Long Shot

[hollandbriscoe]

Here is an interesting quote

"As it was charged and would not hinder us long, the officer gave consent. He rested his old six-feet of barrel across a fence and sent an express to him. The man dropped, but as we then thought it was only to amuse us, we took no further notice of it but passed on. In the morning upon our return, we saw the brick colored coat still lying in the same posistion we had left it in the evening before. It was a long distance to hit a single man with a musket; it was certainly over half a mile."

Private Yankee Doodle J.P. Martin

Jack

 

[mikelange]

At the battle of Adobe Walls, in the 1870's, a buffalo hunter named Billy Dixon pulled off what the Army later measured as a roughly 7/8 of a mile shot, dropping a Comanche medicine man sitting his horse on a distant ridge. This was done with a Sharps rifle, from a rest, and using, I presume, vernier sights; and Dixon himself later admitted that he had, basically, aimed at the sky and just gotten lucky. I repeat this story to make two points: one, that a half-mile shot with a musket would be highly unlikely; but, two, allowing for blind luck of the same sort as Dixon's, it could have happened. I wonder how accurate Martin's calculation of half a mile was, and am inclined to guess that it wasn't very. Still -- at half that range it still would have been a helluva shot, and I see no reason to doubt the basic story.

 

[roundball]

I wonder how accurate Martin's calculation of half a mile was, and am inclined to guess that it wasn't very. Still -- at half that range it still would have been a helluva shot, and I see no reason to doubt the basic story.

I had a similar thought...also, wondering unless it was out west somewhere, or a huge place like Gettysburg, there's probably not a lot of places that would offer an unobstructed view of a man sized target for a half a mile...but since it was recorded at all, there was probably something of significance that happened

 

[hollandbriscoe]

This shot happened on the island of Manhattan during the rev war. It was taken across what I asume to be the east river( Martin never states exactly what river)

Jack

 

[Mike Brooks]

He rested his old six-feet of barrel across a fence and sent an express to him.

Six foot of barrel.....I've been telling you guys longer is better. :haha:
I'm guessing since this is New York it was probably a big old river gun designed to kill flocks of water fowl with a singlre shot., 12 bore to 5 or 6 bore. I wonder if it was loaded with a single ball, or a load of buck shot, or a hand full of .50 caliber or larger ball....

 

[Slamfire]

At half a mile the front sight would more'n cover up a man, and at 7/8th a whole flock of indians. :rotf:

 

[Roy]

not if you have a 6 o'clock hold. :grin:

 

[roundball]

not if you have a 6 o'clock hold. :grin:

A six o'clock hold up on the moon maybe!
:rotf:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

He aimed at the church steeple, and rang the varmit's bell. :winking:

 

[longshot47]

Ya never know what ya can do until ya try!
~Longshot

 

[paulvallandigham]

Slamfire: If you read the technical papers on the Billy Dixon Shot at Adobe Wells, he was aiming at a group of Warriers on hoseback on a bluff overlooking the trading post. He used the post's owner's " Big 50 ", which most scholars now believe was the .50-90 Sharps or .50-100 sharps,( the difference being not the length of the casing, but the size of the bullet shot, with the shorter bullet allowing more powder to be loaded in the case under the bullet) to make the shot, as his own rifle was being repaired! He was hoping to hit a horse, or at least get close enough to the Indians to make them understand they would not be safe. His shooting of one of the chiefs caused the Indians to question their shaman's predictions of a great victory, and they broke off the siege. His shot is credited, therefore, for ending the seige at Adobe Wells, and he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for it.

You don't cover up your target at long range, whether using a rifle or handgun, unless you are using a scope. You put the target on top of the front sight, and mentally picture a thin line going down the center of the front sight, and keep the target on that imaginary line.

 

[mikelange]

I think at this point I ought to repeat: Billy Dixon was always the first to admit that his shot was blind luck. To quote (as nearly as I can from memory): "I aimed at the sky and hit an Indian." He aimed as best he could, but never claimed to have done so with any expectation of pulling off the shot. It would have been :bull: if he'd ever said otherwise.

 

[Blivetmaker]

Just goes to show you that a projectile might not be very predictable and precise at extreme long range, but lethal just the same.
Makes you remember what grandpaw said about being mindful of whats beyond your aimpoint. :thumbsup: