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Seventeenth Century Live Shoot
Author: Tom Aldwinckle, Robartes’ Regiment of Foote Orders of the day, Volume 32, Issue 2, 2000
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On 6th November 1999 the opportunity arose to fire ‘live’, using black powder and bullet, some of the ‘proofed for ball’ matchlock muskets owned within the regiment. The venue for this was a firing range near Olney, north Bucks, and thanks must be given to the Nene Valley Historical Shooting Club, who allowed us to use the range as ‘guests of the club’. It seems appropriate to record the observations and findings made on the day - after all facts relating to the accuracy and effect of musketry is of general interest to most people, and written information on the subject is still fairly limited. The information and exercise is also a valid part of re-enactment and the experience that goes with trying aspects of the past. To make the ‘shoot’ interesting, provide an appropriate target and a series of bullet-damaged artefacts for future living history events, the basic target was a lm x lm plank-lined frame. In addition free-standing heavy duty planks could be placed in front to give an additional target surface. As the target frame sat on the raised edge of the firing range, the height and width of the target was a very good approximation of the area two standing men take up. As the data generated on the day was from two men firing side by side, we have a set of statistics where the firers are shooting upon a target area that is comparable in size and shape to themselves. The information obtained can easily be extrapolated to represent the effect a larger body of men would have on a target. From discussions with various people, the greatest bullet accuracy is achieved by using modern fibre wads placed both above and below the bullet. Bullets used on the day were solid lead, hand-cast round bullets in both 20 and 12 bore sizes. However it was considered best for the exercise to keep as near as possible to 17th century practices. With this thought in mind the muskets were loaded as follows:
Note 1- It is important to have a clean barrel at the start; after all, if a ball sticks part-way down the barrel there is no guarantee that it can be rammed home. For safety reasons it is important there is no gap between the bullet and the powder charge. Note 2 - For the day’s shoot it was convenient to have accurately-measured charges, and this was most easily achieved by the use of paper cartridges. The screwed up cartridge formed a reasonable wad on top of the bullet. With the target set up, the first shots (using both the 20 gauge and the 12 gauge musket) were carried out at a range of 25 yards. With no sights on the muskets and limited ‘live fire’ experience we had no preconceived ideas of what to expect, therefore it was sensible and practical to start at short range to see what was possible. At the initial 25 yards range it was discovered after the first few shots that hitting the lm x lm target was very easy. Indeed at this range a 100% hit rate was the obvious conclusion. Under the conditions we were firing it was virtually impossible to miss, so long as reasonable care was taken in aiming and firing the piece. The target frame at this time consisted only of the covering of 11/2” inch thick soft wood planking. At this range all bullets passed cleanly through the wood planking - both 20 and 12 gauge bullets did this. The hole at the front was very neat and of the precise shape and size as the bullet. We could easily differentiate which bullet size made a given hole. In contrast, on the reverse side of the plank the exit hole was surrounded by a long oval depression formed from the splintering of the wood as the ball left the plank. The long axis of the oval corresponded to the direction of the wood grain. At this relatively short range the target is of sufficient size to be able to differentiate ‘new’ hits easily. However it should be remembered that on discharge the musket barrel lifts with the recoil and the smoke from the pan is still lingering around the musket. Under these circumstances it is not certain you ‘see’ your own bullet striking the target. However at this relatively short range a bullet striking wood can be heard as a detectable thump. Due to the fact bullets were passing straight through the target, additional planks of 2 inch thick mahogany were now stood against the target. The last few shots carried out at 25 yards against the ‘thickened target’ showed that the bullets would also easily pass through the mahogany boards. This was again associated with a neat and round entry hole, of the same size as the bullet, and typically showed extensive shattering or splintering to the rear of the boards. Many balls were found wedged in the shattered mahogany, or were found to be loose after going through the mahogany, and then only denting the soft wood boards behind. These bullets were often found loose at the base of the target after falling down the face of the soft wood boards. At this point it is worth mentioning the condition of bullets that were recovered from the target area. Bullets recovered from the wood planking, or picked up loose after they had gone through one thickness of planking and then fallen down the back of the target showed gross deformity and flattening. Some showed well-defined dents and deep scratches clearly picked up as they went through the target. The rear of the bullets, in all cases, still showed a relatively smooth and rounded bullet shape. This shape was maintained for perhaps a third of the original circumference of the bullet. The ‘rear’ end of the bullet showed slight blackening from being in contact with the powder and explosion as the musket was fired. It was not possible to recover bullets that missed the target and only hit the sand of the range - there were too many bullets in the sand to make a positive identification of a bullet that we had fired. At 25 yards the opportunity was taken to shoot at a back-and-breast armour. The gauge of this is relatively thin at perhaps 20 gauge. To hit this 4 times (3 times on the front plate, and once on the rear plate) took no more than 6 shots. Both ball sizes easily punctured the metal of the armour. The passage of the bullets left flaps of sharp and drawn metal sticking out at right angles to the hole edges. The remainder of the armour showed no other distortion. A hit was easy to register, and was accompanied by a distinct ‘clang’. Once through the armour the bullet typically gave a dent on the mahogany boards behind and then fell to the base of the target. On the day of the shoot conditions were dry, however there was a strong cross wind from left to right across the range. On aiming the piece - and aiming has to be by sighting along the top of the barrel, thus obscuring your point of aim with the end of the barrel - there was the real tendency for the wind to drag the barrel to the right. This was particularly evident the longer the aiming took. I felt on several occasions that I was simply compensating for the wind, rather than getting a good steady sight on the target. Also it was found to be important that while the trigger was pulled, a steady aim was maintained on the target. Any distractions, such as re-focusing your eyes to see what the match was doing, typically meant the point of aim wandered wildly. When the aim wandered in this fashion bullets were seen to miss the target by several feet. As the morning progressed and as the musket barrel heated up, the top of the barrel tended to give off more and more thermal currents. Although the barrel temperature did not get above warm it was clearly enough on a chilly November day to produce the effect described. It must be recognised that the thermal currents must distort the image beyond the line of sight, and therefore it must affect accuracy as time progresses. To simulate an infantry soldier of the time, all but two shots were fired from the standing position. Two kneeling shots gave us a target that was higher than the point of aim - one result of this was that one of these ‘angled’ shots passed just above the top of the target with no damage. Moving out to 50 yards the target becomes perceptibly smaller. On the day of the shoot we shared the range with a variety of ‘modern’ weapons. With the firing line moved back to this range I have the image of a variety of telescopic sights getting fitted to the other weapons in use. We of course continued to fire as usual. To simply register a hit on the lm x lm target was good enough for us - Civil War soldiers I am sure did not worry about grouped shots down to the nearest centimetre! Following a series of 30 shots, each in approximate 10 shots groups, the following statistics can be learnt:
This gives an overall average of 68% hits to the 1m x 1m target at 50 yards range. This phase of the shoot took from 11.30-13.00. The deterioration in performance as time progressed appears to be a real event and possibly the result of fatigue in bracing and steadying the musket or a combination of these, and with the tendency to shy from the piece as it is fired. As time progressed I became more conscious of the inevitable recoil that would be experienced as the musket was fired. Another factor may well be the increased difficulty in seeing the target clearly because of thermal currents coming off the barrel. More 20 bore bullets were fired than 12 bore. This was down to the need to clean the 12 bore during the shoot rather than any fundamental advantage in speed of loading and firing. The following statements can be made after a period of shooting:
The firing at 50 yards was aimed at chalk crosses positioned dead centre of each mahogany board. Each board was approximately half the size of the overall target - i.e. 50cm x 1m. The accuracy of the firing was surprisingly good. Examination of the target shows that the 20 gauge bullets tended to be in a 50cm diameter group that is just below and to the left of the target centre. The 12 bore bullets tended to fall in a similar size group, only these were slightly above and to the left of the right hand target cross. After steady and prolonged firing over a period of approximately three hours the following observations can be made. (Note: during this period the only breaks were when muskets were put down and targets were examined).
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