Capandball, whom we have met before, does a very nice video about light infantry jaegers in Central Europe. He is Hungarian, which was at the time part of the Austrian empire. As you will see, these old jaeger rifles were quite accurate but rather slow to load. He also discusses the theory of how and why they were deployed and used, which is quite useful to the Civil War student.
Ian discusses early lever action rifles, starting with the 1850s Volcanic and going through the Henry to the first Winchester in 1866. I have discussed this before but he gives a nice summary with actual examples of each.
And finally, the black powder follies. A couple of ol’ boys try shooting smokeless in a black powder gun. The results are predictable, but I was surprised by just how much the rifle would stand. Of course you have to remember this is a modern rifle with modern steel. A period rifle probably would not have done as well.
However, I have read accounts of Civil War soldiers who wanted a “magnum” load filling the barrel almost to the muzzle with powder and stuffing in a minie ball and a load of buckshot. In one case the resulting recoil knocked the soldier to the ground, although the gun stayed in one piece.
Oh, and don’t try this at home (or anywhere)!
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