Great story - but a lot of didn't happen. For example, you can't see buttons at 600 yds, and 600 yd shooting would have been impossible with that rifle with those sights. No way to adjust for the rainbow parabola of a 50 cal black powder.
600 yard shooting? Impossible? Tell that to General John Sedgwick's ghost at Spotsylvania Courthouse:
"Confederate sharpshooters had been peppering the area all morning on May 9, wounding, among others, General William Morris. Staff officers cautioned Sedgwick not to approach the road, but he forgot their warnings a few minutes later when he walked over here to untangle a snarl in his line. When his men warned him to take cover, Sedgwick responded by joking, "They couldn’t hit an elephant at that distance." Just then, a sharpshooter’s bullet crashed into his skull, right below his left eye, killing him instantly. When Grant heard the news, he could hardly believe it. "Is he really dead?" he asked, later remarking that Sedgwick’s death was 'greater than the loss of a whole division of troops.'"
Yes you can. It's called "aiming high". If you are familiar with your weapon, and a good judge of distance, you make your best guess on how high above your target to aim, and squeeze it off. It's been done regularly for as long as people have been using rifles.
I did read the book, and I never said long range shooting wasn't possible. I said it wasn't possible with the rifle attributed to Hinson with the sights currently on the gun. Maybe there was a vernier sight then, which is now gone.
The simple facts of the matter are that you can't see buttons at 600 yards and you can't get hits at that range with that rifle and those sights.
With a 500 gr bullet @ 1250 fps, one would need almost 89 moa of elevation. You aren't going to get a fraction of that with a non adjustable rear sight mounted to the barrel.
Great story - but a lot of didn't happen. For example, you can't see buttons at 600 yds, and 600 yd shooting would have been impossible with that rifle with those sights. No way to adjust for the rainbow parabola of a 50 cal black powder.
ReplyDelete600 yard shooting? Impossible? Tell that to General John Sedgwick's ghost at Spotsylvania Courthouse:
Delete"Confederate sharpshooters had been peppering the area all morning on May 9, wounding, among others, General William Morris. Staff officers cautioned Sedgwick not to approach the road, but he forgot their warnings a few minutes later when he walked over here to untangle a snarl in his line. When his men warned him to take cover, Sedgwick responded by joking, "They couldn’t hit an elephant at that distance." Just then, a sharpshooter’s bullet crashed into his skull, right below his left eye, killing him instantly. When Grant heard the news, he could hardly believe it. "Is he really dead?" he asked, later remarking that Sedgwick’s death was 'greater than the loss of a whole division of troops.'"
-Mike G.
Yes you can. It's called "aiming high".
DeleteIf you are familiar with your weapon, and a good judge of distance, you make your best guess on how high above your target to aim, and squeeze it off.
It's been done regularly for as long as people have been using rifles.
Tim in AK
At the risk of repeating myself: Get the book 'Jack Hinson's One-Man War'. It's fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThe first commenter to this post needs to read it before posting comments as to the long range shooting abilities of Jack Hinson.
I did read the book, and I never said long range shooting wasn't possible. I said it wasn't possible with the rifle attributed to Hinson with the sights currently on the gun. Maybe there was a vernier sight then, which is now gone.
DeleteThe simple facts of the matter are that you can't see buttons at 600 yards and you can't get hits at that range with that rifle and those sights.
With a 500 gr bullet @ 1250 fps, one would need almost 89 moa of elevation. You aren't going to get a fraction of that with a non adjustable rear sight mounted to the barrel.
Did you not say "600 yd shooting would have been impossible with that rifle with those sights."?
DeleteI bought the book. Learned a lot about our country. It’s a good read
ReplyDeletePaul J.
How many NG guys named Jack Hinson are in Washington 'protecting' Dirty Old Joe?
ReplyDelete