Bullets In Backyard!

relichunter4206

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I have found 10 bullets in my backyard, along with a REM-UMC No. 12 Shurshot casing. I live in a suburban area of Central New Jersey. Does anyone know what could have been on my property? Does anyone know when they were from? My house was built in 1958.
 

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Ok, that's about 1/2 inch or .50 cal.

These could be modern muzzle loader bullets. There isn't much corrosion so maybe from the 1960's, '70's when muzzle loaders become popular for hunting and sport shooting. Since you found ten in one area indicates someone target shooting.
It was probably the owner of your house that shot these.

I can see rifling marks a a couple of them. The one on the far right has clear rifling marks.
 
Pretty Sure

I'm pretty sure those are 45/70 rounds which are Indian War period. These guns were used for quite a long time after the war and some vintage shooters still shoot em'.
 
About 1.2cm could be .50 cal or .45 cal so could be from a .45-70 or several other firearms. They are not deformed much so either the impact area was soft or the muzzle velocity was low or both. .45-70 would fit this and is still a popular round today.
Still going to say these are more recently fired and very probable after 1958.
 
I believe that a lot of those bullets were dug at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

That’s cool, my bullets are a perfect match to those used in that battle! Would you have any theories on how these would end up in my backyard in Central New Jersey?
 

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That’s cool, my bullets are a perfect match to those used in that battle! Would you have any theories on how these would end up in my backyard in Central New Jersey?

One idea would be if perhaps you had fill dirt put in during the time of construction. That fill could of come from anywhere and as result you could has some old relics in there.
 
One idea would be if perhaps you had fill dirt put in during the time of construction. That fill could of come from anywhere and as result you could has some old relics in there.

I didn’t think of that, that could possibly be the answer!
 
If bullets come in fill then not likely from any battle site but maybe from a training area.

More likely these were fired MUCH later, mid 1900's, since .45-70 was and still is a popular round.
There are several companies making and selling these exact bullets today. So just because this style bullet was used in mid-1800's doesn't mean that is the ONLY time frame they could be from.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/75809

http://www.acmebullet.com/bullets-r...ets/Lead-Hard-Cast-Bullets-45-70-405-Grain-FP

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/pro...s&refType=&from=fn&ecList=7&ecCategory=201460

https://www.pennbullets.com/4570/4570-caliber.html

http://www.meisterbullets.com/AWSProducts/484-C-22-P-0/4570-405GR-Lever-Action-458-RNFP

This is a very short list of .45-70 tree ring bullets you can buy today.
 
Okay, it’s possible, but my family has owned this house since it was built in 1958, and they never owned guns or ammo. Also, I just realized I found the bullets all the same depth in the ground, so it’s not very likely it was fill. If it was, they would be different depths. I might be mistaken, but that’s just my thought pattern.
 
Thank you for the maps, I looked at my neighborhood in 1888 and there was a river near where my house would have been. That river is still there today, but it moved over the years to the back of my neighborhood. Also, I saw that where my neighborhood would be there were some hills and slopes.
 
Trying to figure where the stuff we dig came from is part of the fun.

Do keep hitting your yard as you never know what might be there. I did my yard, house built in 1961, and found a lot of junk, newer coins but then a Model T value stem cover. How that got there is anyone's guess but since this was farm land before 1960 and all the way back to 1700's someone could have been driving a model T on this land.
Same with most of New Jersey. It is very possible for you to find something from the 1800's and even the 1700's.
 
Ok, that's about 1/2 inch or .50 cal.

These could be modern muzzle loader bullets. There isn't much corrosion so maybe from the 1960's, '70's when muzzle loaders become popular for hunting and sport shooting. Since you found ten in one area indicates someone target shooting.
It was probably the owner of your house that shot these.

I can see rifling marks a a couple of them. The one on the far right has clear rifling marks.

All in one area and they all seem to have the same amount of mush, makes me think they all hit the same fairly soft target. They all have the same patina that looks more like 50 years in the ground instead of 150. I think they are fairly new.
 
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