Big Bullet

[Howard Berry]

Had a chance to get out with a buddy and hunt an old park with a couple of hills that had been used for sledding up until 1972. We found several silver coins and each of us found a big bullet. Each weighs a little over half a pound and is 21/8" long X 1" diameter. After doing some research and having one of the bullets checked by a collector we determined that they came from a gatling gun, Model 1865/1866. The Army bought a total of 51 of these guns and they were manufactured in Indianapolis.[attachment 81766 bullet.jpg] I also need help in identifying a key I found in a colonial area last weekend. The area was worked by slaves in the late 1700's.

 

[Carolina Phil]

n/t

 

[Anonymous]

Awesome! I've never seen one like that.

 

[Dave]

I am new here at least as far as making any posts. Anyways. Nice finds! I have a key that is almost an exact match to that one. I found it at the site of an Indian village that dated back to the mid 1700,s. There was a lot of trade done there. As I and a few others found ,trade silver,musket balls colonial buttons,musket parts, trade beads,etc. As for identifying the key it, I don't know. But now I am interested so I may do some research on it. Cool finds! Thanks for posting them.

 

[Dave]

Here is a photo of the key that is very similar to yours and one other random photo.

 

[Anonymous]

Howard, I am unaware of any style of machine gun from the Civil War that had a diameter larger than .58 caliber. Yours would qualify for an anti-aircraft projectile. We need more evidence. Very interesting. Even the Brown Bess of the Revolutionary War was only .75 caliber. Keep us posted. David@Dixie

 

[Howard Berry]

I have attached some of the information regarding the bullet I found. I didn't know a one inch gun had been manufactured during this time period either.


Models 1862-1871
Model 1862. In 1862, at the age of 44, Richard Gatling had demonstrated his first working model of the Gatling gun in Indianapolis, Indiana. He patented the Gatling gun on November 4, 1862. Its key elements were a lock cylinder containing six strikers which revolved with six gun barrels, powered by a hand crank. The gun used separate .58 cal. paper cartridges and percussion caps, which resulted in gas leakage. The model 1862 Gatling gun attained a very high rate of fire of 200 spm (shots per minute) for that time.
Model 1865. By changing to a unitary cartridge, Gatling overcame the problem with gas leakage only to encounter problems in the ammunition feed mechanism. Gatling designed a new breech mechanism which fixed the feed problem, leading to the development of the much improved model 1865 six-barrel 1 inch Gatling gun, the forerunner of all later model Gatling guns.
Model 1865 1 inch caliber Gatling gun on artillery carriage (Copyright Arco Publishing)
Model 1866. After successful trials at Frankford Arsenal and Fort Monroe, the U.S. Army ordered 50 1 inch cal. and 50 .50 cal. model 1866 six-barrel Gatling guns. All but five of the .50 cal. guns were converted to .45 cal. beginning in August 1866. The gun used a simple tin box to hold cartridges. These guns were all fixed-mounted on an artillery carriage.
Model 1871 had improved breech bolts that could be easily removed for maintenance in the field used a new curved cartridge magazine. In 1872 a new hopper design permitted use of a 400 round Broadwell drum. The Broadwell drum was a circular cluster of 20 vertical feed magazines containing 20 cartridges each. When a magazine emptied, the gunner manually turned the drum to align the next full magazine. The U.S. Army purchased one 1 inch cal. and nine .50 cal model 1871 ten-barrel weapons. Models 1862-1871

 

[Anonymous]

That's good research Howard and explains why we aren't familiar with the 1 inch caliber: too late for the CW. If memory serves me, the original Gatling gun was only used twice during the war due to it being considered "murderous". I'm not sure of the caliber used, I presumed it was the .58 cal. More research might shed light on this. Keep us posted. In the world of bullet collecting, I'd say you have a great find. I would hang on to it for sure. Congrats on a super find!
Good hunting,
David

 

[FrontierWest]

I've seen two kinds... Hollow base, and solid base. Definately a one inch gattling and a very desirable b8ullet for collectors! I've found the casings...but never the fired lead...still looking. Congrats!

John

 

[FrontierWest]

Go to the treasure depot and post asking IKE to post up his picture of one he recovered in Montana. I lost his photo of it or I'd do it here.

John

 

[jbeverts]

Looks to be a .69 cal bullet. A lot of these were used in the Civil War with European made rifles. I have dug a great number of these in Tennessee. Nice find. Congrats

 

[FrontierWest]

n/t

 

[treasurefiend]

awsome finds