how big is a musket ball usually?

Question

ive found a round lead ball in our garden, it looks like a musket ball. how do i tell?

Answer 1

Most will be between half and three quarters of an inch but other sizes exist. There aren't too many other uses for a round lead ball so odds are good that's what you have.

Answer 2

They vary quite a lot. Here are some typical examples -

22.92g, 0.31 inch diameter - 18thC French

40.51g, 0.776 inch 17thC English

31.02g, 0.697 inch 18thC English

Musket balls are manufactured by pouring molten lead or another alloy into a two part single or a multiple cavity mould.The casting sprue is cut close to the ball and any flashing around the mold seam is removed.

Mold seam - a thin line around the circumference of the musket ball.

Casting Sprue - a small raised cylinder from the lead inlet channel in the mold. This is usually clipped off close to the surface of the ball, If you excavate a musket ball that is round, has a mold seam and a casting sprue then it was probably dropped and not fired. However not all dropped musket balls have a mold seam or casting sprue. Transportation methods can erase this line by rubbing together in transit. When the diameter is measured this can be used to determine the caliber.

The difference between the ball and the caliber is known as windage. Typically the windage is approximately 0.05- 0.10mm. An example is a military British Brown Bess has a bore of 0.75 inches or 75 caliber, but would take a 0,693 inch diameter musket ball. A 69 caliber French Charleyville musket usually took a 0.63 inch ball. However, during the 17th/18thC musket balls were categorized not by diameter but as to how many musket balls would weigh a pound. For example a service British brown Bess musket took musket balls that were 29 per two pounds.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The round lead ball you found in your garden may very well be a musket ball. Try these sites : -

The musket ball was rammed home in the barrel by a ram rod. ... in massed vollies similar to what British Army did the musket proved to be quite effective. ...
http://www.uk.geocities.com/[e-mail]/ageofmusket/musket.htm

Baker Rifle (RGJM)The rifle with the standard .75 calibre of the Brown Bess musket, intended to enable the ... Not all rifles manufactured for the British Army were Bakers. ...
http://www.personal.usyd.edu.au/~slaw/SuesPage/baker2.htm

Brown Bess During the Seven Years War at the start of the 18th Century, the British Army's standard firearm was the Doglock Musket. This was superseded by the Long ...
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_brown_bess.html

The most famous British Army Musket - The Brown Bess, had a .75 calibre bore. Try measuring your lead ball.

As we do not know where you are located it is difficult to tell if your house is in the line or fire or near thereto of any incident which happened in history when shots were fired by the Army or Militia. Last such occasion would probably have been Peterloo when the Militia opened fire on the 'mob' and killed many.

If you are in New York, then the musket ball is British, left there by one of 10,000 Red Coats or Lobsters still in the city when Cornwallis surrendered to Geo.Washington at York Town.

God Save the King.

Answer 4

The generally accepted caliber is .50 (or 1/2 inch). The muzzle velocity was quite slow as a consequence the wounds created were horrific. Full jacketed ammunition today eliminates the destruction of the soft, slow musket ball.

Where do you live? Research the history of your area, you might find that your garden and the area around it was the site of an ancient battle.

I grew up in Northern Virginia and each time there was new construction going on you could walk through the area and find bullets from the Cival War just by keeping an eye out and kicking at the dirt.

About as big as a malteser on average although some can be smaller(pistols) and some bigger(muskets).

Most will be between half and three quarters of an inch but other sizes exist. There aren't too many other uses for a round lead ball so odds are good that's what you have.
A musket ball would be about 1/2 inch in diameter and made of lead. If it has been in the ground for over 100 years the lead will have developed a greyish layer of oxidation on the outside.

Answer 5

A musket ball would be about 1/2 inch in diameter and made of lead. If it has been in the ground for over 100 years the lead will have developed a greyish layer of oxidation on the outside.

Answer 6

A Musket ball is normally about 0.25 inches round and will have a small flat section on it somewhere where the lead was poured into the mould, however it has been known for pistol rounds to be anything up to 0.75 inches depending on date and wepon.

Answer 7

The generally accepted caliber is .50 (or 1/2 inch). The muzzle velocity was quite slow as a consequence the wounds created were horrific. Full jacketed ammunition today eliminates the destruction of the soft, slow musket ball.

Answer 8

Where do you live? Research the history of your area, you might find that your garden and the area around it was the site of an ancient battle.

I grew up in Northern Virginia and each time there was new construction going on you could walk through the area and find bullets from the Cival War just by keeping an eye out and kicking at the dirt.

Answer 9

About as big as a malteser on average although some can be smaller(pistols) and some bigger(muskets).

Answer 10

They come in all sizes.

Popular smaller sizes were .36 caliber (.36"), 44 cal. and 45 cal.

Rifles used .577 Enfield, .52 cal. Sharps, .54 cal., .58 cal, .69 cal Springfield smoothebore, 75 cal. as standards.


So, if it is a round ball and lead.... it could be.



g-day!