How old are these pellets?

[ccdjg]

Knowing that the leading expert on vintage airgun ammunition has to be John Atkins, I dug through past pellet articles of his in Airgunner Magazine,and in the December 2006 issue he mentions Lanes Bully Bullets. These are dated to 1906, and are not only one of the earliest mentions of waisted pellets, but they also have flat wadcutter head.

I overlooked a later article by John Atkins in the July 2018 issue of Airgunner, in which he discusses this very aspect about the flat heads on Bully bullets. Actual examples of the Bully pellets are illustrated and the heads are not as flat as drawn in the 1906 advert, although they are much flatter than most pellets. In actual tests, the Bully pellets performed well as wad cutters. A fascinating read!