Original Smith Carbine Bullet

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

Does anyone have the correct, original measurements for the Smith Carbine Bullet. Really need the original length and naked bullet weight. Thanks in advance.

[Big Grit]

Joe,According to my copy of Civil War Bullets& Cartridges the following 2 examples were measured: Dia. .523 Length .97 Weight 345 #2 D .524 L.86 W360

[John Holland]

Joe -

The original Smith Carbine bullet specifications are as follows:

OAL - 0.863"
Dia. at base - 0.530"
Dia. above grease groove - 0.530
Grease groove is 0.112" wide
Grease groove dia. is 0.480" (0.025" deep)
Weight - 363 gr.

These dimensions are taken from a bullet cast in an original Gov't mould.

Hope this helps!

JDH

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

Thanks!

[John Holland]

Joe -

Just as a side bar....Years ago when I was much younger, I shot some of these bullets out of the original mould....the muzzle blast and recoil was nasty and they kicked the crap out of me ! ! !

JDH

[William H. Shuey]

So what was the groove diameter of an original Smith??

Bill Shuey

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

John, as soon as I saw .530 I was shocked! I am trying to get a mold made that is as close to the original design as possible, but seeing the numbers and knowing the facts it might not be worth it!

[R. McAuley 3014V]

Joe,

Would you like a few Smith bullets to test fire?

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

I have a few molds already, was just thinking about getting another just to see if I can get a tighter group!

[John Holland]

Joe -

Below is a link to a photo of the original type bullet mould that I gave you the dimensions from. You will see a nice view of the mould cavity.

http://www.gundersonmilitaria.com/cwmou ... arbine.jpg (http://www.gundersonmilitaria.com/cwmouldsmithcarbine.jpg)

John

[R. McAuley 3014V]

Back when I bought my first Navy Arms (Pietta) Smith, someone at Nationals was selling Smith bullets cast from the original mold, and I bought a bag of 50 but have never used them. I checked the dimensions against the dimensions that John gave, and all the dimensions match, except the bullet diameter. These are 0.512 but that may only be because they've been sized?

[John Holland]

I believe the original Smith Carbine bullet diameter is the outcome of quality control issues in boring and rifling the original barrels. Ergo, an oversize bullet in a breech loading arm works in whatever size bore is produced. That is the reason we have a Sharps bullet with 3 diameters, aka the "Christmas Tree". Sharps was notorious for widly varying bore diameters, so they made a bullet that would work in everything!

JDH