So its 1855 and your about to head west...

Really interesting time in firearm development. The revolvers have only been out a few years but have likely moved west. Metallic cartridges are still not in use but paper cartridges would be (not nearly as popular yet as they were in Civil War).

So if you entered a trading company in St. Louis, about to head for what will be Denver in a few years, to purchase ammo for your various firearms what would have been appropriate terminology for the times.

Would you have asked for 500 rounds for your .44 cal and 300 rounds for your .52 Sharps.
Or would you have asked for 4 lbs of powder and 3 lbs of lead.
How was the lead provided, a brick, ingots?
Would the term ammunition have been used and what would it have implied.
How would the terms have been different when they were just coming out of the muzzleloader era and not quite to metallic cartridges?

Just curious if anyone had researched this area or had thoughts.

I would shoot a lot of buffalo and get 2000lbs of meat, of which I can only carry 150lbs. Then when I get back to the wagon, I learn that Mary has contracted dysentery and died and one of my oxen was lost while fjording the river.

All those questions... How did people survive back then without the internet and Google?

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Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I would shoot a lot of buffalo and get 2000lbs of meat, of which I can only carry 150lbs. Then when I get back to the wagon, I learn that Mary has contracted dysentery and died and one of my oxen was lost while fjording the river.

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Thinking the exact same thing! [LOL]

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Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I would shoot a lot of buffalo and get 2000lbs of meat, of which I can only carry 150lbs. Then when I get back to the wagon, I learn that Mary has contracted dysentery and died and one of my oxen was lost while fjording the river.

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Read somewhere that during this time period the top two causes of death for women were #1 child birth #2 your skirts caught fire.
I wouldn't have cared much about fashion trends and morals of the time. I'd have put on pants.

+1 I was thinking the same thing. As to op' s question im clueless.

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Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I would shoot a lot of buffalo and get 2000lbs of meat, of which I can only carry 150lbs. Then when I get back to the wagon, I learn that Mary has contracted dysentery and died and one of my oxen was lost while fjording the river.

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Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

All those questions... How did people survive back then without the internet and Google?

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Yep these days not knowing the correct answer just makes you a typical poster, back then it would have made you the typical corpse [Angel4]

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Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I would shoot a lot of buffalo and get 2000lbs of meat, of which I can only carry 150lbs. Then when I get back to the wagon, I learn that Mary has contracted dysentery and died and one of my oxen was lost while fjording the river.

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I think this same thing happened to me a few times while playing Oregon Trail.....

I'd have some kind of shotgun so I wouldn't starve.

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Originally Posted by BushMasterBoy

I'd have some kind of shotgun so I wouldn't starve.

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The first mass produced shotgun shells were made in the early 1870's. In 1853 Sharps had a percussion breach-loading shotgun. It could be loaded with separate components, but was generally sold with a kit so a hunter could roll his own cartridges at home the night before. Commonly available percussion caps would set it off just like the revolver and rifles of the time.

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Originally Posted by foxtrot

Memories.

This is clearly the scientific answer sourcing from peer reviewed research widely disseminated in schools of yesteryear. What more could someone ask?

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I've shot with several of the members on here, not to name names, I really thought I might get first hand knowledge from actual life experiences. :-)

Completely off topic but...The Katie Couric / Bryant Gumbels Super Bowl ad made me laugh. I actually remember watching them say that 21 years ago and thinking I was so much smarter than them because I knew the answer.

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Originally Posted by DeadElephant

I've shot with several of the members on here, not to name names, I really thought I might get first hand knowledge from actual life experiences. :-)

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That made me chuckle. I think I've met a few of those guys.

As as for your original question, I have no idea what they called their ammo back in the day.

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Originally Posted by Dave

I think this same thing happened to me a few times while playing Oregon Trail.....

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I remember that game! ...the original brought into my elementary school back in the 70s.

P.S. Someone has ported the oregon trail game to iPhone and android. Search it out!...

I loved that game in school. In the 'mac lab' filled with Apple IIe's andthe original 'macintosh'.

Ah, memories.


Also, given the requests I get on here, I'm convinced we have more than a handful of members refusing to give up their Apple IIe's or original Macintosh's. There are some wanting me to fix problems with some severely antiquated hardware.

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Originally Posted by J

P.S. Someone has ported the oregon trail game to iPhone and android. Search it out!...

I loved that game in school. In the 'mac lab' filled with Apple IIe's andthe original 'macintosh'.

Ah, memories.


Also, given the requests I get on here, I'm convinced we have more than a handful of members refusing to give up their Apple IIe's or original Macintosh's. There are some wanting me to fix problems with some severely antiquated hardware.

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I prefer the "Organ Trail" iphone app. It's Oregon Trail set in the zombie apocalypse! :D

I just looked up .52 Sharps mold, Based on my results, if you owned such a rifle you would own the mold.
Same goes for the pistol. Cloth patched balls was a common load, the cloth would be varied in thickness to accommodate the various bore sizes and balls.
Reading about requirements for wagon trains, powder and lead were measured in pounds.
I always wanted to cast some bullets while relaxing by the camp fire.

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Originally Posted by earplug

I always wanted to cast some bullets while relaxing by the camp fire.

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what are you waiting for? When are you going camping again?


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various photos borrowed without credit or remorse

Did a search of Kit Carson's pistols, he had bullet molds.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

That made me chuckle. I think I've met a few of those guys.

As as for your original question, I have no idea what they called their ammo back in the day.

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Powder and balls. I think around that timeframe most hunters carried their own bullet molds so they likely procured lead in small ingots but that impression is gleaned from reading somewhat contemporaneous novels, not from any actual research.

As far as I know. Back then they carried molds and ingot. Too easy to loose a bunch of balls out of your possibles back, but you should notice the thump of a lead ingot falling out. Also many rifles back then were made along with their own mold (kinda one off sort of deals). Different smiths, slight variations in bore size, rifling, etc.

this thread made me smile, until it started getting serious.

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Originally Posted by brutal

this thread made me smile, until it started getting serious.

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I'm pretty sure the original post was meant as a serious question.

Back in the day it was powder and shot. You would have shot bag and a powder horn that you carried. The shoot you usually molded yourself when needed.

The original question, or a close variation, actually wasn't answerable with certainty by the firearms curator and historian of a very large and famous museum. Granted they are a bit more cautious in their answers. It has actually kicked off a bit of research on their part. The variations in ball sizes for a small group of individuals traveling together could be fairly high. The question not only has implications for the frontiersman/trapper of the time but the proprietor of the trading goods store as well. What size of balls would you carry for purchase, did they sell it buy the lb by the count, etc.

The issue is a bit more complex when you consider you may be gone for a year or more before being able to re-provision. If you were going to just be hunting for a few days and return back to the homestead it would be a bit different pack then an extended trek.

I'm looking forward to hearing the results from the curator. And yep they thought it was a "unique", (they didn't say weird out loud), question as well.

Before 1855 but very interesting:

Museum of the Mountain Man:

http://museumofthemountainman.com/

the Bent’s Old Fort Historic Association: http://bofha.org/index.html

Bent’s Old Fort NHSwill be host for the2015 Fur Trade Symposium: September 23-2

How They Did It In The Old West? [Archive] - Cast Boolits
castboolits.gunloads.com › ... › Cast Boolits
Mar 25, 2012 - 67 posts - ‎48 authors
The mountain men would probably go out with ball, mold and ladle. They'd bring the ... they sold. Sheets of lead were easier to transport and took up less room in a York boat than precast bullets. ... lots of black powder was shipped in lead boxes. good idea, it ..... Every store also had by the box prices also.
You can also look up the way lead sheet was used to transport bulk black powder as Lewis and Clark did for their expedition. Lead sheets could be formed into water proof containers for black powder. No zip locks back then.

shit, back then i would have just learned how to use a good bow and arrow. some of the firearms stuff seemed like a huge pain in the ass, and if you didn't have the right stuff or simply lost or damaged some of the components you were screwed.

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Originally Posted by tmckay2

shit, back then i would have just learned how to use a good bow and arrow. some of the firearms stuff seemed like a huge pain in the ass, and if you didn't have the right stuff or simply lost or damaged some of the components you were screwed.

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Even the 'heathen' indians gave up the bow for modern weapons.