you ain't steppin', pete, and i fully agree with all you've typed.
it will always come down to what you want, and that's a good thing. tom watson's building me a half stock flintlock hawken, not because of the hawken name, but because it will have all the features i want in an early 19th century rifle for both function and looks.
while there probably was a short ball starter used in the 18th century, it ain't been "found", and allows free license to make of it whatever ya like. subjective stuff, not objective.
carry on, pete.