muzzle loader rifle range?

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
"grumpy I just watched a movie where the guys were using old kentucky rifles and they never seemed to miss out at extreme ranges, how much is fact vs holly wood B.S.

this link to a ballistic program may help
http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_exp ... stics.html

the civil war ear sniper rifles were muzzle loaders and had several documented cases where officers were hit out past 600 yards, but thats with mini balls, with a patched round ball I doubt consistent hits past 350 yards are to be expected,
but theres plenty of documentation of precise hits being made out at 250-300 yards in the revolutionary war to the mountain man era in the 1770s-1830s
Ive read several times that historical documents the British navy personnel wrote during the revolutionary war mentioned that ships should not be docked closer that an absolute minimum of 300 yards from any shore as that was sure to induce sniping and chances of being killed was high

I know from using it that that my 58 caliber hawken replica with its 42" barrel has no problem hitting a beer can size target off a decent rest at 200 yards or a bit more at least 50%-70% of the time on the first shot,
I,ve certainly kill deer and hogs at that range occasionally
, using a patched round ball over a 95 grain charge of black powder, but I generally vastly prefer to limit shots to under 120 yards, as at that range off hand shots with that rifle seem very easily made, if I have a tree to lean against or can sit or kneel to get a very steady sight picture
jim-bridger-hawken-rifle-parts-list_1.jpg

now I will mention I use a tang site
EP0711.JPG


The Battle of King's Mountain in 1780, another decisive victory, was won by rifle-toting backwoodsmen. These heroes were quickly gathered together from the neighboring southern Appalachians. At the close of the war, a British captain wrote in effect that the Americans had riflemen who could hit a man anywhere they liked at 200 paces. He suggested that at King's Mountain the mountain men whipped the British troops.

The long rifle is said by modern experts to have a range of 80 to 100 yards. This figure is meant for the average user. A trained, experienced shooter who knows how to take variables into account such as (gunpowder) load, windage, drop, etc. can easily extend the median range of the long rifle to 200-300 yards. In 1778 at the siege of Boonesborough, Kentucky, one of the officers of the combined British/Shawnee assault force was hiding behind a tree. He stuck his head out from behind the tree and was instantly killed by a ball to the forehead fired by Daniel Boone, who was known for always firing the same fixed measure load of black powder in his rifle. This shot was later confirmed by witnesses on both sides and the distance measured at 250 yards. Hitting a target so precisely at that range would probably make the "Kentucky" rifle comparable in total effective (long) range with the British Baker rifle at 300 to 400 yards.

https://www.davide-pedersoli.com/uploads/supporto/9SUGGESTED BLACK POWDER LOADS.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_rifle

http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarm ... rms_id=363

http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/longrifle.html
 
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