Myers Depot Metal Detectors

First musket ball and appears to be rifled?

Hi again guys

I do not suppose anyone has pictures of a musket ball with rifling to compare

I would love to see them as google does not turn up anything
 
A couple of us found similar items at a rally in Sussex a couple of years ago.
We were told at the time that they were local to the area, but I know that at least one has been found in Lincolnshire.
 
This is the one I found a couple of years back at Firle in Sussex.
As you can see, it's not been fired.
 

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Congratulations..this thread passed the 'most replies' mark in the 'id my finds! subforum. And all this over a musket ball!!!:shock:

Voriax
 
Hi Guys

just received this by email

Many thanks for your email and link to the pictures. I can see why people have reservations, as you don’t often see such pronounced evidence of rifling marks on musket balls, but an archaeologist contact of mine has confirmed for me that this is typical of the marks left by firing sporting rifles. The precise type of weapon is virtually impossible to diagnose from the ball – I can only give you vague options, I’m afraid. One is a rather large sporting rifle, though that would be unusual (10 – 13 grooves in a 16 or 32-bore rifle would be more usual). It’s equally possible that it could have been a privately purchased officer’s military-bore rifle of a volunteer regiment. We can probably rule out issued military rifles as all were either 2 (belted), 3 (Minie, P1853), or 8 (Baker) grooved. Likewise trials rifles – I’m not aware of a 15-groove trials weapon, and clearly these were tested in specific locations (none of them in Cumbria, so far as I know).



What I can narrow down for you is the date – that style of rifling is likely to be 1830-50 (see George’s ‘English Guns and Rifles’ for examples).



If you still have any doubters, I would note that the grooves are in the correct plane relative to the ‘squash’ that’s been imparted by the ramrod (and possibly by firing also) – again common in archaeologically recovered examples.



Hope this helps some,




Curator of Firearms
Royal Armouries Museum
Armouries Drive, Leeds, LS10 1LT

how interesting is that :)
 
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