The Nessler ball, or ''balle Nessler'', is a type of
muzzle-loading
A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
bullet
A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...
. It was developed to increase the accuracy and range of
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
s and was used in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. It featured a short conical-cylindrical soft lead bullet, with a conical hollow in its base. The bullet was designed with a lead skirting. Its intended purpose was to expand under the pressure and
obturate the barrel and increase muzzle velocity. The bullet could be quickly removed from a
paper cartridge
A paper cartridge is one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the cartridge (firearms), metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and in some case ...
with the
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
poured down the barrel and the bullet pressed past the muzzle. It was then rammed home with the
ramrod
A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloader, muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was u ...
, which ensured that the charge was packed and the hollow base was filled with powder. When fired, the expanding gas pushed forcibly on the base of the bullet, deforming it to form a better seal for consistent velocity, longer range, and accuracy. A similar ball design called the Chace ball (after its inventor W.B. Chace) was developed in 1861 in the United States but was not adopted.
See also
*
Minié ball
The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié for muzzle-loaded, rifled muskets. Invented in 1846 shortly followed by the Minié rifle, the Minié ball came to prominence during the Crime ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*http://www.civilwarguns.com/9910b.html
*http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20francaise/collection%20fusils/a%20a%20coll%20fusil%20evolution%20projectiles%20gb.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nessler ball
Bullets