I recently acquired an example of a Civil War era musket ball ( approximately .85 cal ) that supposedly has a porcelain inner . Supposedly used by the Southern States as an expediant due to diminishing lead reserves?

Anyone have any information on this item - I dont have much referance on pre-metallic ammunition.
Thanks.

Boy, Thats a new one to me! I'll have to do some digging through the books, but I don't recsall seeing anything about ceramic cores.....

Murray, I'll do some digging. I picked up several good references on the pre-1870 munitions in St. Louis.

what does it weigh? You could always cut it open to see.

Wow! I'd think that would be more taboo than my using steel wool on a copper cartridge!? Cutting up your one and only example?..... Urffff!

I thank you gents for the helpfull suggestions , but unfortunately I shall have to decline the offer to cut the damn thing up! Jeez, I thought we had some stupid guys in our country.....

I will check the weight and it was sold to me as an .80 cal ball , but I dont find any reference to such critturs in my library . I asume that it is a product of the end of the Civil War when the Southern States were desperate for lead????

During our Land Wars at the same time as the Civil War the Maori forces on the run resorted to round stones and pebbles and hand carved wooden "bullets " but that was due to a total lack of resupply . Interesting times to be sure .

Can you post a close up photo of it?

Why not get an X-Ray?

I can scan the beasty and send it to anyone interested but I dont have the ability to post a picture on the forum . My X-ray operator left the counrty this morning for three weeks so that cancells that good idea...

Any one got good references for Civil War era musket ammo ? Dean Thomas's books would be good , but the one I have doesnt show this item .

Muzza please scan it & email to me. blkdouglas@charter.net

Pardon me for being so stupid but how do you X-ray a lead ball?

FYI an 8-Bore roundball of .84 Caliber weighs 860 grains.

Good point Mickey!

I would have expected that with the x-ray machine set on a pretty high setting that we could penetrate the thin layer of lead ok , although the dispersion levels would be pretty high - and I sure dont want to have fried gonads as a result of the exercise .

The ball certainly doesnt weigh anything like 800+ grains , and it is very variable in dimension, ranging from .808" to .857" to .860".

Probably someone will tell me it is a curtain weight or something totally unrelated.....

Thanks for the help so far.