[Charlie Detroit]

Casualties were very high in the Civil War (some of these ******* rebels will call it somepin else, but let it pass), and not just because we count both sides. For the first time in history, the ordinary slob soldier in the line could hit what he aimed at, at ranges we consider a trifle long nowadays...300-yd hits weren't all that rare. Yes, the things will shoot, some better than others, of course, but quite acceptably at reasonable ranges, provided the gun has not been abused (allowed to rust out, etc.). Addition of more modern sights makes this even easier. The standard service load was 60 gr. of FFg behind a big ol' minié ball, and you can start from there. Too heavy a load will bugger up the skirt on the bullet and destroy accuracy. Perfectly adequate deer rifle for ranges up to 100 yards.

 

[DannoBoone]

.58 Zouave

Way long ago, I had one more as an oddity than for
hunting. 80gr of Ffg behind a 505gr minnie was a good
load for it. Never tried patterns with it, but it would knock
around a 1# coffee can @ 75yds for as long as we could
take the beating!

Not only did the introduction of rifling help out in the
casualties, but that ol' lead missile would outright shatter
any bone in its way, thus all the amputations.

 

[kevin]

civil war firearms

Well Chris d. , i've been shooting and building civil war weapons for a while and have compeated in the n-ssa ( www.n-ssa.com ), and can say from experiance that depending wich rifle or musket you decide to by will be as accurate as you are the euroarms are a little on the heavy side navy arms is a euro arms product just about all of your better quality military repoductions are made by pedersoli in italy , another is armi san palo also made in italy good stuff to the difference betweenthe two is pedersoli has a better finish than the armi san palo they both also make center fire fire arms as well. if your interested or any one else is interested in custom military type muzzle loadind or breech loading weapons send me a line and i would be glade to help.
kevin

 

[kevin]

great shooting

hi smokestak, i'm real happy to hear about the hunting and one shot dropes aint it cool, was your father an n-ssa member sure sounds like it teh bullet usee is awsome out to 50 yards like you've stated and the powder chage is roght were it sould be, i've got one also that shoots just like yours aint they fun, if your interested the n-ssa has teams somewere were you live and with the shooting your doing they sure would like you on thier team.
kevin

 

[smokestak]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

Hey Kevin
Dont know really why or how come my dad came across this gun never had nothing to do with nssa just used for hunt and shooting here in MO. seems i cant help pulling it out for a few shots every chance i get.love the looks of the gun and it sure shoots nice.
thanks for the invite but I'm not much into that kind of thing love to watch it though.
I would like to know more about this gun maybe I'll sart a new post on it

 

[Charlie Detroit]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

Don't know about the rest of you guys, but the thing that's always turned me off about re-enacting is the fact that I learned VERY EARLY that I shouldn't point a rifle at anything I didn't intend to shoot. This includes paper targets. I just have a real hard time overcoming that, and I find that watching re-enactments is a little offensive to me. These guys are PLAYING with REAL GUNS! and it is disturbing, to say the least.
Also, I have a tendency to get kinda upset when I shoot a rifle at something and it doesn't fall down.

 

[DannoBoone]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

Don't know about the rest of you guys, but the thing that's always turned me off about re-enacting is the fact that I learned VERY EARLY that I shouldn't point a rifle at anything I didn't intend to shoot. This includes paper targets. I just have a real hard time overcoming that, and I find that watching re-enactments is a little offensive to me. These guys are PLAYING with REAL GUNS! and it is disturbing, to say the least.

If that is so offensive and disturbing to you, then action-
packed, shoot-'em-up, bang, bang movies probably come
close to sending you to the hospital!

For many, re-enactments turn the dull, drab history books
they had in school into something that will stick in their
minds, rather than being skimmed over and soon forgotten.
And if some kid actually learns something about the reasons
for war, along with the horrible facts of it, more power to
them. It's a lot better than some of the crap they're
"learning" in school nowadays.

P.S. Doubt if anyone here in this forum were taught any
different about gun/rifle safety at an early age. For those
who weren't, it's up to the rest of us to set them straight.
I've seen just one re-enactment, and the announcer told
the audience that everything was blanks, and that people
should not try this at home, etc., etc. I do believe they are
PLENTY safety conscious when doing their re-enactments.

 

[Charlie Detroit]

Yeah, you're right...

but it still bothers me. And you're right about the movies, too! They make me real uncomfortable, and especially when I see the weapons portrayed inaccurately or stupidly. I think it would be a lot easier to take if there were a few movies that showed how firearms REALLY work, and how possession of one does not guarantee a hit on a target.
Maybe I'm just gettin' old and cranky. I AM gettin' old; and I always been cranky.

 

[dbm]

Re: Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shooter are they?

I see all these repro civil war rifled muskets in catalogs and I wonder just how decent they are to shoot?

Enfield's etc are terrific rifles to shoot. Load development can take a little while an getting the right sized bullet, but once sorted they should give lots of satisfaction. Here in the UK we shoot them out to 600yds.

 

[shooter575]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

Charlie Detroit wrote:
Don't know about the rest of you guys, but the thing that's always turned me off about re-enacting is the fact that I learned VERY EARLY that I shouldn't point a rifle at anything I didn't intend to shoot. This includes paper targets. I just have a real hard time overcoming that, and I find that watching re-enactments is a little offensive to me. These guys are PLAYING with REAL GUNS! and it is disturbing, to say the least.

CD, The n-ssa are NOT reinactors. We may look like then but we shoot timed team events at breakable targets.Safety is #1 with us. If you are in the Detroit area, There are about 400 guys in state who shoot with us. We have about 6 weekend skirmishes in Mich and NW Ohio every year.
shooter575

 

[kmitch199]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

What Shooter575 said. I've just recently joined a unit in Pa. They are not reenactors and don't point a muzzle at anything We don't intend to hit. As far as reenactors go, they are told to point over the heads of anyone in front of them. So at least there is that.
It is incredible to see a 1/4 mile long line of shooters step up to the firing line and start throwing lead down range at the targets. The smoke builds quickly and it soon gets hard to see much of anything unless there is a breeze. Just take a look at the N-SSA website and see when there is one in your area and have a look see.

 

[kevin]

Civil war rifled muskets, how good a shoote

hey all sounds like kmitch has seen our wonderfull fort shenindoha
(i can't spell to save my soul) if no ones ever seen black powder smoke rising up in the air from hundereds of shooters, it s a site to be hold,and for people who don't like reenacters thats ok but please remember this these folks have dedicated thier time to american history, and most just wan't to experiace, what our ancesters went through to gain our independance ,or to belong to very highly family oriented hobby ,that brings all cultures together please folks go talk to them and check them out you just my end up doing it your self.
kevin