Conical bullets

[vanstg]

Were conical bullets (like Minnie bullets) commonly used for hunting in the 1800's? Or did hunters stick with patched round balls?

Thanks,
Vanstg

 

[musketman]

In 1847, Captain Claude-Etienne Minie, a Captain in the French Army, perfected the bullet that revolutionized warfare. The U.S. Army adopted it's use in 1855 ..... (THE MINIE BALL)

I imagined that these were hard to come by unless you were enlisted, most hunters used patched round balls...

Now after the Civil War, there was an abundance of muzzleloaders and bullets, mostly due to the invention of the cartridge round and the rifles that shot them...

 

Got a bunch of friends that are relic hunters and I do a lot of museum hopping around the southeastern US. If a fellow stops drooling over the origional guns and looks in the next glass case he may just stumble on a group or accutriments, including bullet molds and cherries.

A whole bunch of the origional molds cast an egg shaped bullet. Not enlongated or flat based conical, but actually egg shaped. Pointy at both ends and considerably longer at one end than at the other. I've seen a bunch of molds for these slugs and seen several dug up as relics.

Many of the origional molds were not very good products did not line up well after some use and did not cast a perfect ball. Many of the origional guns were not very well finished for that matter, we actually overfinish most of our guns today with todays' shooters demanding a better looking and better shooting product than they usually got pre-civil war.

 

[musketman]

A whole bunch of the origional molds cast an egg shaped bullet. Not enlongated or flat based conical, but actually egg shaped. Pointy at both ends and considerably longer at one end than at the other.

Interesting, would almost resemble a football in flight...

The Confederate slug ball, McKee & Mason #152 variant (left) is close to egg shaped, also called the round bottom bullet...