Does anyone know when cannelures were first used?
The reason I ask is because my son-in-law is an avid user of metal detection equipment. He recently found, in a section of our downtown which is under construction, an old bullet which has a cannelure and a hollow base. He tells me it is approximately .35 caliber and weighs about 200 grains. Other articles found nearby appear to be from the late 1800's. He asked me about the cannelures and I had to admit to never having heard the origins of this feature.

Can anyone help?

Jim

Not sure how long before that but I believe they were present on minie balls in the 1850s. May narrow it down some if you can determine what material the bullet is made out of and the shape

So far I have only seen photos of the bullets. The bullet appears to be of cup and core design with a blunt semi round nose design.

Jim

Jacketed bullets first started appearing in the 1880s, with Eduard Rubin coming out with the first FMJ bullets in 1882. Some nations adopted small-bore cartridges with FMJ bullets from about 1887 onward. Cannelures probably appeared not long after - the US Ordnance was testing a .30 bullet for a proposed new cartridge to replace the .45/70 by December 1890, for example.

Jacketed soft points were developed not long after FMJ, with much of the credit going to the British at Dum Dum arsenal, who were looking for better lethality of the new .303, comparable to that of the .577/450 it had replaced. Initially these were nose-jacketed, with the jacket cut at the nose for expansion, but there were problems with the jackets being left behind in the bore as such a jacket was open at both ends. As a result, by the late 1890s the British had developed base-jacketed designs (cup and core) in hollow point and soft point versions. Cup and core soft points started becoming commercially available by about the end of the 19th century.

Check the diameter if .352 then it could be from the 350 or 351 Winchester Self Loader. Some police departments used these. They had mostly 180 gr. loads but some 200 as well. Both of these are from right around 1900.

Thanks guys for the info. My son-in-law is away at his cottage this weekend so it will be next week before I can look at the actual bullet and measure the diameter and check the weight.

Jim