Lead Round Ball Bullet:
 Lead round ball bullet or round-ball is one of the original muzzleloader projectiles and still the mainstay of traditional black powder shooting. In a well made muzzle-loading rifle they can be very accurate.

 Lead round-balls are a short range projectile first used in smoothbore muskets but once rifling was added to the bore (muzzle-loading rifles) then accuracy was realized at much greater distances. With the right twist rate in a muzzle-loading rifle, generally (1:66 Twist), an average, well constructed rifle in the hands of a skilled shooter will have big-game killing energy and accuracy out to about 125 yards, smoothbores out to about 65 yards.

Cast Lead Round Ball Bullet:
Cast round-ball will have a flat spot on one end known as the sprue, this is where the lead is trimmed from the casting mold. For good accuracy the sprue end must be loaded facing forward toward the muzzle when it is loaded. The reason for loading the cast lead round-ball sprue forward is so that you have a visual on it keeping it centered in the rifles bore. If you load it with the sprue down then you can not see if it is centered in the rifles bore, which is critical for accuracy.

Swaged Lead Round Ball Bullet:
Swaged round-ball are formed in a press under pressure this assures that there are no air pockets or other deformities in the ball. Swaged lead round-balls when patched properly will have quite exceptional accuracy.

Lead Round Ball Bullet Historical Use:
 The settlers of western Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina gained a reputation for hardy independence and rifle marksmanship as a way of life, by the 1750s it was common to see frontiersmen with great skill provide tens of thousands of deer hides for the British leather industry. While using only the lead round-ball bullet in their rifles.

 These woodsmen were also exceptional trackers and Indian fighters, and played an important role in the French and Indian War which was fought in many parts of the American back country as a guerilla war. By the time of the American Revolution a strong tradition of riflery had been ingrained into the citizens of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina using only their Long-rifles and lead round-ball bullets.

 Muzzle-loading rifle caliber selections were based on economics as well in the early American frontier, such as, how many round-ball bullets do you get with 1 pound of lead;
.36 caliber - 107,
.45 caliber - 52,
.50 caliber - 39 and
.54 caliber - 30.