GDG- Pumpkin use during the Civil War

[J. David Petruzzi]

Mike,

As a 30-year hunter here in Western PA, I use to hear the term all the time
from the old-timers, and I still use it today because it's been so
ingrained.  Pumpkin ball and slug are still pretty interchangable 'round
these parts.

J.D.



>>Not sure about the origins but a related term still survives.  Growing up
in Western PA we called 12 gauge shotgun slugs "pumpkin balls" and I still
hear them called that on occasion (usually by an old-timer). - Mike Nugent>>