There was a Confederate bullet called the Gardiner explosive bullet which was a minie ball with a hollowed out area and a small hole drilled into it. I don't believe they were very effective but I have a few in my collection; look for a 2 ringed mini ball with a hole drilled in the center of the conical depression.
When I was in the park service and they taught us how to use the molds; there were two important steps they taught us. One was to let the lead heat up to the point where you saw the impurities float to the surface. Then we skimmed them off with a small ladle. The other thing they did was to make sure we dipped the bullet into hot wax. The wax would cling to the depressions (rings) on the exterior of the bullet and serve as a seal to keep gases from escaping when the percussion cap and charge were ignited.
Bill
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"Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words."
King John 2.1.466
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