Dating a musket ball

How were musket balls made?

Musket balls were made by pouring molten lead into a musket ball mould and trimming off surplus lead once it had cooled. At times stone musket balls were used.

How can you tell if a musket ball is real?

Hold the ball in your hand. Lead is a very dense metal, and a musket ball will feel heavy for its size when compared to something like a glass or clay marble. Look for evidence of a mold seam.

How do you measure a round ball for a musket?

Measure a round ball. If the ball is round, measure its diameter in inches with a set of calipers, but do not take the measurement on the mold seam. Typically, musket balls range in diameter from 0.39 inches to 0.80 inches. The British Brown Bess musket had a 0.75 inch bore but took a 0.693-inch-diameter ball.

How to tell if a musket ball is made of lead?

Lead is a very dense metal, and a musket ball will feel heavy for its size when compared to something like a glass or clay marble. Look for evidence of a mold seam.

What were musket balls made of in the war?

They were usually made of lead. Musket balls were made by pouring molten lead into a musket ball mould and trimming off surplus lead once it had cooled. At times stone musket balls were used. The lead musket balls expanded upon entering a body, often causing a large exit wound.

Why are musket balls different sizes?

Since all firearms were made by hand, no two muskets had exactly the same bore size so each musket or rifled musket came equipped with its own custom sized lead ball mold. In order to be able to easily ram the ball down the barrel, the musket ball was slightly smaller than the bore of the musket.

Did muskets make wounds?

Muskets, musket balls and the wounds they made Gunshot wounds are a common occurrence today in both military and civilian situations. This paper discusses the development of the weapons, their capabilities, the type of wounds produced and their management in earlier times.

How were musket balls loaded into the smooth bore?

The musket ball was loaded into the smooth bore by first pouring a powder charge down the barrel, wrapping a linen patch around the ball, starting it off with a short ramrod or starter then using the longer ramrod (usually seated underneath the barrel) to push it all the way down the barrel.

What were musket balls made of in the war?

They were usually made of lead. Musket balls were made by pouring molten lead into a musket ball mould and trimming off surplus lead once it had cooled. At times stone musket balls were used. The lead musket balls expanded upon entering a body, often causing a large exit wound.

How can you tell if a musket ball is real?

Hold the ball in your hand. Lead is a very dense metal, and a musket ball will feel heavy for its size when compared to something like a glass or clay marble. Look for evidence of a mold seam.

Why are musket balls so deformed?

However, musket balls were made of solid lead which is very soft and flattens on contact. The change in shape means that the deformed balls dont travel through tissue very efficiently, instead transferring most of their kinetic energy to the tissue, organs and bones of the victim.

What were soft lead musket balls used for?

Soft lead musket balls were pounded and carved into a wide variety of things: fishing sinkers, toy buzzers, dice, pencils, game pieces; many examples of each are depicted in clear, detailed color photographs.