For those who collect early muskets and fowling pieces, they sometimes forget an important piece of the original kit, the ball or bullet mold. With military arms and issuing cartridges, the mold for the individual soldier wasn’t as important. But for those hunting, in the militia, or both, it was important to be able to cast the ball that would fit in the bore of your gun.
There are single ball molds in iron or brass, but the most common seems to be the gang mold. Made from iron or brass, many have four or more cavities to cast a variety of ball sizes, and some also for small shot for fowling or birding.
There are a few extant examples made by Josiah Miller (Millard) which survive. One mold we have studied is brass with its original wooden handles. It’s engraved with the initials “IM” on one side and had four cavities from .54” to .70” which would accommodate a fowling piece as well as most military arms of the mid-to-late 18th century. There are also purportedly sundials and sundial molds that survive made by Miller, but there is some confusion as to whether he was living in Connecticut, Massachusetts, or even Rhode Island when he was working. The name Miller/Millard is known for mold making, and one of them, a Noah Millard, was producing ball molds for the Massachusetts Committee of Supplies in 1775 and 1776.
Many do not have any names associated with them but are similar to the examples made by Josiah. Pictured is a brass gang mold with wooden handles with six cavities from .60” to .71” which would again cover many sizes of available hunting or military arms.
Another style of mold is the larger gang mold made in iron with twelve cavities which are all approximately .67” which when cast would fit a British-type musket or a larger bore fowling piece. It has a locking key to hold the two mold sections together while casting to keep it tight. It also has “XVI” marked on the handle which may have been there to show the appropriate ball per pound when the ball were cast so they could be separated to fit the bore of the correct guns. The British manuals list 16 ball per pound as .663” which is fairly close to this mold.
Molds are also affordable to purchase whether you own the original musket or not. They come to the market occasionally and offer a chance to own an important component of an early firearm. By the way, did I mention these molds as well as others are offered in our December 10th live and online Historic Arms & Militaria auction?
