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Blake
 Post subject: Weaponry in the War
PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2026 5:54 pm 
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Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign, November 1862-January 1863
Daniel A. Masters

Few soldiers on either side, though, received specialized training in how to use the gun’s long-range capabilities [rifled musket]. A bullet fired from such a weapon did not fly in a level line. Rather, it flew in a parabolic curve with an approximate 75-yard long “killing zone” near the shooter and a somewhat smaller one farther out. For example, a soldier setting his sights and firing on a target 300 yards away had a reasonable chance of hitting a man within the first 75 yards before the bullet’s flight path curved upward, above the typical height of an enemy soldier. It would begin curving downward about 240 yards out, creating a second “killing zone” the subsequent 100 yards before hitting the ground. What this meant in the field was that a long “safe zone” existed between the killing zones in which advancing troops could march unhindered by the barrage of flying bullets passing just over their heads. This safe zone increased in size the farther out a soldier aimed. “It was incredibly difficult for the average soldier to compensate for the unusual trajectory and make his shots count at ranges longer than about 100 yards,” argued historian Earl Hess. “This greatly decreased the effect of the rifle musket precisely in the area were advocates thought it might have a revolutionary impact on warfare.” The result was that rifled muskets were typically used just like their smoothbore predecessors, as their primary “killing zone” of the first 75 yards nearly matched that of the smoothbore musket.


Interesting.

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Richard Coyne
 Post subject: Re: Weaponry in the War
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2026 8:43 pm 
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So, In the Majority of the Scenarios it seems as though 5 Hexes 625 Yards is very unrealistic ever though the #s at that range are very Low

Has the use of Buck and Ball ever been considered or factored in

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Kevin Jones
 Post subject: Re: Weaponry in the War
PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2026 10:11 am 
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I think so too.
This video shows that the rifled musket is absolutely capable of consistently hitting a target at 300 yards when the trajectory of the bullet is considered. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPN9N-58RIo&t=3s) The same author previously mentioned (Hess) states that MG Cheatham "recalled that on the battlefield of Franklin, where the Army of Tennessee attacked across a broad, open area, bodies of his men lay as far away from the Federals as 400 yards, but the great majority of dead and wounded lay within 50 yards of the defenders." This is from his book "Civil War Infantry Tactics: Training, Combat, and Small Arms-Unit Effectiveness" which I highly recommend for those interested in just how thousands of men got maneuvered around on a battlefield in both theory and practice.
The reason given for not using the weapon much at long range comes down to lack of training in both armies. It seems to me that military authorities just assumed that if the rifle 'could' hit targets at long range, it 'would' hit targets at long range.

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mihalik
 Post subject: Re: Weaponry in the War
PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2026 11:00 am 
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Richard Coyne wrote:
So, In the Majority of the Scenarios it seems as though 5 Hexes 625 Yards is very unrealistic ever though the #s at that range are very Low

Has the use of Buck and Ball ever been considered or factored in


Some scenarios do but I think most don't, even though they probably should.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_and_ball

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mihalik
 Post subject: Re: Weaponry in the War
PostPosted: Thu May 28, 2026 5:48 pm 
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One thing we tend to forget is that both sides employed snipers and sharpshooters, so individuals within units and/or attached marksmen could and did inflict casualties at long range. Unfortunately, it is not practical to reflect this by extended ranges for infantry due to ammo depletion.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/conten ... f-sniping/

Read this book by Major John Plaster. Very informative.

https://www.amazon.com/Sharpshooting-Ci ... 188&sr=8-3

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