Have a small shotshell cartridge and only marking is a W on the base. Also have a paper cased bullet that measures .578. Any ideas on what these might be? Thanks

Pictures , measurements , as much info as you can supply.

I know some of us are good , but we aint psychic ...

Guess my sometimers kicked in last night.

Well, the shot shell is a Winchester product, specificly a 9mm rimfire with a "double charge of shot" for use in Flobert style "garden guns (IE chasing critters out of the garden).
Winchester also made the same thing in a all brass case.


2nd row up, between the 410's and the 12/14 Greener Riot, are the 3 lengths (Single, Double and Tripple) and types (all brass and brass/paper) of the 9mm Flobert Shot shells

there you go - a picture tells a thousand words.

I suspect your paper-patched projectile will be harder to identify. Could be military , could be a sporter bullet .These critturs are not easy to be sure on.

Thanks for the help on the Winchester shell. You are right about the other shell, it will be hard to identify. Thanks

Here's a guess. Made for a blowback pistol, so there's no extractor groove.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6.5mm_Bergmann

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams:
Here's a guess. Made for a blowback pistol, so there's no extractor groove.


Grizz

Umm except for one minor detail.......It's only a paper patched bullet, intended to be loaded into a cartridge case (that and the Bergmann rounds are only about 1-1 1/4" long and a lot smaller than 57cal).

Might try a Civil War Forum/Blog and see if they have an idea.

http://www.historicalimagebank...m02/album22/album59/
http://www.acwbullets.com/

Will try that. Thanks

I took the paper cartridge to the gun show last weekend and was told it was for the Sharps rifle. The gentleman told me that they made them up till the 30s and this type would be one of the improved cartridges. Will do some more looking though.

I imagine your projectile is one of the many produced and sold to reloaders during the first half of last century , and probably from 1880 or so before that.

Reloading in the field was common on hunting excursions back then , and a supply of pre-ptched projectiles such as yours was one of the pre-requisites of a successfull hunt.

It may be for a Sharps , or a Remington or any one of a number of rifles. I doubt you will accurately identify it to a specific maker , or for a specific caliber..