Ammo Civil War bullet?

[Capt. Glasgow]

This came out of Fort Gaston near New Bern, NC. Bullet from the Civil War or something modern? had quite a bit of weight to it. Approximately the size of a .22.

 

[14NYSM]

Take a photo of the item next to a ruler if you can't measure it. Is it solid lead? Rifling grooves? Could be a .22 varmint round from the 20th Century.

 

[UCVRelics]

With the vertical striations and size its post war

 

[Nathan Stuart]

By the look of its patina and the small caliber size, it appears to be from the postwar era.

 

[Booner]

It has a healed, or rebated base, meaning the base of the bullet, the part that fits into the case, is a smaller diameter that the rest of the bullet, so the bullet and case are the same diameter. What you have is a modern .22 rimfire bullet, but by modern I mean it could still be 100+ years old. Clean and wight the bullet, it'll give you an idea of how old it could be.

The first .22 rimfire was developed in the 1850's, (and it's still made today), and is called the .22 Short. The case and bullet are both rather short compared to the .22's that came later with the bullet weighing between 25-30 grains. In the 1870's the .22 Long was developed and used the same bullet but a longer case for more powder. In the late 1880's the .22 Long Rifle (the very round we use today), was developed and used the same case but a longer and heavier bullet with weights from 30 -60 grains, with the most common weight between 38-40 grains. All of these bullets are made of lead, with driving bands around them to engage the rifling of the barrel, and on some bullets, a lube is washed over the bullet and into the groves between the driving bands to aid in preventing the leading of the barrel. I think the bullet you found is a .22 Long Rifle.

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (aka .22 magnum) was developed in the 1950's and with its high powder capacity, it has a different style of bullet than the other rimfires to handle the higher velocities.