GDG- Re:rifles versus smooth bores

[Batrinque at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/26/07 7:52:50 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
cameron2 at optonline.net writes:

> 
> With little or no training in the use of the adjustable rear sight at longer 
> 
> ranges, or, for that matter, range estimation, and what with the officers 
> generally waiting until 250 yards or less to order their men to open fire, 
> my guess is that most troops on the line of battlenever raised the sight to 
> begin with, much less lowered it as the enemy got closer.  They would simply 
> 
> use the lowest, 100 yard setting as what in later wars would be called the 
> "battle sight" setting, and let it go at that.  And even with the high 
> trajectory of a CW rifle musket, that does give acceptable enough results 
> within that range.  

The arching trajectory of a bullet fired from a rifle-musket (the initial 
muzzle velocity was less than 1000 feet per second) was so pronounced that even 
an error of  only 10 yards in estimating the range of the target at 300 yards 
(or in setting the rear sight) would send the round over the heads of the enemy 
or into the ground at their feet; this situation is almost inconceivable to 
those of us who trained on modern military firearms with their high muzzle 
velocities and flat trajectories.  I remember switching between targets at 50 
yards and 300 yards on the firing range with my M16 with no adjustment to the 
sights.

Bruce Trinque
Amston, CT


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