Rifle Ball Starter and Powder Measure

American
1730 – 1780

A wood starter was used to seat a patched round ball evenly into the muzzle of a rifle. The rifleman then used a ramrod to push the ball down the barrel prior to firing. This starter includes an attached powder measure.

Horn, rawhide, wood. L 10.1 cm
The George C. Neumann Collection,
Valley Forge National Historical Park, VAFO 1311