How big is the bullet of the buffalo rifle? I found a huge bullet and would love to know how old it might be.?

Question

OK. It is a bullet not a casing. It is mushroomed out, measures about 7/8 of an inch long( from the end of the mushroom to the bottom), and weighs 3/4 of an ounce. It has 6 indentions/ lines going from the bottom up to the mushroom. Also, it is a bullet not a ball. Thanks for your help! I'm really hoping it is from the Civil War era or around that time. I found it in Central Texas while arrowhead hunting in a plowed field next to a creek.

Also it is .48 inches in diameter.

Answer 1

.50 caliber and up is the pill.

Answer 2

First, it's necessary to find out if you have a cartridge or a bullet. A cartridge has four parts. The case, the primer (in the back), the powder (propellant), and the bullet, which is the part that comes out the front.

Calling a cartridge a bullet is a common error and is perpetuated by the media, the Lone Ranger, ignorance, etc..

If you are describing a whole cartridge, see if it has any markings on the back. Measure the overall length. Determine if the case is straight or has a bottleneck and measure the bullet diameter (below).

If you are describing only the bullet and can measure it's diameter in 100's of an inch and it's weight in grains or perhaps ounces you will make it a lot easier. 7000 grains equals a pound.

If it's pure lead, about .58 inch diameter, weights about an ounce, has a rounded point with a flat end, has a hollow base, and if you found it anywhere near a Civil War battlefield, it's probably a Minie ball that were shot from single-shot muzzle loading rifled muskets, probably in the millions.

Send me more information and I'll try harder.

Answer 3

Actually, some of the most popular buffalo cartridges were of .44 and .45 caliber, but in the earlier years, there were plenty of .50 caliber rifles used.

Contrary to popular belief, the .50-140-700-3 1/4" cartridge was not introduced until after the great buffalo herds had been destroyed. Rifles .50-70 Government and .50-90 Sharps were fairly common on the buffalo range.

What is the caliber and weight of the bullet you have? Is it hard cast? Soft Pure lead? Jacketed? Round nosed? Spire pointed? Hollow pointed? Photos perhaps?

Doc

Answer 4

Tough to answer without some measurements. If you have a set of calibers you can measure the most undamaged part of the bullet. That would give a fair idea of the caliber. Weighing the bullet (in grains) is something else you can do. For instance, I shoot both 325 grain and 405 grain bullets out of my 45-70 rifle. That particular caliber was used for buffalo as well as a number of others. You will find that most of the old buffalo rounds have two sets of numbers like "45-70". The first number referred to the caliber of the bullet. The second was the amount of black powder to be used (70 grains) to shoot it.

You could take your bullet to a gunsmith or knowledgeable gun dealer and maybe they could tell you more about your bullet.

Answer 5

Buffalo rifle calibers can run from .50 cal.(1/2 inch) to .75 cal. (3/4 inch dia.) They can be round or cylindrical with a rounded nose and two or three bands around the back, with an indentation in the base to hold the powder. "Huge" would probably be the latter.
Your local police might know more about it, they can be a help.

Answer 6

my buffalo rifle is a .50 caliber and it takes round Ball, looks like the lead portion of a 12 gauge slug except that it is round.

Answer 7

The sharps rifle came in .45, .50 and .54 during various stages!

Answer 8

I am thinking, that the SHARPS .50 caliber, was the best buffalo rifle.

long range & good knock down power

Answer 9

How about a little more description- details-measurements ? You aren't giving us much to go on. Is there any markings on the cartridge case at all?

Answer 10

The old buffaloe guns were .50 caliber, one of the largest guns used. Take it to a guns dealer/expert, or a museum.