Bullet ID if possible.

[ianexplorer]

Hi
I was hoping one of our resident ordinance experts might be able to tell me what these two are?

I dont normally have an interest in bullets but I have just been out detecting whilst visiting family in s wales and im curious as to what they may be as i found quite a lot of them..

Any help much appreciated.

[hobster]

Hi there,
Would think the top ones are .303 but the shape doesn't seem quite right definitely not like any .303 bullet I have found as for the others would think that they are a type of minnie ball as the white colour would make me think that they are just lead bullets but again normal minnie balls normally have grooves going round the bullet to help with sealing. Hopefully someone will be able to positively identify them.

[Mr_Burrows]

It would help tremendously if you could measure the bullet diameters using a caliper.

[ianexplorer]

Thanks both..

The area I found them was apparently a target practice area for the war.. not sure which one though.. Where they were found was approximately 200-300m from the area where they were supposed to have been fired from. and also elevated from the firing area by about 70m if that may be any indication.

I don't have a caliper handy but as close as I can get it would be 7mm for the top ones and 14mm for the bottom..

Appreciate the help

[Dave8472]

The top bullet is an early one with a dome that shape

I have found some like that


Projectile : Diameter 7.7mm Length 32mm

Other one is a Minié ball

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini%C3%A9_ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dave &*(

[Mr_Burrows]

Hard to tell from the available information, but the smaller diameter one could be bullets from the 6.5x55 mm Swedish mauser. It has a bullet diameter of roughly 6.7 mm (yes, the bullets are thicker than the name would indicate, because the diameter of the bore is measured from the top of the lands, not the bottom of the grooves).
Bullet shape looks something along the lines of the old m/94 ball load, but it is not an exact match. And why would there be a lot of fired 6.5's in Wales?

It could also be some 7mm cartridge, but to my knowledge there has never been any 7mm's used in military weapons. You UK guys used .303's, Germans 8x57, and the ruskies used, amongst others, a 7.62 mm bullet in their 7.62x54R.

So I really can't give you any more info than that, sorry.

[ianexplorer]

The top bullet is an early one with a dome that shape

I have found some like that


Projectile : Diameter 7.7mm Length 32mm

Other one is a Minié ball

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini%C3%A9_ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dave &*(

Thanks dave.. 32mm length is spot on.. not sure what gun fired it though..

With the minie ball dont they usually have lines/rings around them? these seem to have a barrel score mark on them..

[ianexplorer]

Hard to tell from the available information, but the smaller diameter one could be bullets from the 6.5x55 mm Swedish mauser. It has a bullet diameter of roughly 6.7 mm (yes, the bullets are thicker than the name would indicate, because the diameter of the bore is measured from the top of the lands, not the bottom of the grooves).
Bullet shape looks something along the lines of the old m/94 ball load, but it is not an exact match. And why would there be a lot of fired 6.5's in Wales?

It could also be some 7mm cartridge, but to my knowledge there has never been any 7mm's used in military weapons. You UK guys used .303's, Germans 8x57, and the ruskies used, amongst others, a 7.62 mm bullet in their 7.62x54R.

So I really can't give you any more info than that, sorry.

Thanks for taking the time Mr-Burrows.. it seems to be 7.7mm and 32mm length... really not sure what they were doing using these aside from using the wooded area they were found in as a target range.. im going to do a bit ore digging with some of the older folk in the town next time im down there.

Will post up if i can find some more info out.

appreciate your efforts..

[RRPG]

Your jacketed bullets are circa 1912 303 bullets. Nice old style bullets

[ianexplorer]

Your jacketed bullets are circa 1912 303 bullets. Nice old style bullets

Thanks RRPG.. good to put a rough date on when they were being used.. Appreciate the info..

[ianexplorer]

I wasnt sure on the Lead bullets so I emailed the curator of the Royal Armouries to see if they might have a more definative answer.. their response is below

"What I believe you have are .577 in bullets from the mid 19th century . They should have a hollow base and were shot fired from Rifled Muskets such as the Pattern 1853, the standard arm of the British Army in the mid 19th century."

thought i may post this up for those that may have an interest

HH all