Strange Mold in the basement #1 58 cal

[Uncle45Auto]

This handsome handmade mold has a removeable spike to produce a hollow base. The side of one of the brass mold blocks has the following inscription: "SELF CALIBRATING 58 MUSKET" .... "Mark B. Burnham Savannah GA 1954"

[MtGun44]

Wow, that is an odd one. Just guessing at the maker's intent, but it would seem that
it was a minie 'ball' (boolit) for a .58 rifled musket (Civil War vintage). The round nose
is not particularly aerodynamic, yet there is a boat tail on the boolit - the two seem at
odds with each other. The shoulder would cut a nice hole in a target.

No sprue plate means you nip off the sprue with nippers or dykes or a pocket knife
as a second operation. Not sure what the 'self calibrating' would be, other than it
could open up a bunch in the back, maybe make it fit different bore diameters more
effectively than some other designs. Maybe he had two or three different diameter
rifled muskets and needed one boolit for all of them.

Bill

[Rockydog]

I think the intent is that the boat tail would be thin enough to flare out and seal the bore, thus the self calibrating label. Looks like the driving bands are tapered from top to bottom also, largest being at the top. It would be gun to cast a few of these to shoot into a snowbank and recover them in the spring to see just how they expanded. Snow doesn't seem to damage bullets much but stops them in pretty short order. I've picked up cast 45 cals and Shotgun Slugs in front of the targets at the local range that could have been reused as is. RD

[camerl2009]

looks cool the boat tail look like it was made to line it up center in the bore

that cone for the hollow base looks like it could hold a charge of powder like for the early volcanic pistol it had a charge of powder in the base and a paper disc
with the primer in it the early gatling guns used the same thing

cool bullet molds id keep them