As promised, today I
American Target Rifles
by
Tags:
Comments
8 responses to “American Target Rifles”
-
The lost of the false muzzle would not take the rifle out of action.the false muzzle was used to keep the ramrod from damaging the muzzle of the rifle,and if damaged a lost of accuracy.
Love your blog,
Charles R. Hollis -
Thanks for the kind words, Charles, but I’d have to disagree with your asessment.
The false muzzle served several purposes. One, as you noted, was to physically protect the lands during loading.
Another was to act as a sort of “forcing cone.” It was tapered internally so the bullet and patch would slide smoothly into the bore, and this was difficult to do without it.
It also, along with the bullet starter, made sure the bullet was inserted straight (i.e. the axis of the bullet was exactly parallel to that of the bore). The bullet starter fit over the end of the bullet and guided it into position. Without these tools it was pretty much impossible to do right, and the bullet would not fly straight.
So altho it *was* possible to load the weapon without the false muzzle, you pretty much lost its accuracy, which defeated the whole purpose of using a target rifle.
-
Fred
Yes,without the false muzzle it would no longer be a super accurate target rifle but could be fired.
Do you remember reading about the accuracy test between the 1861 Springfield and the M-1 Garand? The Springfield won. -
Thanks for this piece, Fred. Along with the posts about your book, I’m learning a great deal from you about a mode of warfare I had not previously appreciated.
As an Antietam specialist I’m intrigued by your hint that
“…one Union sharpshooter company caught on the field at Antietam complained that their target rifles had been ‘little better than clubs.’ ”
as compared to the idea that
“… during much of an active campaign, these weapons stayed in the wagon train.”
Which SS Company, please, are you quoting? Does this mean that they carried these monsters as their primary combat weapons at Antietam?
-
The sharpshooter company caught at close quarters at Antietam was the First Andrew Sharpshooters. They were originally suppose to become a component of Berdan’s Sharp Shooters, but Gov. Andrew decided they should serve with Massachusetts units and retained them for his own state. They were offered by Berdan the Sharps rifle but decided to stick with their target guns. At Antietam, they were suddenly flanked and fought at close quarters where they would have been better off with double barrel shotguns. The distance was that close.
Go to http://www.nextech.de/ma15mvi/index.htm for David McGlaughlin’s excellent write-up on them.
Regarding the false muzzle, I’m given to believe that paper was used for patching material.
-
It was, I believe, the 2nd Massachusetts Sharpshooter company, part of the so-called Andrews Sharpshooters, attached to a Massachusetts regiment. It was the 22nd Mass. if I remember correctly, but I will consult my notes if you like.
Yes, at this stage of the war they still had their heavy rifles, which were not of much use in a mobile battle. This changed after the battle.
The Federal policy on the employment of sharpshooters was confused and inconsistent, a subject I hope to address in a future post. In many cases they were attached to line line regiments who had no idea how to effectively employ them.
-
Yep, you are correct, Gary. It was the First Company, not the Second.
As for the patching, target shooters used both, but had to stick with one or the other as the thicknesses were different. For field use marksmen preferred flannel rather than paper because paper was pretty much useless in wet conditions.
-
Hi Fred,
Unlike the 1st Andrew S.S., the 2nd Andrew stayed with the 22nd Mass during their entire enlistment. The 1st Andrew bounced around and served with the 15th Mass, 19th Mass and the 20th Mass. At times they were attached to HQ as the bodyguard (which meant they went where they were needed).
The 2nd Andrew had to send their target rifles home after the Pennisular Campaign since some soldiers stole their knapsacks (that contained the accoutrements). They reluctantly took up the Sharps afterwards. Wouldn’t it be neat to find some letter or journal that identifies the culprits (unit) who abscounded with those knapsacks?
Gary
Leave a Reply