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Old .45 cal buffler? bullets
I found these two bullets when I was a kid back in about "62" on our ranch, out in the middle of nowhere.....actually Sandhills of north central Nebraska. I will get specs on them but if I remember correctly they weighed around 400 gr. They show similar characteristics of soft tissue damage from modern GG solid lead bullets I have recovered from buff.
Rick
Just about anything is possible, so perhaps those did down a buffalo back in the day. To the best of my knowledge, those are standard 45 Gov't bullets for the model 1874 Springfield carbine (loaded with 55gr powder and that bullet). I'll bet there are folks out there who participate on this forum that can let you know what years that bullet was used in issue ammo.
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RE: Old .45 cal buffler? bullets
Crash
Thanks for the info, that is the reason I posted on here hoping to gather some info on them. I have read that the hollow base was to allow the base to expand and seal the bore better? I have recovered quite a few bullets from buffalo, target shooting in sand both dry and wet, and as I said earlier the damage on these bullets resembles the ones I have recovered from buff. I will do some close inspection on them and see if I can garner any info from the rifling also and post. Thanks!
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RE: Old .45 cal buffler? bullets
The skirt is thick on that hollow base bullet and it would be a good one for the trapdoor because of the variances of the bore grove diameters. I would be interested in the thickness that skirt has.
I have seen them illustrated in books that they also were used in the Springfield musket front stuffer and breach loader 45's and .50's that ranged in groove diameters from .512" to .522". for the 50's and .52's
That is a good bullet even to this day for hunting.
Kurt
The reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
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RE: Old .45 cal buffler? bullets
Measurements for those interest (1 bullet)
Base .441-.456
Middle Driving Band .453 plus - .455
1st driving band .453 plus - .455
Skirt .110-.120
OAL 1.111
Shoulder ahead of 1st driving band .448-.450
1st groove .401 - .405
Middle groove .399-.401
Last groove .40
Again damage has likely caused some of the variances in the diam measurements from the original unfired bullet
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RE: Old .45 cal buffler? bullets
Thank you Rick.
I posted this last night and it was gone this morning maybe the cyber gremlins wanted it
With those measurements it makes me wonder if those bullets might have been for a muzzle loader with them being small at the base to get them started easier.
I couldn't find a match here for them. http://www.rothchildeantiques.com/CivilWarBullets.html
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Old .45 cal buffler? bullets 
.....actually Sandhills of north central Nebraska. I will get specs on them but if I remember correctly they weighed around 400 gr. They show similar characteristics of soft tissue damage from modern GG solid lead bullets I have recovered from buff. 
maybe the cyber gremlins wanted it