The .45 diameter and “carbine” bullet weight would also suit another popular Boer arm, the Westley Richards Monkey Tail. These used a paper cartridge as breechloaders or could be muzzle loaded Though not used in the ABW, these were very common in the 1870s/1880s in SA, and were official OVS govt purchases as late as 1883 because in a landlocked Republic they could be used without a supply of imported metallic cartridges. One wonders whether this Boer with his crude, hand made bullet mould had fallen back on earlier ways of survival in the veldt…
Anyone who’s cast lead bullets will probably wonder how wrinkled the resulting casting must’ve ended up, and how was it persuaded to come out of the mould?
