Why the 58 cal minie ball Changed Warfare Forever
In case you've ever spent a Saturday evening metal detecting a well used farm or looking at a black natural powder catalog, you've certainly crossed paths using the 58 cal minie ball . It's one of those pieces of background that looks simple—just a hunk of lead with some grooves—but it in fact flipped the field of ballistics on its mind back in the mid-1800s. Before this little projectile emerged along, hitting a target at a couple hundred yards has been mostly a few fortune. Once the minie ball showed up, everything changed. ...