Posted on 08/31/2012 8:35:53 PM PDT by servo1969
Please read before commenting: A very basic overview of some of the main U.S. military rifles since the 18th century. We mainly look at the evolution of the technology in primary issue rifles or rifles similar to them that I happen to own.
Since I chat unscripted without a leash for 35 minutes, you can imagine that I have a little clean-up to do. :-) I'll add needed correction here in the description below. I won't add much elaboration, as this is not meant to be a video about the entire history or everything about these specific firearms; it's more of a basics video, as I state at the beginning, to give folks something of a picture of the major stepping stones in military musket / rifle development through the last 200 + years.
Some clarification or further BASIC information:
1. The Brown Bess is a smooth bore musket, like most shotgun barrels. I mistakenly call it a rifle in the video. I don't think I mention it, but the 1858 Enfield used in the Civil War has a rifled barrel, as do all the firearms on the table after the Brown Bess.
2. The tubular magazines of lever guns are not safe with pointed bullets. Think about it. :-) The 1895 Winchester lever gun solved this by not using the tubular magazine, but with most lever guns, we were limited to flatter-nosed bullets. The bolt gun, with rounds stacked on top of one another, allowed as sharp a point on the bullet as we wanted.
3, For some reason (Brain fade), I failed to show you how the Garand loads. Guess most of you have seen it in the movies, at least, and hopefully, in our Garand videos. :-)
4. I believe Eugene Stoner was developing the AR-10 even before the '60s, but the AR15/M16 did not get into soldiers hands until the '60s, I believe.
We have videos on all these guns except for the '03 Springfield, but we will take care of that before too long. Search from the home page for any of these firearms, and you'll find at least one video, I believe.
2. The tubular magazines are not safe with pointed bullets.
Hornady Leverevolution solved that problem:)
I thought the “Brown Bess” was a British weapon...Didn’t the Colonial Army use Kentucky and Pennsylvania rifled barreled weapons?
I have many, but not so far back. Oldest I have is a 50/70 Sharps Carbine. Then 30/40 Krag, Model 1917 30-06, 1903 A3 30-06, M1 Garand.
Cool!
Most of the Colonials used smoothbore weapons. Much like the versitle modern day shotgun, they could fire either shot or a round ball.
Most of the time the Colonial Army used Brown Bess and French Charleville muskets. Rifles were used by some but they were mostly militia.
OK...Thanks...
And thanks to you also....
During the time of the flintlock, a musket was superior to a rifle in set piece battles due to the musket being quicker to reload. Because of the rifling, a Kentucky rifle was slow to reload. After one shot, the riflemen would probably be bayoneted before loading the second. The rifle would be used in a sniper type role. It was strictly long range only. The advent of the minie ball allowed the rifle to become the standard in the early 19th Century.
Makes a lot of sense...Thanks....
Morgan`s Virginia sharpshooters picked off the British officers with their rifles at Saratoga 1777. In 1758 it appears that Mohawk sharpshooters under Sir William Johnson may have been firing at the French in Fort Carillon with rifled muskets from the side of Mt. Defiance.
Brown Bess was used by both sides in revolutionary war. Some small units used the slower loading muzzle loading rifle, for example, Morgan’s Rifles. One British unit used a breechloading rifle of the Regimental Commander’s design, but Major Patrick Ferguson, but the rifle stretched practical manufacturing capability of the day.
***2. The tubular magazines of lever guns are not safe with pointed bullets. Think about it. :-) ***
I believe Remington developed a tubular rifle with a spiral indentation around the magazine which offset the bullet tip from the primer on the cartridge in front of it. I also believe some foreign nation used the tube magazine in a military rifle with the same spiral grove set up.
Can’t remember the names of them.
I believe that the Russian Army bought a tube magazine fed bolt action, designed by Hiram Berdan, after the Civil war.
The pointed "spitzer" bullet developed by Mauser in 7.92 sold to the Spanish for of the 1898 War changed everything for the American military. The .30-06 Springfield was a Mauser in all but name.
Thats a real nice looking room.
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