BALL, in the military art, comprehends all sorts of bullets for fire-arms, from the cannon to the pistol. See GUNNERY.
Cannon-balls are of iron; musquet-balls, pistol-balls, &c. are of lead. The experiment has been tried of iron balls for pistols and fuses, but they are justly rejected, not only on account of their lightness, which prevents them from flying straight, but because they are apt to furrow the barrel.