Burnside?

[bishopgrandpa]

I have found a lead bullet encased in a tapered piece of brass about 2 inches long. The thing looks like the shape of an ice cream cone. Does anyone know what it is?

[AkMike]

Does it look like the ones shown here?

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=8145

[bishopgrandpa]

That is the brass part. This one has a lead head in it. It is hard to imagine that coming at you.

[montana_charlie]

The brass is just the case which holds the powder. It stays in the chamber while the bullet flies downrange.
http://www.hackman-adams.com/guns/burnside.htm
http://armscollectors.com/mgs/cartridgebox.htm
CM

[KCSO]

That's a Burnside. This is a very interesting gun. I rebuilt one from parts a couple of years ago and got it shooting. I turned some cases from aluminum stock and they worked just fine. Dixie also had some of the cases turned from brass a few years back. I will try and find my photo's of the gun. I think I still have about half the parts for one of these, including a breech block. Tuned up the gun will shoot pretty well, but it is pretty low on the power scale. Big bullet at about 9oo fps from a carbine. The gun does have an ejector to pop out the brass cases.

[floodgate]

Jim:

" The gun does have an ejector to pop out the brass cases."

Glad someone else noticed that ejector; it's not obvious, and most references miss it. I made two good ones out of three thirty-plus years ago. On one of them, a previous owner had spotted that the trigger-plate stuck out into the block-way 1/16" or so, thought it was a mis-fit, and filed it flush - lo! no ejection! (The projection hits the floating plug in the back of the block that carries the nipple, and kicks the cartridge loose.) At that time, Dick-C Gun Wks had only the polyethylene cases, and they were only good for three or four shots before they burned away the bullet seat, but while they lasted, they worked fine. But my favorite of all the CW breechloaders I had and shot was the Starr, in spite of its broken-backed stock profile; it sealed far better than my New Model 1863 Sharps carbine, even when the latter was fitted with a new-old-stock breechblock and seal plate. The little Maynard carbine was a close second. Ah for the days when one could afford to own and shoot those oldies without the collector-Nazis breathing down our necks. I even had one of the "Hall Scandal" side-lever Model 1843's and an original "Hall Rifle" mould to go with it; now there was a real leaker! Now-a-days, the mould alone is worth more than most modern rifles, but I managed to unload them at only a slight loss.

Doug

[bishopgrandpa]

Thanks for all the replies. They were much helpful. Saw several at a gun show yesterday that were selling for $65.00 each. I asked if he were interested in another and he said he couldn't move the ones he had. I wonder why? KCSO-do you still have yours?

[KCSO]

The Burnside I rebuilt went to a friend who shoots it regularly. He intends to drop a deer with it this year. All the cases I made and all the dixie cases we could get reasonable went to him. As I remember these cases sold for about $8 each a few years back. $65 bucks seems like those must be originals, and autographed by Lincoln to boot! I do have a machining sample that I was going to take to a friend who does cnc. I thought he might be able to make them cheaper than I can.

[bishopgrandpa]

I just thought it would be useful to someone who had the gun. If anyone is interested who has the gun they can have it for postage.