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9 June 1815

The Congress of Vienna, which took place in Vienna, Austria from October 1814 to June 1815 to regulate and restore Europe's political conditions after the Napoleonic Wars, was concluded. During the congress, it was decided that Norway should be... Read more ...

9 June 1815

The Congress of Vienna was concluded
The Congress of Vienna, which took place in Vienna, Austria from October 1814 to June 1815 to regulate and restore Europe's political conditions after the Napoleonic Wars, was concluded. During the congress, it was decided that Norway should be transferred from Denmark to the Swedish king.

The Congress of Vienna was the third large peace congress in modern times, and almost all of Europe's states and princely houses took part. The five major powers' delegation leaders were Metternich for Austria, Castlereagh for Great Britain, Tsar Alexander I and Nesselrode for Russia, Hardenberg and Humboldt for Prussia, and Talleyrand for France.

Representing Sweden was Count Carl Axel Löwenhielm, and representing Denmark was Foreign Minister Count Niels Rosenkrantz. King Frederick VI was also present.

The congress came about as the work of the Austrian Foreign Minister Prince Metternich, and his rejection of the liberal and national ideas of the time left its mark on it.


Featured article

    Exploded View of a Flintlock Musket

  • Exploded View of a Flintlock Musket

    The smoothbore military flintlock musket was the standard infantry firearm for hundreds of years before the percussion muskets and breech-loading rifles took over from the mid-1850s. This article shows an exploded view of a typical Norwegian-Danish musket.

The Modern Pritchett Bullet

Category: Muzzle-loading
Published: 24 November 2007 by Øyvind Flatnes.
Edited: 24 November 2007.
Views: 53446
Norsk Les artikkel på norsk
Original Pritchett-kule

What is a Pritchett Bullet?

The Pritchett, or Metford-Pritchett, bullet was used in the .577" calibre family of muskets in the British army from the introduction of the Original PritchettP-1853 Enfield musket in 1853. Basically the Pritchett was a hollow based smooth sided conical bullet that was loaded paper patched in the musket. The diameter of the un-patched bullet was .568", but in 1858 the diameter was reduced to .550". It weighed 530 grains.

Most bullets of this type are called minié balls today. The US Army used a similar ball in their .58 calibre muskets, but this had grease grooves and was loaded without paper patching. However, a lot of Pritchett bullets saw service in the American Civil War. Huge amounts of cartridges with Pritchett bullets were imported from the trade in England, and confederate armouries produced many variations of the Pritchett.

What is the "Modern Pritchett Bullet Mould"?

Pritchett Pritchett

Pritchett balls.

The "Modern Pritchett Bullet Mould" is basically a slightly shortened version of the original Pritchett projectile. Why shorten it? Well, from the beginning the P-1853 Enfield rifle muskets had a three groove barrel with a 1 in 78" rifling twist. In addition, the P-1856 and P-1858 Army Short Rifle plus several carbine variations had barrels rifled with this twist.This is a very slow twist for a heavy conical projectile. In 1858 the British Royal Navy adopted a two band rifle, the P-1858 Naval Rifle which had a five groove barrel and a 1 in 48" twist. The accuracy was superior compared to the three groove 1 in 78" twist rifles. The British Army adopted the 1 in 48" twist in their P-1860 and P-1861 Army Short Rifles. The P-1861 Cavalry Carbine and the P-1861 Artillery Carbine also had the new fast twist.

Find out more!
You can learn more about the history and use of British and American rifle muskets and the Pritchett and Minié balls in the brand new book From Musket to Metallic Cartridge: A Practical History of Black Powder Firearms.

The "Modern Pritchett Bullet" is made to stabilize better in slow twist muskets, both original and replica. It can also be used in the fast twist muskets. All .58 calibre muskets and rifles, such as the 1855, 1861 and 1863 Springfield, CS Richmond Musket, 1863 Remington ("Zouave") etc. can shoot this bullet.

Specifications:

  • .568" diameter unpatched
  • 450 grains

Pritchett

The mould.

The bullet moulds are produced by Lee Precision to my specifications. The mould blocks are machined from aluminium and handles are included. The mould is made in 25 copies. If you have questions, use this contact form. I planned to have another batch of mould made, but Lee no longer makes hollow based or hollow point moulds. This means that I have to get another maker to make the new batch.

The price is $72 + shipping. Sold out!

Pritchett

Paper cartridges and paper patched bullets.