I have recently unpacked some boxes and came upon one Minié ball that I acquired when I was at Vicksburg some years ago. I am NOT a collector - I have exactly THREE Miniés that I purchased or were given to me. Sooooo, I'm probably going to rely on those of you who do have extensive collections to answer the following. Here's the setup: I have been casting Lyman 575213OS (nominal 460 gr, 0.575") Miniés to shoot in several muskets. So far I've had varying success - still experimenting, but that's not the reason for posting. I took a typical Minié from a recent pour and measured it: 454 gr, 0.577" x 0.925" long. Out of curiosity, I compared it to the ONE relic Minié that I pulled out of my box the other day: 513 gr, 0.574" x 1.07"+/- long. The differences triggered some questions. Below are pics of each.
My questions are: (1) How consistently do the found Minié balls meet the original specifications? As I recall, in 1855 the specs for a "58 caliber" round were 500 gr, 0.5775". (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about these numbers.) (2) I assume that there are differences between Union-made, Confederate-made, and imported Miniés. Does anyone know how significant the differences were? (3) How much did the military specs evolve, if at all, during the war? Finally, (4) How were the Miniés molded? I can see and feel the joint marks but there's no evidence of a significant sprue as on the top of the Lyman bullet. I'm limiting my questions to the common three-cannelure bullet. (Don't be impressed - I had to look that up.)
I guess I do have one more question: It seems difficult for modern mold makers to match the historic 500 grain, 0.577" (0.5775" per original spec), conical cavity bullet, even the expensive custom mold makers. Why is that? I see that "old style" Minié molds are all over the map.
Of course, all insights are welcome - I'm a novice.
My questions are: (1) How consistently do the found Minié balls meet the original specifications? As I recall, in 1855 the specs for a "58 caliber" round were 500 gr, 0.5775". (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about these numbers.) (2) I assume that there are differences between Union-made, Confederate-made, and imported Miniés. Does anyone know how significant the differences were? (3) How much did the military specs evolve, if at all, during the war? Finally, (4) How were the Miniés molded? I can see and feel the joint marks but there's no evidence of a significant sprue as on the top of the Lyman bullet. I'm limiting my questions to the common three-cannelure bullet. (Don't be impressed - I had to look that up.)
I guess I do have one more question: It seems difficult for modern mold makers to match the historic 500 grain, 0.577" (0.5775" per original spec), conical cavity bullet, even the expensive custom mold makers. Why is that? I see that "old style" Minié molds are all over the map.
Of course, all insights are welcome - I'm a novice.