium

New member
I already know what it is but thought I would share. Maybe this should have gone in the "today's finds" section. If it gets moved that's ok.
This is a 38 cal. cap and ball pistol round. It was found at an 1860's historic mining town site. This place is so full of trash I was amazed I found it. We were on a 4 wheeler ride and took a few minutes after lunch to hunt a small area that had obviously been a building site.
He used a micrometer to measure the ball to get the caliber.

Now I MUST go back!
 
I've found a round lead ball with similar 'walls' in a ring around the ball and didn't know what it was. The one I found did NOT have rifling or I would've recognized it right away. It had a thick layer of white crust which indicates it was very old lead. Most round balls do not fit tight enough to have rifling embedded onto them which is why a patch is used with the ball to make a tight seal. I bet the ball was too big for the caliber.
 
No patch used in a cap and ball pistol , only on muzzle loaders. And the more the pistol is fired( without cleaning) the tighter the ball gets in the barrel .The ring you see is from being rammed into the cylinder , notice its only one one side.
 
taz42o said:
No patch used in a cap and ball pistol , only on muzzle loaders. And the more the pistol is fired( without cleaning) the tighter the ball gets in the barrel .The ring you see is from being rammed into the cylinder , notice its only one one side.
Click to expand...

Additionally, from what I read and understand, the ball was slightly larger and a little led would "shave off" when it was pressed into the cylinder which would size it properly for the barrel. I also understand that sometimes they would "grease" the ball to eliminate chain firing.

This ball did have a white crust on it but that is gone after spending a few hours in my pocket on our 4 wheeler ride and being handled by quite a few curious people.
This is one for my log book and a special place in my collection.
 
Yes, back then the lead sat on the powder and tallow was used on top to prevent chain fire and to water proof, nowdays wadding (not a patch)is used between ball and powder to prevent chain fire.
 
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