Obsidian Bullets?

I guess you could sling-shot it? Most early guns didn't have much range or accuracy, so a barrage of sling-shotted obsidian landing in the middle of you would probably be as effective as a round of musket fire
I think you're mistaking effective range for absolute range. Muskets have an absolute range of up to about what you can get from the best bows (many time what you can get from sling-shots), but their accuracy is pretty poor out beyond about 30-40 yards, which is why barrage fire was used in the first place.

Could you incorporate obsidian slivers into a cloth-wrapped shrapnel shot?
 
Could you incorporate obsidian slivers into a cloth-wrapped shrapnel shot?

Easily, but why? Again, kinetic energy is more dependent on the mass than the velocity, and since acceleration in a given gun is close to a constant, you are better off packing metal bits. Old nails and screws, if you want to make the surgeons' day interesting. Balls for greater range and accuracy.
 
Obsidian is extremely sharp, so I imagine a good amount of it in a shrapnel arrangement is going to be pretty nasty.
 
i bet you could theoretically design some kind of shrapnel grenade with obsidian shards in it or in the casing so that it sends the shards flying out. however, i imagine that if such a thing were implemented and used into the future that the obsidian would be replaced by more common and easier-to-work-with metal
 
Sharpness and brittleness are issues but the biggest thing I'm thinking about right now is density. Obsidian simply doesn't have the mass to do much damage at all, as kinetic energy has a mass factor. I'd imagine an obsidian projectile doing about as much damage as a BB gun to exposed skin, let alone someone wearing any type of clothing made in the 1800s. Remember lead is often used in bullets for its high density and mass for a relatively small projectile; mass is more important than hardness.
 
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