Wow...I couldn’t believe they could make a shot like that in that day...
It must have made quite an impression on those Comanche, because it apparently took a lot to make an impression on them!
Some ancestors of my high school agriculture teacher were at Adobe Walls. I never saw the cartridge, but I’ve been told he had a 50 caliber cartridge from then.
What is amazing was the accuracy of cast lead bullets with paper jacket in the brass cartridge. It was an artform, but no leading in the barrel with a pure lead bullet. They were black powder cartridges, they were shooting a very special kind of black powder, very carefully milled. The people at Adobe Walls were buffalo hunters, they made their living shooting long range killing buffalo.
The part that is seldom talked about, there was a huge cache of rifles, ammo and supplies at Adobe Walls. They were supplying the Buffalo hunters. It was in the store there. That was one of the objectives of the Indians when they attacked.
Most of the initial defense was done with pistols and carbines. The Indians were on the roof and around the building. They very nearly succeed on the initial assault.
After that the long range rifles kept them from getting in close. (at night they were vulnerable)