Sighted Smoothbores should be in their own class.

**bobanderson** · 06-15-2015

Interesting that so many people "focus" on the rear sighted smoothbores as having an advantage. Until I got stupid and sold it, I had a 30" Macon Conversion that was the best gun for team matches. I could shoot 3 shots to the rest of the team's two and was deadly at 25 yards. Couldn't touch a thing at 50, which is why I went to the H&P. I should have worked out the 50 yard issues with the little gun. I am now building another Macon to get back where I want to be in Smoothbore.

As far as separating them, sorta reminds me of that joke that talks about how if one person doesn't like something he trys to outlaw it where another will simply buy/use what he wants. (I hope some of you appreciate how hard I tried to not use labels in this last part.)

**kowdok** · 06-15-2015

Gentleman and ladies
Lots of experimentation can take place at a regional skirmish as long as it is approved on the skirmish application. The Carolina region has been classifying sighted and unsighted SBs for individual targets at it's Homecoming skirmish for a couple of years now. We occasionally will shoot a 100yd event with SBs. This skirmish is always the last skirmish of the year being held the 2nd full weekend in Nov. Come join us and see how your unsighted SB compares to those with sights. My recollection tells me there is no difference, does this mean unsighted is as good as sighted or do the better shooters use unsighted SBs??????????????????????????????????????????????? ???

**Don Dixon** · 06-15-2015

I don't shoot smoothbore as yet, so I don't have a dog in this fight. But, you should realize that most European countries put rear sights on their smoothbore weapons. Examples are the Muster 1840 and 1842 Austro-Hungarian muskets and 1844 Extra Corps carbine, both in the original tubelock and in the non-rifled Belgian caplock conversions. My Piedmontese musket also has a rear sight, as does my Hamburg Burgergewehr. All of these weapons -- particularly the Austrians -- were imported in very significant numbers at the begining of the Civil War. Might be that the European designers were a bit smarter than the American ones. The Austrians also taught their soldiers how to use the sights on their smoothbores, rather than just blindly putting out a wall of lead, and offered prizes and pay bonuses for the best shots. Curiously, one finds Austrian weapons with the rear sights filed off a long time ago, based upon the patina. I suppose someone thought that if American smoothbores didn't have rear sights there was no reason to leave them on the Austrian guns. But, there are also stories of Carolina troops knocking the rear sights off of their Enfields because the only guns they had ever shot were shotguns. So, there are a lot of sighted smoothbore weapons out there which are completely original and for which the Small Arms Committeee would be obligated to provide authorization for use under the current rules.

Hi John.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

**Mike McDaniel** · 06-15-2015

Don, there you go again with those pesky facts about foreign guns.

Especially those KuK muskets.

**John Holland** · 06-15-2015

Ahhhh, there's no better way to start the day than reading a great post by my dear friend.....Mr. Don Dixon!

**stevierayvaughn** · 06-15-2015

Seems to me the big problem would be in keeping teams together. Do you swap and walk a team member just so you can have three 1842s or three Maynard/Potsdams? Some guys don't like to walk and will just sit it out or not sign up for the smoothbore shoot period. So if you separate sighted and unsighted, was it your team that won or did you place due to performance of the guy who walked to you. If there was real gold in the medals, I guess I could understand, but really guys........just shoot and have fun!

**Eggman** · 06-15-2015

Originally Posted by Don Dixon

The Austrians also taught their soldiers how to use the sights on their smoothbores, rather than just blindly putting out a wall of lead, and offered prizes and pay bonuses for the best shots.

Just like we put all our soldiers and Marines thru "Trainfire" so they get accustomed to taking aimed shots and then get their expert and sharpshooter medals and then they take well aimed shots when in actual combat. NOT!!! It's still a wall of lead in a firefight, just like always and before. Let's not kid ourselves - what we do is not what actually occurs in combat.

**Rob FreemanWBR** · 06-15-2015

"Trainfire"!!

Eggman, I respectfully beg to differ. Unlike many of the Vietnam War movie portrayals - today's Marines don't "throw out walls of lead" during fire fights - at least not since I was a Plt Ldr in Desert Storm and even more recently in Afghanistan.

I can't & won't speak for modern day Army Doggies.

When fighting a Counter Insurgency, it does very LITTLE to throw out volumes of lead. Doing so incurs collateral damage, something we take VERY seriously and work extremely hard at all tactical levels, from the Plt Sgt down to the most junior Pvt. Shooting "non-combatants" runs counter to the "winning hearts and minds"...

But we are in agreement in that what we do (skirmishing) is "not what actually occurs in combat". The founders of the NSSA NEVER intended for our beloved sport to even come close to emulating those conditions.

**Mike McDaniel** · 06-15-2015

Originally Posted by Rob FreemanWBR

But we are in agreement in that what we do (skirmishing) is "not what actually occurs in combat". The founders of the NSSA NEVER intended for our beloved sport to even come close to emulating those conditions.

If you don't mind, I'm going to skip the Eat Weevily Hardtack, Have Limbs Hacked Off, and Die of Various Diseases parts of the actual Civil War combat experience.