Musket balls ID?

Looks like large buckshot or case shot. What ever it is there were several in the load. You can tell by the dents in 'em where they were packed together and then fired...d2

Looks like .50 cal musket balls to me.

I am going to say that you probably have
found artillery shrapnel.

Here is a 6 inch howitzer round without a
fuse timer,



Here is a fuse timer that was installed on
the round that housed the shrapnel that
is in the photo. I found this on what used
to be a WW I training camp.



Here are two intact fuse timers I found,



More shapnel,



Happy Huntin,

Tabdog

d-2 said:

Looks like large buckshot or case shot. What ever it is there were several in the load. You can tell by the dents in 'em where they were packed together and then fired...d2

Click to expand...

You are smarter than you l@@k d2.

You nailed that. The question is,

How old is the Army camp where he found
the lead balls.

Be careful. THERE COULD BE LIVE ORDANANCE.

It shoul have been all removed, but as we
all know, it is hard to get it all.

They were used a lot in WW I.

I learned that when I found the WW I stuff.

Happy Huntin,

Tabdog

Another nice thread... What is the middle ball where they are placed on the red ruler? See the kind of "hex" mark on that one? I found these in the woods here. Is it buckshot or a lead slug from a shotgun??

stangthang said:

Another nice thread... What is the middle ball where they are placed on the red ruler? See the kind of "hex" mark on that one? I found these in the woods here. Is it buckshot or a lead slug from a shotgun??

Click to expand...

Hay ST,

The one in the center with the ruler has a nick on it. Most
likely happened when it was recovered because it scratched
through the patinna.

None of those are shot gun slugs, or buck shot. They are
round and too big to be buck shot. They are close to 50 cal.

I do not see a hex.

Maybe I missed something.

Happy Huntin,

Tabdog

Tabdog, I aint smart just lucky every now and then. Great explanation with the pictures and all...d2

If you look close at the first pic with the penny, and the first pic wioth the red ruler, see how the ball has a side where the faint lines seem to converge, and they form a shape, 5 or 6 sided? My pic has the same feature. This appears on at least two of the balls in the posted pic with the penny. Look at the rusty colored one with the nick, then the lowest left, where you can see the faint outline of the shape. Any ideas what that shape is? Is it molded into the musket ball or whatever it is?? I just happened to notice the same feature on one of my "maybe" old finds also.

Sorry for bringing up a dead thread but I have found some balls that appear to be exactly the same. I hope to be able to find out when and why soon.

I found 5 of them along with some assorted fishing weights, spent lead and brass.

The area I found them in is known as the Addicks Reservoir in Houston Texas. It is Army Core of Engineer's property. I suspect that there was some test firing going on, but a buddy of mine that grew up in this area said there were some special forces types exploding all kinds of ordinance back in the early '80s.

My first five I found on 4-21-12 (2 days after a heavy rain storm) and I found 44 this morning (4-28-12) without a metal detector, I will be taking one out there tomorrow, so I hope to find many more and perhaps some other neat junk.. I mention the rain storm because I have been going back there for almost 5 years to take the dogs out to swim and play frisby in a pond out there. I keep my eyes on the ground to pickup glass to keep the dogs safe. I found these in the same areas that I pickup glass, and I find it hard to believe I've missed them for this long, however, after finding 44 more I believe I just didn't have my eyes trained to look for them. They have oxidized a little and blend in pretty well with some of the white rocks laying around.
Does anyone know what they are made of? They seem a little too strong to be pure lead, I'm wondering if they are a mixture of lead/tin or something similar..

the highly deteriorated brass are from what I believe Winchester true .30 caliber, not a .308, which I also believe was a War2 specific cartridge that was phased out shortly after that. Anyone have any info on that? the other complete brass I believe are .308's The .30 is of a more solid brass. I believe it's deterioration is a sign that it's been there a long time..


I will post back when I get some more suspicions or facts. Anyone still currently following this thread?

Thanks

Andrew

Canister

You have mortar noses and other ordnance fuses and such... If you found the lead balls by themselves, no other 20th century items, I would say musket balls. But with the other finds, these are clearly canister rounds, "Anti-Personnel". NOT musket balls -20th century ordnance. And Tab Dog is right on -BEWARE LIVE ORDNANCE!!!