big bullets or something else

[Mike]

found these in the same field on sunday farmersteve also had 1 , very large for a bullet , steves was whole but my 2 are damaged on the rear which is strange for a bullet any ideas anyone

[ysbytymike]

Not as strange as you might think. Bullets not only rotate during flight they can also tumble.
Look at images of bullet riddled cars and windscreens. You'll find elongated holes where the actual bullets have hit
sideways. Not sure if they are bullets mind you.
Are they solid lead or hollow? Rifling marks can usually be found on the widest part of
bullets unless fired from a smoothbore weapon. I think musket's were smoothbore and not all musket ammo was round
in shape. They did use what we today would regard as conventional bullet shapes as projectile technology developed.

[Mike]

theres no rifling marks on these or steves , they have a cavity at the rear but its only about a 1/4 of the length  deep

[ysbytymike]

If you have a look on this site, there are very similar images to what you've found.

http://flickrhivemind.net/flickr_hvmnd.cgi?method=GET&page=2&photo_number=50&tag_mode=all&search_type=User&sorting=Interestingness&photo_type=250&noform=t&search_domain=User&sort=Interestingness&textinput=Dave%20Caplan

Mike

[db4]

most prob. they are martini rifle bullets
try wikipedia

[Radnor Bandit (Ian)]

I have found similar in the past, As Mike has said this is a transition projectile between musket shot and the modern bullet.The bore sizes are also very similar. This would have been used by the rifle brigade made popular by the "Sharpe" drama series. The bullet would have been wound in a leather patch before rammed into the rifle. This helped seal the gap between bullet and bore, thus enabling more of the energy of the charge to send the bullet further and more accurately. It wasnt until later in the 19C when Joseph Whitworths analysis and introduction of rifling spirals / threads and breach loading do we get the recognised modern rifle.