Something to Ponder

[Zonie]

In the book THE RIFLED MUSKET by Claud E. Fuller, Copyright 1958, the author, speaking of the Rifled Musket shooting Minie' Balls says:
"The accuracy was sufficient to hit the size of a man on horseback at 600 yards, and the power sufficient to penetrate four inches of soft pine at 1,000 yards. At lesser ranges the rifle musket was expected to put 10 consecutive shots in a
4-inch bullseye at 100 yards.
9-inch bullseye at 200 yards.
11-inch bullseye at 333 yards.
18 1/2-inch bullseye at 400 yards.
27-inch bullseye at 500 yards.

I don't know about you folks but I doubt that I could do any of that with my .577 and .58 caliber rifled muskets. :redface:

 

[rebel727]

I can do some of those most of the time but I dunno bout 10 consecutive.

 

[BrownBear]

Must be something really special about those sights. Machine rest standards, maybe?

 

[captaincaveman]

no biggie!!! I can always do that sometimes :bull:

Josh

 

[rebel727]

Must be something really special about those sights. Machine rest standards, maybe?

Mine? No. Factory sights with the rear sight filed out wider because it shot way left when I got it. I do usually prop or brace against something for the long shots. For the five gallon bucket shots at 300 yds. I stand on my utility trailer and prop on the raised ramp. I can't hit it every single time but usually about seven hits out of ten shots. BTW, it's a 30 year old Armisport.

 

[jdstrang]

Zonie:

There's some interesting wording in what he wrote: "...the rifle musket was expected to put 10 consecutive shots in a..." Doesn't say anything about anyone holding that rifle musket! :grin:

That's some pretty good shooting - far better than I can do. :hatsoff:

But just for giggles, I checked the 100-yard individual musket scores shot at the N-SSA's Fall Nationals the first week in October. The weather was darned near perfect. The target has a four-inch 10 ring containing a 2-inch X-ring. Ten shots are fired for score.

The top shooter in the expert (highest) classification shot a 96-1X. Of the 655 competitors who filed 100-yard targets, 41 scored 90 or better. (All scores available at:[url] http://www.n-ssa.net/NATIONAL/116th/individual.html[/url] )

So I guess the moral of that exercise is, a handful of folks can deliver something approaching that level of accuracy with minie balls from original or repop CW rifles and rifle muskets. :bow:

I regret that I am not among them. :redface:

 

[clint campbell]

I think it would bounce off a 4 inch pine board at 1000 yds,gonna have to try it if I can find a piece big enuf for me to hit at that range :wink:

 

[windwalker_au]

I think it would bounce off a 4 inch pine board at 1000 yds,gonna have to try it if I can find a piece big enuf for me to hit at that range :wink:

there is no way it will bounce of read this and it gives you an idea what a lead slug can do at 2 miles.
http://www.researchpress.co.uk/targets/ballistics/sandyhook.htm
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[squirejohn]

If the best shooter out of 655 "only scored a 96 (4" 10 ring)it's hard to believe the 10 "expected" consecutive shots in a 4" ring as the "norm", no less a man on horseback at 600 yds.

 

[jdstrang]

I have to think they're talking about a rifle fired from a rest.

I've been reading Dean Thomas's 1984 reprint of "Reports of Experiments with Small Arms for the Military Service," prepared in 1856 by the Ordnance Department for Secretary of War Jeff Davis(!). In it is a schematic of a machine rest, not unlike today's Ransom Rest, made up for precision testing of the firearms' capabilities. They called it the "firing machine." It was stout, to say the least!

 

[jimmy82]

Read an article in a Civil War magazine, can't remember the specific magazine or the article (it's in my office). It focused on the sharpshooters of the Confederacy and their rifles and tactics. According to the article the Confederate sharpshooters were able to accurately and consistantly shoot out to 600 yards with Enfields and Whitworths with iron sights and up to 800 yards with scoped Whitworths. Some even achieving consistent shots up to 1000 yards if I remember correctly.

This of course took considerable training time. But these guys were training to kill man sized targets at these distances. The article had a quote from a general who stated that the sharpshooters equipped with the scoped Whitworths should not be closer to the enemy then 400 yards behind their own main battle lines so that the shooters wouldn't be easily targeted by enemy artillery. (I'll have to bring the article back to my room if anybody is interested in more details) So that means that the closest they could be would be around 450 yards to the enemy.

 

[rebel727]

I think it would bounce off a 4 inch pine board at 1000 yds,gonna have to try it if I can find a piece big enuf for me to hit at that range :wink:

While I don't know about 4 inches of pine at 1000 yds. I feel pretty sure it would. I do know a .58 Minie will blow completely through a four room wood frame house at 500 and keep going provided it doesn't hit any studs. Considering half inch boards on both sides of three walls that's only three inches total tho.

 

[longcruise]

I do know a .58 Minie will blow completely through a four room wood frame house at 500 and keep going provided it doesn't hit any studs.

:shocked2: Sure would like to hear the Paul Harvey version of that. You know.. "the rest of the story"

Zonie, wonder what Fuller's sources were for that info?

 

[brubincam]

a 22 rimfire will go through a wall or 2 also

 

[rebel727]

I do know a .58 Minie will blow completely through a four room wood frame house at 500 and keep going provided it doesn't hit any studs.

:shocked2: Sure would like to hear the Paul Harvey version of that. You know.. "the rest of the story"

No real story. I had gone to a friends who wanted to shoot some bp and we went out on his land to do some shooting. He had this old abandoned house out where we were about 500 yds. away. He says wonder if I can hit the house from here and fires at it. We fired a few rounds apiece and then went to look at the damage. Pretty impressive. Holes got progressively bigger as the bullets went through the separate walls with the exit hole on the back wall being about an inch and a quarter across with long splinters and chunks torn off but you got that on all the walls. Let one hit a stud on the front wall and the inside damage to that one wall is really impressive. We fired probably 50 rounds through that house mostly from about 50 yds. and it was a mess when we finished with Long splinters and chunks of wood scattered all over the floor. A wood house during the C.W. was not a good defense against Minie balls. The only thing is the enemy couldn't see you and would be firing blind. We had a ball that day and my friend was sold on bp, He seemed to not have a care in the world. That was the last time I saw him. He killed himself three days later.

 

[jerem0621]

ummm....wow!!!!!! :shocked2:

I hate that for you and your friends family.

Jerem

 

[rebel727]

Thanks. It was a long time ago, 11 years now. I still miss him. He was a character and a half.