Editing Bullet (section)

===Pointed bullets===
[[File:Early_cylindrical_bullets.jpg#/media/File:Early_cylindrical_bullets.jpg|thumb|[[Henri-Gustave Delvigne|Delvigne]] further developed cylindro-spherical (left) and cylindro-conical bullets (middle), which received the bullet grooves developed by [[François Tamisier|Tamisier]] for stability|link=File:Early_cylindrical_bullets.jpg]]

Delvigne continued to develop bullet design and by 1830 had started to develop cylindro-conical bullets. His bullet designs were improved by [[François Tamisier|Francois Tamisier]] with the addition of "ball grooves" which are known as "[[cannelure]]s", which moved the resistance of air behind the center of gravity of the bullet.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gibbon, John|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8FEkwTZd9FMC |quote=Gibbon rifles.|title=The Artillerist's Manual|publisher=D.Van Nostrand|year=1860|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8FEkwTZd9FMC/page/n139 125]}}</ref> Tamisier also developed progressive rifling: the rifle grooves were deeper toward the breech, becoming shallower as they progressed toward the muzzle. This causes the bullet to be progressively molded into the grooves which increases range and accuracy.<ref>''Deanes' Manual of the History and Science of Fire-arms'' by John Deane p.237-238 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0lIBAAAAQAAJ&dq=Captain+Tamisier&pg=PA237]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7GZTmKbpqzcC&q=Captain+Tamisier&pg=PA515|title=The United Service Magazine|first=Arthur William Alsager|last=Pollock|date=16 May 2017|publisher=H. Colburn|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Image:Eratic bullet trajectory.jpg|thumb|Before Tamisier's invention, the orientation of a cylindro-conical bullet tended to remain along its inertial axis, progressively setting it against its trajectory and increasingly meeting air resistance, which rendered the bullet's movement erratic.]]
Among the first pointed or "conical" bullets were those designed by Captain John Norton of the [[British Army]] in 1832. Norton's bullet had a hollow base made of [[Lotus (plant)|lotus]] pith that on firing expanded under pressure to engage with a barrel's rifling.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rifling: Expanding Bullets and the Minié Rifle|url=http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2010/05/rifling-expanding-bullets-and-minie.html|website=firearmshistory.blogspot.com|date=16 May 2010|publisher=Firearms History, Technology & Development|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> The British Board of Ordnance rejected it because spherical bullets had been in use for the previous 300 years.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Howey|first1=Allan W.|title=Facts, information and articles about the Minié Ball, a Civil War bullet|url=http://www.historynet.com/minie-ball?PageSpeed=noscript|website=historynet.com|publisher=Civil War Times Magazine|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> Renowned English gunsmith [[William Greener]] invented the Greener bullet in 1836. Greener fitted the [[Hollow-base bullet|hollow base]] of an oval bullet with a wooden plug that more reliably forced the base of the bullet to expand and catch the rifling. Tests proved that Greener's bullet was effective, but the military rejected it because, being two parts, they judged it as too complicated to produce.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rifling: Expanding Bullets and the Minié Rifle|url=http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2010/05/rifling-expanding-bullets-and-minie.html|website=firearmshistory.blogspot.com|date=16 May 2010|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Minie Balls.jpg|thumb|Minié ball ammunition]]
The [[carabine à tige]], developed by [[Louis-Étienne de Thouvenin]] in 1844, was an improvement of Delvigne's design. The rifle barrel has a forcing plug in the breech of the barrel to mold the bullet into the rifling with the use of a special [[ramrod]]. While successful in increasing accuracy, it was difficult to clean.

[[Image:Minie ball design harpers ferry burton.jpg|thumb|1855 Minié ball design from the U.S. Arsenal, Harper's Ferry, West Virginia]]
The soft lead [[Minié ball]] was first introduced in 1847 by [[Claude-Étienne Minié]], a captain in the French Army. It was another improvement of the work done by Delvigne. The bullet was conical in shape with a hollow cavity in the rear, which was fitted with a small iron cap instead of a wooden plug. When fired, the iron cap forced itself into the hollow cavity at the rear of the bullet, thus expanding the sides of the bullet to grip and engage the rifling. In 1851, the British adopted the Minié ball for their [[British military rifles|702-inch Pattern 1851 Minié rifle]]. In 1855, James Burton, a machinist at the U.S. Armory at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harper's Ferry, West Virginia]], improved the Minié ball further by eliminating the metal cup in the bottom of the bullet.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Park Service Museum Collections|url=http://npscollections.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-drawings-of-james-burton-machinist.html|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Top 10 Rare and Endangered Artifacts|url=https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/top-10-rare-and-endangered-artifacts.htm|website=nps.gov|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> The Minié ball first saw widespread use in the [[Crimean War]] (1853–1856). Roughly 90% of the battlefield casualties in the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865) were caused by Minié balls fired from rifled muskets.<ref>{{cite web|title=Minié Ball|url=http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/minie-ball|website=history.com|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> A similar bullet called the [[Nessler ball]] was also developed for [[smoothbore]] muskets.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nessler Ball & Ribbed Slug|url=http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?272850-Nessler-Ball-amp-Ribbed-Slug|website=castboolits.gunloads.com|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref>

Between 1854 and 1857, Sir [[Joseph Whitworth]] conducted a long series of rifle experiments and proved, among other points, the advantages of a smaller [[Gauge (firearms)|bore]] and, in particular, of an elongated bullet. The Whitworth bullet was made to fit the grooves of the rifle mechanically. The Whitworth rifle was never adopted by the government, although it was used extensively for match purposes and target practice between 1857 and 1866. In 1861, W. B. Chace approached President [[Abraham Lincoln]] with an improved ball design for muskets. In firing over the [[Potomac River]], where the Chace ball and the round ball were alternated, Lincoln observed that the Chace design carried a third or more farther fired at the same elevation. Although Lincoln recommended testing, it never took place.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bilby|first1=Joe|title=Pedersoli musket, Nessler Balls and RCBS Dies|url=http://www.civilwarguns.com/9910b.html|access-date=29 January 2017|publisher=civilwarguns.com|date=1999|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923204419/http://www.civilwarguns.com/9910b.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Around 1862, [[William Ellis Metford|W. E. Metford]] carried out an exhaustive series of experiments on bullets and rifling, and he invented the important system of light rifling with increasing spiral and a hardened bullet. The combined result was that, in December 1888, the [[Lee–Metford]] small-bore ([[.303 British|.303]]", 7.70&nbsp;mm) rifle, Mark I, was adopted for the British army. The Lee–Metford was the predecessor of the [[Lee–Enfield]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lee Metford (Magazine Lee Metford / MLM) Bolt-Action Service Rifle (1888)|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=533|website=militaryfactory.com|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref>