A LOAD of Balls .. Picket Balls:

I Added a RED DOT to one of my POCKET PISTOLS 

- Note I am considering mounting a TACTICAL LIGHT.

Have any of you shooting types not seen Buster Scruggs from the Cohen Brothers - it's only 15 minutes fun viewing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dwcxbr9o5A

What the hell is a picket ball or bullet in context of Muzzle Loading? 

I didn't find much clear explanation  anywhere .. but tried this link:

https://capandball.com/percussion-picket-rifle-by-r-m-wilder-and-the-early-target-shooting-in-the-united-states/ 

Does that help? .. conical 'Picket Balls' were likely developed for precision shooting in the 1850's just before the American Civil War - The trouble is , as usual - there are just too many variables to fix on one straight explanation. - So a picket ball is a "Conical" - Oh yeah?  Flat Based? Round Based? Hollow Based? Flat nosed? Round Nosed? Pointed Nosed?  - Sized to bore or used patched .. How long is the projectile's 'Bearing Surface' that contacts the rifling? - What rate of twist? 

It's reasonably obvious that precision shooting requires the shooter AND his tools to be PRECISE to the 'N'th' degree.. not something I have the patience for.

- Don't they call modern round-nosed pistol bullets 'conicals' ? .. even when they are hollow-point jacketed, truncated cone, etc. I'd have though 'Cylindrical' was more appropriate ..

CONICAL BULLETS?

I thought THIS was a CONE .

Have you seen anything like that on a range?

Does giving something "a name" make it so?

I reckon that there is a long tradition of deliberately using vague confused names, descriptions and caliber designations for the single pupose of pulling the wool over the customer's eyes & to get them to open their purse and SPEND on something "NEW"

- You could call it marketing or campaigning or selling or 'Spin' or 'public relations' or 'presentation' or "We are now going to a short advertizing Break" etc every five minutes.

- or 'BULLSHIT' even.

"Monolithic Hydrostatic-Shock Fluted Solid Copper Bullets"

- WOW maybe I am a mushroom in the dark ..

- Now WADCUTTER bullets are Cylindrical but many of these have hollow bases to disrupt their pure geometry ... but if you hand load these backwards into your brass cases you produce full bore 'hollow point cylindricals' that disrupt the target's impact zones while still cutting neat round holes in paper.

Nothing fancy here - Just .38 caliber soft lead

- Penetration versus Expansion.

Marty K.