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(TFT) Firearm research
A touch of research
According to John Wilcox in his Masters of Battle; Selected Great Warrior
Classes
English Longbow men were capable of firing 12 arrows per minute (1 every 5
seconds) at a range of 200 yards.
By the mid 14th century the English longbow far outranged the crossbow
generally effective to at least 200 yrds.
The bow was a single piece of wood (self bow) with a pull ranging from 100
to 185 lbs. and the ideal height was 4 taller than the bowman. (This info
from archeological evidence from the wreck of the warship the Mary Rose sunk
off the coast of the Isle of Wight in the early 15th century)
According to Donald Featherstone in his book Weapons and Equipment of the
Victorian Soldier The Martini-Henry rifle (circa 1871) was the first
firearm that could compete successfully with the English longbow in range,
rapidity of fire and robustness.
Again from Mr. Wilcox. Before this a standard Dickert Kentucky rifle (circa
1750s 60+ in length and between .45 to .50 caliber, no standard as each
was handmade) had a range roughly equal to the English longbow (in many
cases effective to 300 yrds). However the longbow could fire about 5 times
the arrows of the rifle at the same range but the rifle accuracy was
significantly better. The rifle however was preferred to be fired from a
braced position. Firing from an unbraced standing position was called firing
off handed or unprepared and is the source of the phrase off handed
remark. The Musket in comparison could be loaded at least twice as fast as
the rifle but its effective range was no more than 100 yrds. Also 1 lb of
lead could form 16 .70 caliber musket rounds where the same pound of lead
yielded 48 .45 caliber rifle rounds.
Hard to believe that some frontiersman, such as Simon Kenton, mastered the
ability to do all of this while running! <Dan>
I believe that Dan was referring to drills in which American light
Infantry were able to a man to hit a 7 target @ 250 yrds while in quick
advance formation.
Also Isaac Miller, a frontiersman from Pennsylvania where 6 of the first 12
U.S. regiments were drafted, was the fastest shot in his county who could
load and fire his weapon off handed in 26 seconds. Loading a rifle took over
20 motions even allowing for time saving procedures such as holding tears
between the fingers of the left hand while holding rounds in the mouth or
even having a board with holes drilled through it at the same diameter as
the rounds so that the round and tear could be stuffed into the holes and
the entire thing could be held over the bore and rammed home in a single
motion (basically a primitive magazine).
The statistics should speak for themselves. Take it for what its worth.
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