Interesting TV show last night
12-08-2011, 04:31 PM
#1
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
Interesting TV show last night
I am not sure if any of you caught it, but it was called TRIGGERS: Weapons that Changed the World and it centers around firearms of course. It was on the Military Channel that I like to watch that channel for some of their historic accounts of different wars and battles. Yes, I am a geek. A history buff. OK... 
Anyway, Will Willis, this ex military crack shot, you name it, bad man to ever cross, discussed about military rifles and their advancement through the ages. He started with the .72 caliber Brown Bess which the British carried through many different wars, including the revolutionary war with the United States.
They set up a man size target at 50 yards. With a Brown Bess, he attempted to hit this man sized target free hand. Now mind you, this man is a crack shot. He missed! I was so proud of the show actually showing the real truth. He then explained that accuracy with a musket was not the idea, it was fire power. That's why the soldiers stood in a line and fired volleys of shot at normally 80 yards apart. The group that could fire the fastest, usually won the battle.
Willis then went into how American or colonial soldiers if you will cheated on the battle field. They had their normal musket soldiers, but they also had marksman with Kentucky rifles, who's job was to used rifled muskets normally of "Kentucky vintage" and they picked off the officers at some amazing distances.
After that he went into such rifles as the 45/70 Springfield Trapdoor rifle, 30/40 Krag, 44/40 Winchester 1873 lever action (excellent rifle), the German Mauser, the 1903 Springfield Bolt Action, the Model 99 Japanese Arisaka, The .303 British Enfield, the M1 Grande, and finally some custom rifles and even the .50 caliber sniper rifle.
If you're a gun nut like me, it was not only interesting to see him shoot these rifles in non paper target conditions, but he tested their power, accuracy, etc..
Anyway, Will Willis, this ex military crack shot, you name it, bad man to ever cross, discussed about military rifles and their advancement through the ages. He started with the .72 caliber Brown Bess which the British carried through many different wars, including the revolutionary war with the United States.
They set up a man size target at 50 yards. With a Brown Bess, he attempted to hit this man sized target free hand. Now mind you, this man is a crack shot. He missed! I was so proud of the show actually showing the real truth. He then explained that accuracy with a musket was not the idea, it was fire power. That's why the soldiers stood in a line and fired volleys of shot at normally 80 yards apart. The group that could fire the fastest, usually won the battle.
Willis then went into how American or colonial soldiers if you will cheated on the battle field. They had their normal musket soldiers, but they also had marksman with Kentucky rifles, who's job was to used rifled muskets normally of "Kentucky vintage" and they picked off the officers at some amazing distances.
After that he went into such rifles as the 45/70 Springfield Trapdoor rifle, 30/40 Krag, 44/40 Winchester 1873 lever action (excellent rifle), the German Mauser, the 1903 Springfield Bolt Action, the Model 99 Japanese Arisaka, The .303 British Enfield, the M1 Grande, and finally some custom rifles and even the .50 caliber sniper rifle.
If you're a gun nut like me, it was not only interesting to see him shoot these rifles in non paper target conditions, but he tested their power, accuracy, etc..
12-08-2011, 08:49 PM
#7
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
One reason that program made me appreciate the man's honestly about the bess was I owned a 62 caliber smooth bore barrel. I tried every kind of load from it and the best I could get out of it was about 35/40 yards. I purchased the gmb because on a different forum, there was a few members that bragged 75 yard paper plate or better accuracy. I was determined to be able to do the same thing. I never was able to come close. And then this weapons expert missed a good man sized target at 50 yards. Made me wonder, was I all that bad?
I will say that smooth bore was a great little shotgun. And I always felt I could have harvested a deer with the gun.
I will say that smooth bore was a great little shotgun. And I always felt I could have harvested a deer with the gun.
12-09-2011, 09:50 AM
#8
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Lake Saint Louis MO
Posts: 723
My uncle has a 72 caliber Bess and I can certainly say when I saw it I was in awe many years ago. I wanted to fire it and he made me a bet that I could not hit a sheet of 4x8 plywood at 60 yards. I said absoluetly I could. We loaded it up and here I go to shoot and miss it!! I spent all fall raking up his leaves in his yard and learned a valuable lesson about smooth bores.
That show is a good one and here are other ones to watch.
http://military.discovery.com/videos/triggers-videos/
That show is a good one and here are other ones to watch.
http://military.discovery.com/videos/triggers-videos/
