Dimick Rifle Bullets
- Thread starter emike123
- Start date
tom stelma
Established Users
:-?
Hello,
The bullets of the 66th Illinois or Western Sharpshooters. They fought at Fort Donelson, Corinth, Iuka and perhaps at Shiloh. They garrisoned Corinth and did not take part in the battle or battles around Vicksburg. Somewhere between Corinth & the Georgia campaigns they began buying & using the 44-caliber Henry repeating rifle. In Georgia the Dimmick is quite often found with the Henry cartridges or fired hulls. :wink:
The Dimmick bullet once thought to be a CSA bullet but proven to be a USA bullet is very interesting and could be a collection on its own.
I think the Dimmicks came in revolver sizes as well as rifle & carbine: 36, 38 & 44-calibers for the revolvers. There might be a smaller caliber for the 31 or 32-caliber revolvers but I have not seen any that size. :wh
As already noted the bullets were produced by their individual molds.
I believe the 52-caliber was for carbines while the 54 & 57-calibers along with the 61 & 69-calibers were for the muzzle loading large caliber rifle/muskets.
I hope this helps out some what.
Tom Stelma
Hello,
The bullets of the 66th Illinois or Western Sharpshooters. They fought at Fort Donelson, Corinth, Iuka and perhaps at Shiloh. They garrisoned Corinth and did not take part in the battle or battles around Vicksburg. Somewhere between Corinth & the Georgia campaigns they began buying & using the 44-caliber Henry repeating rifle. In Georgia the Dimmick is quite often found with the Henry cartridges or fired hulls. :wink:
The Dimmick bullet once thought to be a CSA bullet but proven to be a USA bullet is very interesting and could be a collection on its own.
I think the Dimmicks came in revolver sizes as well as rifle & carbine: 36, 38 & 44-calibers for the revolvers. There might be a smaller caliber for the 31 or 32-caliber revolvers but I have not seen any that size. :wh
As already noted the bullets were produced by their individual molds.
I believe the 52-caliber was for carbines while the 54 & 57-calibers along with the 61 & 69-calibers were for the muzzle loading large caliber rifle/muskets.
I hope this helps out some what.
Tom Stelma
N.B FORREST'S TROOPS CAPTURED SOME OF THE RIFLES/MOLDS ALSO,.SO SOME WOULD BE C.S."RIGHT" ALSO ON THIS SUBJECT..MR.METAL-DETECTING HAS SOME LARGE CALIBRE DIMICKS.ESPECIALLY THE .69.THIS IS JUST MY TWO CENTS BUT I THINK THERE WERE PROBABLY MORE MOLDS THAN RIFLES BECAUSE THE DIMICK RIFLE WAS MEANT TO BE A SHARPSHOOTER RIFLE AND MY GUESS WOULD BE THAT A .69 CALIBRE BLACK POWDER "PRECISION"RIFLE WOULD HAVE TERRIBLE BALLISTICS.JUST MY TWO CENTS,BEST REGARDS,ROBERT
One of the best references to Horace E. Dimick's "American Deer And Target Rifles" can be found in "Round Ball to Rimfire" Part Three on page 262. It's the most complete reference that I've found on this subject. Books can be expensive but they are invaluable in this hobby.
CraigC
CraigC
tom stelma
Established Users
:-?
I would use the article by Dan Fagan "Swiss Chasseurs, Dimicks & the 66th Illinois Infantry," NSTCW March-April 1996 and the book "Arming the Suckers" by Ken Baumann as research on the Dimick bullets and the Thomas book for a reference as well for he dedicated pages 262 to 265 of Volume Three of Round Ball to Rimfire to the Dimick bullet story.c :lol:
Now for General Forest capturing some of these guns and molds I do not know about that. I am not saying it could not have happened but I just have not read nor heard of that happening. During the many actions & raids his troops were in I would not be surprised about some being taken. :up
I guess one could say the were used by the CSA but were captured from the north. :-?
What I do base my knowledge upon is the the majority of the Dimicks that have been dug came from Union positions & camp sites where the 66th Illinois were engaged or camped by the diggers who found the most of these bullets. :up
Right now I will have to dig out the names of these diggers from my store of information. One is found in the green McKee and Mason book and the other is a friend of Roger Whirley who hunted the Corinth & Iuka areas. :up
I hope this helps a little.
Tom Stelma
I would use the article by Dan Fagan "Swiss Chasseurs, Dimicks & the 66th Illinois Infantry," NSTCW March-April 1996 and the book "Arming the Suckers" by Ken Baumann as research on the Dimick bullets and the Thomas book for a reference as well for he dedicated pages 262 to 265 of Volume Three of Round Ball to Rimfire to the Dimick bullet story.c :lol:
Now for General Forest capturing some of these guns and molds I do not know about that. I am not saying it could not have happened but I just have not read nor heard of that happening. During the many actions & raids his troops were in I would not be surprised about some being taken. :up
I guess one could say the were used by the CSA but were captured from the north. :-?
What I do base my knowledge upon is the the majority of the Dimicks that have been dug came from Union positions & camp sites where the 66th Illinois were engaged or camped by the diggers who found the most of these bullets. :up
Right now I will have to dig out the names of these diggers from my store of information. One is found in the green McKee and Mason book and the other is a friend of Roger Whirley who hunted the Corinth & Iuka areas. :up
I hope this helps a little.
Tom Stelma
emike123
Established Users
This is good stuff. Looks like I need to "get me" some more books and magazines.
I did an internet search under "Dimick Rifle" and "Dimick Pistol" and found several examples with pictures out there, mostly for sale. The rifles range from .44 cal. up and the pistols seem to go to .44 cal. Hardly an exhaustive list but interesting to see them and you all may want to try the same search.
As for the number of types of these, the 66th Illinois had 9 companies in it. If each rifle had its own mold, are we to therefore think that there are roughly 900 different ones? Perhaps not all 9 companies got Dimick rifles issued to them as it would be hard for any manufacturer to make that many rifles at one time. 900 is way more than I would have guessed there were. Maybe only a few of the companies got them? 3 of the 9 companies were from MO and since the company Dimick is from St. Louis, maybe it was only those three. Rampant guessing, I know.
It is interesting that the 66th Illinois was mustered early in the war and no other units appear to have been issued Dimicks in quantity for the remaining duration. Even the 66th IL boys started to buy themselves Henrys before too long. I guess they were in a make do situation in 1861 before the Enfields and Springfields could ramp up to meet the needs of the army and once they could those replacements were deemed much better if not for any other reason than their use of common ammunition.
Looks like I'm only going to be able to collect but a small fraction of the Dimick bullet types out there. 900 x $45 is an intimidating number! But if anyone has a bead on where I can get one of the large (.69) caliber mothers, please send me an eMail.
I did an internet search under "Dimick Rifle" and "Dimick Pistol" and found several examples with pictures out there, mostly for sale. The rifles range from .44 cal. up and the pistols seem to go to .44 cal. Hardly an exhaustive list but interesting to see them and you all may want to try the same search.
As for the number of types of these, the 66th Illinois had 9 companies in it. If each rifle had its own mold, are we to therefore think that there are roughly 900 different ones? Perhaps not all 9 companies got Dimick rifles issued to them as it would be hard for any manufacturer to make that many rifles at one time. 900 is way more than I would have guessed there were. Maybe only a few of the companies got them? 3 of the 9 companies were from MO and since the company Dimick is from St. Louis, maybe it was only those three. Rampant guessing, I know.
It is interesting that the 66th Illinois was mustered early in the war and no other units appear to have been issued Dimicks in quantity for the remaining duration. Even the 66th IL boys started to buy themselves Henrys before too long. I guess they were in a make do situation in 1861 before the Enfields and Springfields could ramp up to meet the needs of the army and once they could those replacements were deemed much better if not for any other reason than their use of common ammunition.
Looks like I'm only going to be able to collect but a small fraction of the Dimick bullet types out there. 900 x $45 is an intimidating number! But if anyone has a bead on where I can get one of the large (.69) caliber mothers, please send me an eMail.
hello all,the place that i read that forrest's troops captured some dimick rifles was the same website that i read about the "tredegar" bullet.i guess this guy is going by hear/say because i can find nothing on the subject anywhere else but i'm gonna keep loking...best regards,robert
metal_detecting
Established Users
Mike
I only know of 3 of the 0.69 calibre Dimicks and I have one of them. I have a 0.63 calibre one as well. One of the 0.69s is supposedly a much longer version than mine though I have never seen it. I would guess that there are a few more of them out there somewhere.
I am hunting for one in the 0.56 to 0.58 calibre range myself.
Judging on the price I paid for my 0.69 Dimick, it may be priced over the $45 standard.
Most of the ones I see are in the 0.40 to 0.50 calibre range. If you look at the mold numbers, I think one is listed in the book as 1189 so there must be at least that many molds originally.
Like enfields, one could build a collection but getting them all. The green M&M book also has a large variety of them.
Bill
I only know of 3 of the 0.69 calibre Dimicks and I have one of them. I have a 0.63 calibre one as well. One of the 0.69s is supposedly a much longer version than mine though I have never seen it. I would guess that there are a few more of them out there somewhere.
I am hunting for one in the 0.56 to 0.58 calibre range myself.
Judging on the price I paid for my 0.69 Dimick, it may be priced over the $45 standard.
Most of the ones I see are in the 0.40 to 0.50 calibre range. If you look at the mold numbers, I think one is listed in the book as 1189 so there must be at least that many molds originally.
Like enfields, one could build a collection but getting them all. The green M&M book also has a large variety of them.
Bill
Finally found time to add a post to the Forum. The Saints are trying to lose to Azizona. Mike, my regrets about the Bears. :-(
Many of the Forum's members already know that Dimick was awarded a contract to provide arms to the 66th IL Inf. Research says that he 'farmed out' work to a variety of gun makers to actually produce the needed weapons. Seems no mention was made as to the caliber of firearm to be produced; hence, the great variety of weapons/bullets. I find it very curious, however, that the bullet varieties all have the same general apearance! Did Dimick send each gun maker a picture showing what he thought was the best projectile design?
As to whether a Dimick type bullet was made specificaly for hand guns? I don't know. Maybe he did that on a local basis as a part of his day to day operation to provide his customers with ammunition, but not on a larger scale. This is only my opinion.
I've never seen anything to indicate that Forrest captured Dimick weapons and molds, although such a thing is possible. In all of the areas I've hunted that Forrest's units occupied there were found both US and CS bullets, buttons and plates. His men, as much as possible, lived off the Union army. Never found a Dimick bullet in any of those sites, though. The only Dimick bullets I dug were in the Union lines near Fort Donelson, TN.
On another note...a good friend of mine, John Hudson who lived near Nashville, TN, passed away this week. John knew more about American Civil War stuff than anyone I've every personally known. Probably no one on this forum knew him as he was not much on doing computer things. He had a great collection and was always there to answer any question about artifacts. He was also knowledgible about wars other than CW. Worked with the State of TN in a historical capicity. His passing is a loss to us all.
Please indulge me as I relate my favorite story in regard to John. Several years back he and a friend went to examine the uniform, etc. of a CS medical officer who was ACTUALLY killed in battle. There was the coat, pants (with crap stains in them) and a strange triangular shaped piece of cloth with two cloth straps attached at both ends there unto. The friend picked up the latter and placed in over his mouth and nose with the straps hung over his ears and opined, "Hey, the guy was a doctor...this was used to administer either to the patient." John quietly informed him that the thing was a JOCK STRAP! Yep, they had them back then, too.
Gotta run and see the Saints lose again.
Gary
Many of the Forum's members already know that Dimick was awarded a contract to provide arms to the 66th IL Inf. Research says that he 'farmed out' work to a variety of gun makers to actually produce the needed weapons. Seems no mention was made as to the caliber of firearm to be produced; hence, the great variety of weapons/bullets. I find it very curious, however, that the bullet varieties all have the same general apearance! Did Dimick send each gun maker a picture showing what he thought was the best projectile design?
As to whether a Dimick type bullet was made specificaly for hand guns? I don't know. Maybe he did that on a local basis as a part of his day to day operation to provide his customers with ammunition, but not on a larger scale. This is only my opinion.
I've never seen anything to indicate that Forrest captured Dimick weapons and molds, although such a thing is possible. In all of the areas I've hunted that Forrest's units occupied there were found both US and CS bullets, buttons and plates. His men, as much as possible, lived off the Union army. Never found a Dimick bullet in any of those sites, though. The only Dimick bullets I dug were in the Union lines near Fort Donelson, TN.
On another note...a good friend of mine, John Hudson who lived near Nashville, TN, passed away this week. John knew more about American Civil War stuff than anyone I've every personally known. Probably no one on this forum knew him as he was not much on doing computer things. He had a great collection and was always there to answer any question about artifacts. He was also knowledgible about wars other than CW. Worked with the State of TN in a historical capicity. His passing is a loss to us all.
Please indulge me as I relate my favorite story in regard to John. Several years back he and a friend went to examine the uniform, etc. of a CS medical officer who was ACTUALLY killed in battle. There was the coat, pants (with crap stains in them) and a strange triangular shaped piece of cloth with two cloth straps attached at both ends there unto. The friend picked up the latter and placed in over his mouth and nose with the straps hung over his ears and opined, "Hey, the guy was a doctor...this was used to administer either to the patient." John quietly informed him that the thing was a JOCK STRAP! Yep, they had them back then, too.
Gotta run and see the Saints lose again.
Gary
ohiochaplain
Established Users
Roberts
Thanks for the information on this post. As someone said, I eventually got to get me some books.
Thanks for the information on this post. As someone said, I eventually got to get me some books.
Relic_Recon
New member
Hey brother. I have come across a Civil War site that has produced many different sizes of Dimick bullets. How do I go about determining their caliber?:-?
Hello,
The bullets of the 66th Illinois or Western Sharpshooters. They fought at Fort Donelson, Corinth, Iuka and perhaps at Shiloh. They garrisoned Corinth and did not take part in the battle or battles around Vicksburg. Somewhere between Corinth & the Georgia campaigns they began buying & using the 44-caliber Henry repeating rifle. In Georgia the Dimmick is quite often found with the Henry cartridges or fired hulls.
The Dimmick bullet once thought to be a CSA bullet but proven to be a USA bullet is very interesting and could be a collection on its own.
I think the Dimmicks came in revolver sizes as well as rifle & carbine: 36, 38 & 44-calibers for the revolvers. There might be a smaller caliber for the 31 or 32-caliber revolvers but I have not seen any that size. :wh
As already noted the bullets were produced by their individual molds.
I believe the 52-caliber was for carbines while the 54 & 57-calibers along with the 61 & 69-calibers were for the muzzle loading large caliber rifle/muskets.
I hope this helps out some what.
Tom Stelma
