You are mixing readings of Black Powder Cartridge rifles, used in the last half of the 19th century, with the capabilities of a traditional rifle, shooting patched round balls, or later, conicals. It wasn't until the 1840s, that serious work on long range shooting using flat based, round nose, and pointed bullets were being tested, and rifle barrels cut with the shallow grooves, and faster rates of twist for the grooves to stabilize the longer bullets needed for long range accuracy.
The reason Traditional rifles and smoothbores are thought to be short range firearms is BECAUSE we shoot a Patched Round Ball(PRB) out of them. The Rate of Twist of the rifling is slower- ie. 1:48-1:70, with much deeper grooves in order to allow the cloth Patch we wrap around the lead ball someplace to go. When the Minie ball, a hollow based, semi-pointed bullet came into fashion in the early 19th century, the rifling was cut much shallower, and with a faster Rate of Twist( ROT) Because of the thin skirt thought to be needed to expand the base of the bullet on fireing to fill the grooves of the rifling to impart spin, the powder charges on those early guns was low, by today's standards. 60 grains of powder was the common battlefield load, in a .58- .69 caliber rifle shooting a minie ball. Today, you can buy replica rifles with shallow grooves, and fast ROT to handle the Minie balls, but today, you can buy molds that cast a much thicker skirt, and require a heavier powder charge. That allows for a flatter trajectory, and capabilities of long range accuracy. These guns can be, and are shot at ranges out to 600-800 yards. They far exceed the performance of the original guns.
Underhammers, and slug guns came into fashion in the 1840s, and by the 1860s, they were being replaced by breechloading rifles, but using much the same technology. Until about 1890, for instance, it was thought that target rifles were the most accurate, even when they were breech loading, if the bullet was seated using a false muzzle and run down the muzzle of the barrel to the throat of the barrel, just ahead of the cartridge casing. Harry Pope made target barrels of this type for the breechloaders, and made all kinds of tools for loading the bullets down the muzzle and later through the breech.
The Ballistics Coefficient for any round ball is next to TERRIBLE! That means that it shed velocity very fast, so that it is not very effective , due to a looping trajectory, beyond 100-125 yards. That does not mean you can't shoot and kill human targets a twice that range, however. In the larger calibers( above .50) a round ball weigh so much that even when its moving at a velocity under 1,000 fps., it can completely penetrate a human being.
Because most traditional rifles are made to shoot PRB, with a slow rate of twist, and deeper grooves, they are NOT suitable to use, with those barrels, to shoot bullets. Your .22 is a cartridge bullet gun. The bullet was designed way back in the 1860s, and 1870s, as the best shape for accurate placement at 100 yds. That is why target ammo today in .22 rimfire still use the Round nose lead bullets. For that caliber and weight, its a very accurate lead bullet when fired at the low velocities characteristic of the cartridge.
Centerfire bullets of .22 caliber are another matter. They are traveling at speeds that will be 2 or even 3 times the velocity of a .22 rimfire round, and they use the pointed, or " spitzer" shaped bullets for that reason. The pointed bullets, with the boat tails, exhibit LESS DRAG, and cut through the air better at those velocities.
THAT is the reason why we don't try to hit long range targets with PRB. Even a 10 mile per hour crosswind can move a .50 caliber RB about 8 inches at 100 yds. And, data shows that a round ball will have lost more than 40 % of its Muzzle Velocity at 100 yds. NO bullet performs that badly over that short distance, save wadcutters. Now, handicap the shooter with open, iron sights, and you have a real problem hitting targets even when you can see them at those distances.The rifles( and smoothbores) were not designed nor intended to be used as long range weapons.
I hope this helps answer your question. Paul
