I dont think we'll ever know about Reynolds fate. Some peeps think it was a whitworth/rebel bullet, others think accidental friendly fire. Regardless the Union lost a good General on July 1st.
As I understood it, the rifle used in his death was not made clear and even today it is still a matter of debate. During the war the Whitworth and other rifles were used for sharpshooting duties on both sides. I dont think an autopsy was performed regarding Reynolds so I do not know of any definitive facts about the weapon used.
The Confederates were extremely lethal with these rifles, there are lots of stories about it including an officer claiming they couldn't hit his men at this distance, seconds later he was hit in the head and dropped dead. Thanks for the video.
most people today do not even know who whitworth was...he had his own measure system not metric and not standard back in the old days if you wanted to work on a bsa..triumph,,enfield,,motorcycle you had to have a set of whitworth tools to fit every nut and bolt on them british bikes.... thanks for the video he was a great inventor and engineer
On one side i absolutely adore this rifle of his. On the other hand it's pretty damn stupid to reinvent a system that works perfectly fine. You wouldn't believe how annoying the whitworth threads can be when mixed up with metrics on a machine
No mention of General John Sedgwick, the Whithworth's most famous victim. He told his companions that they were all safe; the distance from the CS line was too great, nothing could shoot that far with accuracy. Those were his last words, as a Whitworth and a skilled marksman showed that he was wrong.
That's according to Ben Powell of 12th South Carolina, the Whitworth's owner, after the war. Several of Sedgwick's men ventured out shortly after the general's death and killed a reb they believed to be the sharpshooter. Nobody knows for sure.
There was also a cannon that used the same idea. A 3inch ordnance rifle could put 3 shots into a sheet of newsprint at a thousand yards. At that range the front sight was 'larger' than the target.
How long is the barrel on that thing? In Vietnam I killed an officer over 1000 yards away with my 45 ACP 1911 service pistol. I dropped it out of the helicopter door, and it hit the Captain, on the ground.
Grumpy old fart oh yeah? When I fought in Nam i killed five farmers just with my old M1 Carbine. Placed it at the foot of their hut doorway, made some noise outside, and when that all started walking out the tripped over the rifle and suffered skull/brain internal bleeding.
Sir, you just gave me more information about that rifle in 5 minutes than I have found after studying the American Civil War for 20+ years (amateur Civil War buff). The detail with which you speak about the history and functionality of all of these weapons is amazing. I'd say you deserve your own TV show, but that would be to ignore the fact that this internet fad and your current media outlet is much more effective. Thanks!
The Whitworth was ahead of it's time, but like others similarly "out of time" they suffered one critical shortcoming. The thing just cost too damn much. Same as the Ferguson Rifle and Girandoni. Too much buck for the bang.
RandyLeftHandy And still does. One-on-one, the WWII German panzers outclassed any Allied armor. We just rolled 35 Shermans off the line for every one PzKpfv V (Panther) of Germany. (off the topic slightly... They caught this old dude in Germany who had a Panther (yes, a tank!!!) stashed in his basement. www.newser.com/story/209357/wwii-tank-was-stashed-in-78-year-olds-cellar.html ) I guess we figured that with enough ants you can kill an elephant. I do have a theory, though. It runs something like this: Back in the days of gotta-fire-volleys-with-muskets to hit anything, if they were using Whitworths (or even used more Baker rifles), there might have been a slight reluctance among the rank-and-file to stand nice and straight in neat shoulder-to-shoulder lines. Even in the face of muskets it hardly seems the smart thing to do, now does it?
Yes, but I read a lot about the Generals of old, and audacity and creativity on the battlefield are pretty rare occurrences. They were reluctant to try anything new, especially when the risks were high. That's why Hannibal's name still rings out today.
RandyLeftHandy Very good point. Mr. Barca was rather annoying to the Romans whose ideas of strategy rarely coincided with that of their nemesis. Another fellow that is perhaps less well known, but was as unorthodox and daring was old Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The only commander in WW1 never to suffer a defeat, despite being outnumbered by at least 5 times his own strength at any given time. It is historically cruel that this man is not better known.
If I recall, the British army was able to get a 7" grouping at 2000 yards. 2 km away. Is more than a mile. Maybe 1.2, 1.3.... IN 1859! But the Enfield cost 20 pounds compared to the Whitfield, scope and 1000 rounds costing 1000 pounds.
@@jamesharris9558 that would require those rifles themselves to shoot a third of an inch groups at 100 yards. Very few modern high end precision rifles can achieve that kind of accuracy. Couple that with only using ironsights and human error, i dont believe that story at all.
Whitworth was a brilliant engineer. His most famous contribution was standardising the pitch and diameter of screw threads for maximum strength and interchangeability. Later they were adopted as UNC.
@@datadavis Apart from half inch, they have the same pitch and diameters. The thread angles are slightly different, but they are mostly interchangeable. In any case, Whitworth was an outstanding engineer.
The funny thing about these old rifles is that they have "effective ranges" out to where you literally cannot see the target through the iron sights. I mean, maybe in clear weather, with the target wearing something shiny you could get lucky at a mile away. But its not the problem of the rifle bore or round, its just seeing the person you're shooting without magnification. They'd just be a little dot.
@@FIREBRAND38 what is? That the rifle will actually shoot that far or that you could effectively see your human sized target in dark clothing to aim at over 1500-2000 yards away with iron sights?
John Simpson I’ll add that the longest confirmed kill of the entire civil war was 1390yds, so the gun was effective out to at least that range but nobody seemed to be able to hit anything farther out than that in 4 years of shooting at each other.
Nice job. Again, the perfect mix of history and shooting. I did a very similar clip with a PH Volunteer Rifle... Some of the same pictures too! They are, of course, of the same generation. Well done.
I shoot a PH Volunteer as well. I have the rifle for more than 10 years now. I love it. 60 grains of 3Fg Swiss + the Lyman Volunteer bullet sized to .451 will put the bullets hole in hole at 100m.
***** Do you have the 2 band or the three band version? Platinum nipple? I haven't tried any 3F powder in mine yet and typically use 2F. Must see what the finer powder does to the groups, for sure.. I use a bullet by Lee Shaver specifically designed for muzzleloaders which is 500 Gr. Your clips are so well polished with great lighting and clarity. They are a pleasure to watch. Thanks.
britishmuzzleloaders Thanks!! I have the 2 band version. PH bore + Euroarms lock and stock. The lock is a piece of sh... unfortunately... No platinum lined nipple, but i decided to buy one this year, as the high pressure kills the normal steel nipples quickly. I saw Lee Shaver's bullets. They are excellent in my opinion. Do you shoot long range as well?
***** I have shot my Volunteer (and Enfields) out to 500yds.... Not in any competition, mind you. The small bore rifles are so powerful when you compare them to their full bore cousins. I have a similar sight setup to the one in this video, even with the same backsight. Fortunately mine is a full-on PH. The lock has a fly on the tumbler and the overall quality is excellent, as you'd expect from a British PH. Do you use a card-wad or anything under the bullet? What is your cleaning regimen during firing?
britishmuzzleloaders I sae that on the rifles 3 sights were present, but never thoght the diopter was just for orthopic use. Thanks for the info! Great vid on the Volunteer. Makes me wanna take my rifle to the range. :)
Great info. I had the experience of firing a Whitworth about 45 years ago. The most memorable part was the recoil. Firing in a standing position, it lifted my leading foot off the ground.
Historical background shots of a beautiful old rifle, target shooting. It's got it all. What a great video. I'm furious at UA-cam that they now penalise people like Cap and Ball, making great historical videos. This has nothing to do with gun violence, it's just a great video.
As always, superb work! The Atlanta History Center here in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) possesses 2 original Whitworth rifles from the War Between the States, what we Southerner refer to as the Civil War. As there was little actually "civil" about it! They are not typically displayed, but are alelgedly in fine condition.
Whitworth definitely belongs in the Firearms Hall of Fame, if that exists. What an amazing feat of engineering. Even Browning who came up with so many great firearms and bullet caliburs would have to acknowledge how amazing this feat was, especially for it's age of production. Maybe this was the best black powder rifle ever made before muzzle loading blackpowder rifles would become obsolete except within certain hunting and firearms enthusiasts. I've gone hunting with a muzzle loader for deer and I would have loved to have one of these, but I agree that they aren't the most pretty (at least this version). Apparently some of the originals were very elegantly made for the wealthiest of wealthy patrons. Thanks for sharing this - It was suggested in the sidebar on Forgotten Weapons as Ian had an original on the channel today up for auction. He or Karl recommended your channel a year ago or so and I've been subbed ever since.
As always, an excellent video, you really enjoy all this don't you, it certainly beats working! The Whitworth bullet moulds are still made to order in UK.
That's because he looks like fucking Randolf Scott, from the handsome-hero shaved-down mustache to the swashbuckling perfect hair. He should be swinging on a chandelier in his tights while holding a maiden-in-distress and sword-fighting three guys at the same time...
Nice rifle, interesting history, and damn expensive when it was first conceived and in production. Comparing the rifle to the revolver which was $17, versus the rifle which would fetch $1000 ... no wonder so few were around. Probably fairly impossible to find one these days, along with the specialty bullets, makes shooting this shooting a real piece of history. Thanks for showing this to us!
I think he made a mistake, that was probably $1000 in modern currency. According to Forgotten Weapons channel the rifle cost around $96, which is still x3 times of a typical high-tech rifle of those days.
Parker Hale produces an outstanding reproduction but they have three serious design flaws in the manufacture of the breach. The recomended load for these rifles is a 560 projectile and a 90 grain powder charge. My P-H Whitworth had a catastrophic breach failure, this was not the result of abuse, but a common design flaw I see in many P-H Whitworths, including the one fired here in the video. The problem can be easily seen in slow motion video of the breach when the rifle is fired. The first issue is the nipple threading. The thread they use is a course thread, which is a poor choice for rifles designed for such heavy charges. All P-H Whitworth rifles fail to form a sufficient seal by simply tightening the nipple or using material applied to the threads. I found making a copper O-ring gasket was the only way to stop the gas blowby. The blowby is occurring on the rifle in this video as well. Evidence can be seen by the dark, almost wet looking, dark ring at the contact point where the nipple seat contacts the breach. When watching it fired in slow motion, and excessive amount of smoke can be seen coming from the nipple region, and the shooter generally has an uncomfortable feeling when the unexplainable hot gas strikes his face. Most the time you will actually see the shooter look directly at the breach the moment the rifles is fired, because of the hot puff of air. A thin copper gasket was the only solution I found in stopping this leakage. Secondly, the small access screw is not typically seen on rifles that fire such a heavy load. Some original Whitworths had it, but most were manufactured without it or had it removed because of pressure issues. But the dangerous flaw in these rifles is how P-H soldered the breech components. The breech plug is round and made from several pieces. there is an inner and an external part. These parts are not threaded and appear they should be silver soldered in the original whitworth design. But after mine blew up, I was shocked to learn mine was soldered with bronze. Repeated firing on a bronze solder will slowly etch out the bronze, forming an air cavity. Air cavities and black powder can create a rebound pressure effect that can exceed 100,000 PSI, and once the cavity is formed, the repeated firing will cause the cavity to enlarge and eventually blow the poor breech solder apart. I saw early signs of the breech failure but I failed to diagnose the problem correctly. The sign my rifle was giving prior to the failure was a small thin dark, wet-like line which appeared when where the barrel met the breech. I didn't realize that this was the result of gas escaping the bronze solder. Behind this small line, I also detected a extremely small, hardly detectable bulge in the bottom of the breech. This was only noticeable when the barrel was removed from the stock. My only advice to anyone who may be seeing these symptoms is to have the breech disassembled, and the bronze solder repaired and properly welded with stronger Silver Solder.
this could be remedied by putting a flintlock action. From what I understand it was not uncommon to convert the new primer system to the old flintlock system in the 19th century.
Besides the matter of authenticity, I'd rather have a small tig weld instead of a much weaker braze. Unless it would need to be easily removed, then silver would be a better option. Thanks for the information.
Love me some Civil War guns. There were some pretty interesting ones, as well as some really ahead-of-their-time stuff like the Whitworth. Personal favorite Civil War era gun, for me, is still the LeMat revolver. Just an interesting concept. But the Whitworth is a beautiful gun. And as someone said in other comments, the big downside was the cost. At the time, anyway
Excellent video, thank you for taking the time to lay the foundation on the rifle for clarification and understanding. Your attention to detail is Exhilarating. Please continue to keep insightful knowledge and understanding of history.
Well.. Joseph Whitworth also standardized the engineering measurements. Also linked to the Blockade runners in the American Civil war.. The Alabama traded his guns for Cotton. to supply the Lancashire Cotton Mills in work 23,000 people died in the Rossindale area of Lancashire due to the blockade Hench the Alabama,supported by the Cotton traders in Liverpool All down to my ancestor .
My Great Great Great Grandfather Jesse Stanfield went to battle in the Civil War with a .451 whitworth. In his journal , when his dad sent him to war, he was given it as his father wanted his son to be equipped with the best rifle in the world at that time. Till his dying day he kept that rifle and at his funeral , they buried him with it. Great video!
Iiiiiinteresting….how many Jesse Stanfields could there have been in the Civil War? Not many I’d imagine. Now just the matter of tracking down his burial site and…well…a guy’s gotta make a buck 😅😅😅
Nice. I know a little bit about these from a few gunzine articles over the years. I had forgotten all about the hexagonal bullet design. Didn't know they were so expensive back then- that explains a lot. Thanks for the presentation.
As a mining electrician in the 60/70s I used 'Whitworth' spanners but also had some AF spanners - not because we ever came across AF (American Flat - for Brits who don't know), threads in mining but so that, when, occasionally, I found some hexagon-headed bolt that my Whitworths didn't fit, an AF just might. This happened because during World War 2, to conserve steel - bolt heads had metal shaved off them. These we called 'bastard' sizes, and were still found on some older gear. Otherwise it was inserting a flat-bladed screwdriver blade in the gap - not ideal or most times very effective. The American civil war misnamed, I believe, as it was a war of secession, I've always found to be particularly heart-breaking but the story of Jack Hinson's murdered sons, especially so.
@@MURDOCK1500 I got American Flat from an ex soldier/electrician who used to work on American cars and jeeps during the war but you are correct, thanks I remember this now.
I'm here after watching the Forgotten Weapons video about this rifle, I was seriously intrigued. Great to see it in action. Fantastic video, Cheers from Canada!
Ive read about this rifle before and never thought Id see one fired. Great job brother and keep it up man I love your videos. I bet youd have fun here in the US especially Texas, youd have a field day with all of our firearms!
Very interesting vids and shooting of weapons from the past-my godfather was a collector of old weapons-from flintlocks to ww2 -my favorite was a 68cal halfstocks and the 7.92mm Mauser made in 1939
One has to wonder if a step back in time mite not lead to a super performance sniper rifle. Modern rifling scars the projectile and might effect it's performance. A higher spin rate may help. With modern CNC machining and advanced metallurgy we may be able to produce a 50.cal Whitworth type gun. Just a thought.
+Rl Badger mite1 mʌɪt/ noun a minute arachnid which has four pairs of legs when adult, related to the ticks. Many kinds live in the soil and a number are parasitic on plants or animals.
The original Witworth rifles, and the mechanism used by Queen Victoria are in the NRA musuem Bisley. Whitworth built the rifles originally to study ballistics. Four started wit seven foot long barrels and wer etrimmed till optmum performance was achived. In the process developing the mathmatics of small bore ballistics.
There is a movie ...[somewhere]...that centers around a 'sniper' shot at very long distance. Its a civil war setting. Just one chance to 'kill the general'...as the shot would give away the presence of troops with the sniper. Also, a movie of a youth with a long range rifle, with scope, working vengence from unseen distances.
I recall the 'movie' re the shooting of the General; though I recall it to be a '50s TV program rather than a movie. The sniper remained in concealment for the longest while, waiting for the General to appear. Finally, knowing he was to return to his unit, he fired at his secondary target... just as the General emerged from his tent, to take the round.
and i was so happy about my erma gallagher from '75. now i want this beauty here. imagine the hours of fun in your workshop to create your own bullet mold. holy moly.
Loved the video! I enjoyed knowing the information behind it ! Interested in seeing more videos... especially about sniping and the American civil war.
I can just picture that exchange ;-P Wife: "It cost HOW MUCH??" Hubby: Honey, I don't drink, hit you, & am loving to our kids & your mother. Leave my Whitworth alone."
Years ago I was in Knoxville driving somewhere when I saw a historical marker about some Union General killed by a sniper from a distant tower. The tower still stands, and using the car's odometer I drove the distance between the two points..... just under one mile. The clerks and mechanics from the large northern cities never could grasp the danger they were in at great distances from natural-born riflemen who'd been shooting since weaned.
Siddharth fgjhfh Depends on which Sharps and for waht purpose. For skirmish in the Civil War: 1859 Sharps for sure. For taking out a Union general from 600 yards: Whitworth.
Siddharth fgjhfh I think they can be something like equal in accuracy, but the center fire self contained cartridge is far superior than the muzzleloading system.
From what I understand from wikipedia (lol) they were effective "sniper" weapons too, being the preferred rifle of "2nd United States Sharpshooters". I think the Whitworthis beautifully engineered though
Siddharth fgjhfh Wikipedia is not the best source for info... :) IN the civil war the sharps rifles used were breech loading percussion rifles, not metallic cartridge guns like the 1874 Sharps rifles. The civil war time guns fired a linen or paper cased cartridge including the bullet and powder. The rifles had to be primed separatly by placing a percussion cap on the niplle after closing the breech.
Met a fellow at the range one morning, John Person from Hunterdon Co. N.J. He had a Parker Hale Whitworth .451 sniper rifle which he was extracting from its beautiful velvet-lined fitted and formed case as I approached him. A lengthy conversation ensued and he offered me the first shot of the morning. I punched out the x of the 50 yard paper bulls-eye. Offhand. That experience was a very bright moment. I never saw John again and have not come across another PHW. All you may imagine is what it was. Semper Fi.
Union Major General John F. Reynolds was felled on the first day's fight at gettysburg by a confederate sharpshooter. And let's not forget about another union corp commander at spotsylvania courthouse, Major General John Sedgwick in 1864 who chided his men when the rebel sharpshooters were making it rather hot for the yankees. No sooner than he had said his famous quip of "they couldn't hit an elephant at that distance" to a cowering soldier, he fell dead by a round from one of those rifles aimed in his direction.
It is amazing how good and surprisingly cool and old gun like this is, even though most old guns are cool, this gun has quite neat sights that seem to work rather well for the time period, making this a very cool old weapon, great video
I've been wanting to invite you to the annual Mathew Quigley Long Range Buffalo Rifle Match, held in Forsyth, Montana, USA every father's day weekend. I think you would absolutely love it. If you are interested, I'm willing to provide you with all the information. Rick Herzog
Another superbly illuminating and excellent piece! For your reference, the Atlanta History Center, in the Buckhead area of the city, possesses TWO original Whitworth Civil War-era rifles, employed by the Confederates. One is kept out on display while the other is maintained in storage. A truly magnificent weapon.
Nice, and with a 1 in 20 twist, and with hexagonal bullets they can't jump the riffling, plus could make bullets out of different material as well matching the hexagonal shape. Pretty cool stuff!
Your pulling your face off the rifle too quickly. Hold your face , right there, until the echoes die away....follow through is critical to fine shooting. Other than that. . Slow down...ease into it...Groups will shrink even tighter!! Love you vids!!..Your a smart guy, and a credit to gun collectors everywhere!
Whitworth also built a 12 pounder 2.75 inch breech loading cannon using the same rifling during the Cvil War period. One account said that it could shoot a group that did not deviate more than 5 inches laterally at 1600 yards. They were mostly used for counter-battery fire.
mbogucki1 civilized? fucking please... U.S. LEADS the world in just about EVERY category.... from stupid shit like Silicon Valley (aka Apple, Droid, Drones, technology) even too our Culture.. Every country copys the U.S... Why do you think so many people choose to leave terible countries like Australia or UK. Cause your governments are run by CUCKS.
im looking at getting into BP long range shooting and i was thinking the pedersoli whitworth might be a good start i find the whitworth a fascinating gun!
There were Confederate regiments of hand-picked Sharpshooters too. The Palmetto Sharpshooters out of South Carolina was one of these regiments. However, the South had so few men to begin with that they put their sharpshooters in with regular infantry regiments.
Amazing rifles thank you for posting this. Aside from the price issues the only main problem was they were very susceptible to fouling after a relatively low number of shots, far more so than a normal rifle/musket. This made them very unsuitable for general issue
I have a specially made bayonet for that rifle, it looks the same as most of the 1856 yataghan rifle bayonets of the day but this one has a circular mortise slot that was specific to the 1863 whitworth rifle, fairly hard to come by. my dad gave it to me when he was having a clear out, i asked him why he had it and he told me his mum let him buy one from the junk shop as a kid and he used it to play with and it was used as a fire poker!. its safely mounted on a wall now haha!
I very much like that you mentioned the price for the rifle and what that meant, I.e. that it was almost 60 times as expensive as a standard rifle. That context helps the understanding a lot.
This is a very good insight into this Firearm, I shoot these and the Enfield 2 Band & Musket...It's a great way to send you mad chasing the Paper ....But it's a great way to spend a day..
In 1862, the Kingdom of Saxony tested a new .45 caliber cavalry carbine whith a whitworth type barrel and a breech loading mechanism made by Malherbe et cie. from belgium. Onfortunately the commission dropped it due to a too weak locking mechanism in favour of the 62 caliber terry carbine.
A very interesting bullet, lots of lead, originally maybe softer no ? When I was casting for the 41 and 44 mag it was wheel weights and a bit of tin, a very hard bullet, fingernail could not cut it. I admire the cut checkering and would need a bigger room for that barrel length though.
My 3rd great grandfather was issued one of these rifles. he was garrisoned on the islands outside of Charleston. His name was Franklin Sharp and he was a German/Native American mixedblood from Orangeburg County, SC. He died of yellow fever in the later part of the war.
My cousin Jeff had one of these guns . And he went to a tournament .of whitworths only. He said it was amazing .how far some of those guys . where hitting with them.
Very interesting. If the hexagonal bullet had so many advantages, as it surely did, why was it not produced in greater numbers for the army sharp shooters. Judging from what you said, the principal could even be useful today. I assume the cost of manufacture is the fly in the ointment.
+Adrian Larkins The main method of making hexagonal barrels, as I understand it, was to make hexagonal tubes, then twist them with a very high level of precision, which is obviously slightly hard to accomplish in the 1860s.
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this range." U.S. General Sedgwick famous last words.
Poor Uncle John! :(
Even Confederate General Robert E. Lee was said to have mourned his death.
I dont think we'll ever know about Reynolds fate. Some peeps think it was a whitworth/rebel bullet, others think accidental friendly fire.
Regardless the Union lost a good General on July 1st.
As I understood it, the rifle used in his death was not made clear and even today it is still a matter of debate.
During the war the Whitworth and other rifles were used for sharpshooting duties on both sides. I dont think an autopsy was performed regarding Reynolds so I do not know of any definitive facts about the weapon used.
Thisold Hatte
I though it was, "what are you ducking for, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist,,,"
John Koeberlein
There are probably other variations of his last words out there. ^_^
The Confederates were extremely lethal with these rifles, there are lots of stories about it including an officer claiming they couldn't hit his men at this distance, seconds later he was hit in the head and dropped dead. Thanks for the video.
An unknown Confederate managed a sniper shot longer than any WWI or WWII shot from Ft Sumpter. It was 1390 yards. Likely a Whitworth.
My gg grandfather and his brother were with the Army of Virginia and were "sharp shooters." Thanks for this information.
1510Yrd .50-90 Sharps rifle.
Ravenwing19 might be referring to the 1538 yard shot by Billy Dixon in 1874 witha .50-90 Sharps.
No there is record of a Confederate sniper using a Whitworth rifle to kill a man at 1400 yards.
most people today do not even know who whitworth was...he had his own measure system not metric and not standard back in the old days if you wanted to work on a bsa..triumph,,enfield,,motorcycle you had to have a set of whitworth tools to fit every nut and bolt on them british bikes.... thanks for the video he was a great inventor and engineer
Still got my "Whitworth" spanners. 1/8" all the way up to 1" in 1/16" increments.
David Page same here I was a truck mechanic even trucks in the seventies had whitworth nuts and bolts
Reminds me of a truck I had with BPT fittings - so annoying but oh so very English. :-)
On one side i absolutely adore this rifle of his.
On the other hand it's pretty damn stupid to reinvent a system that works perfectly fine.
You wouldn't believe how annoying the whitworth threads can be when mixed up with metrics on a machine
Sounds like an asshole 😂
No mention of General John Sedgwick, the Whithworth's most famous victim. He told his companions that they were all safe; the distance from the CS line was too great, nothing could shoot that far with accuracy. Those were his last words, as a Whitworth and a skilled marksman showed that he was wrong.
That's according to Ben Powell of 12th South Carolina, the Whitworth's owner, after the war. Several of Sedgwick's men ventured out shortly after the general's death and killed a reb they believed to be the sharpshooter. Nobody knows for sure.
There was also a cannon that used the same idea.
A 3inch ordnance rifle could put 3 shots into a sheet of newsprint at a thousand yards.
At that range the front sight was 'larger' than the target.
No evidence that a Whitworth killed him.
@@FIREBRAND38 it is a whitworth because there is no way that a musket can kill someone from a long distance with good accuracy
Popped him right below the left eye
How long is the barrel on that thing? In Vietnam I killed an officer over 1000 yards away with my 45 ACP 1911 service pistol. I dropped it out of the helicopter door, and it hit the Captain, on the ground.
lol 10/10 story
Grumpy old fart Damn, you got me there.
fucking hell i laugh out loud at work
Lol.
Grumpy old fart oh yeah? When I fought in Nam i killed five farmers just with my old M1 Carbine. Placed it at the foot of their hut doorway, made some noise outside, and when that all started walking out the tripped over the rifle and suffered skull/brain internal bleeding.
Forgotten Weapons did a pair of videos on this rifle recently, it shoots ~3 MOA which is phenomenal for an over 150 year old muzzle loading rifle.
Kuuryo He said one minute of angle at 500 yards.
@Kuuryo it's probably because of corrosion to the rifling from the blackpowder
@@anonfilly7335 i call bullshit on that
@Kuuryo Watch the correction video he made.
@@beelz5932 corrosion shouldn't be a problem if the rifle gets frequently cleaned
Sir, you just gave me more information about that rifle in 5 minutes than I have found after studying the American Civil War for 20+ years (amateur Civil War buff). The detail with which you speak about the history and functionality of all of these weapons is amazing.
I'd say you deserve your own TV show, but that would be to ignore the fact that this internet fad and your current media outlet is much more effective.
Thanks!
"internet fad" XD
Despite the title it took him forever to actually shoot the damn thing
Have you ever actually looked for the information? ............. LMAO Because there is plenty out there.. Just need to look.
The schools today are shit.
The Whitworth was ahead of it's time, but like others similarly "out of time" they suffered one critical shortcoming. The thing just cost too damn much. Same as the Ferguson Rifle and Girandoni. Too much buck for the bang.
+TheGunrunn3r Cheap and in mass usually rules the day.
RandyLeftHandy And still does. One-on-one, the WWII German panzers outclassed any Allied armor. We just rolled 35 Shermans off the line for every one PzKpfv V (Panther) of Germany. (off the topic slightly... They caught this old dude in Germany who had a Panther (yes, a tank!!!) stashed in his basement. www.newser.com/story/209357/wwii-tank-was-stashed-in-78-year-olds-cellar.html )
I guess we figured that with enough ants you can kill an elephant.
I do have a theory, though. It runs something like this: Back in the days of gotta-fire-volleys-with-muskets to hit anything, if they were using Whitworths (or even used more Baker rifles), there might have been a slight reluctance among the rank-and-file to stand nice and straight in neat shoulder-to-shoulder lines. Even in the face of muskets it hardly seems the smart thing to do, now does it?
Yes, but I read a lot about the Generals of old, and audacity and creativity on the battlefield are pretty rare occurrences. They were reluctant to try anything new, especially when the risks were high. That's why Hannibal's name still rings out today.
RandyLeftHandy Very good point. Mr. Barca was rather annoying to the Romans whose ideas of strategy rarely coincided with that of their nemesis. Another fellow that is perhaps less well known, but was as unorthodox and daring was old Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The only commander in WW1 never to suffer a defeat, despite being outnumbered by at least 5 times his own strength at any given time. It is historically cruel that this man is not better known.
Scipio out thought and out fought Mr. Barca at the Battle of Zama. Blaring trumpets startle elephants it seems.
I cant imagine hitting a target a mile away without a scope. You could barely see the target.
If I recall, the British army was able to get a 7" grouping at 2000 yards. 2 km away. Is more than a mile. Maybe 1.2, 1.3.... IN 1859! But the Enfield cost 20 pounds compared to the Whitfield, scope and 1000 rounds costing 1000 pounds.
no its not CS GO
@@SuqMadiq According to an internet conversion program 2000 yards is 1.136364 miles.
according to ian, this thing was indeed equiped with a scope
@@jamesharris9558 that would require those rifles themselves to shoot a third of an inch groups at 100 yards. Very few modern high end precision rifles can achieve that kind of accuracy. Couple that with only using ironsights and human error, i dont believe that story at all.
Whitworth was a brilliant engineer. His most famous contribution was standardising the pitch and diameter of screw threads for maximum strength and interchangeability. Later they were adopted as UNC.
Whitworth and unc threads are completely different standards.
@@datadavis Apart from half inch, they have the same pitch and diameters. The thread angles are slightly different, but they are mostly interchangeable. In any case, Whitworth was an outstanding engineer.
@@chrisjohnson4165 hex head sizes differ between unc and whitworth too, apart from the thread form
The funny thing about these old rifles is that they have "effective ranges" out to where you literally cannot see the target through the iron sights. I mean, maybe in clear weather, with the target wearing something shiny you could get lucky at a mile away. But its not the problem of the rifle bore or round, its just seeing the person you're shooting without magnification. They'd just be a little dot.
I believe the whitworth was delivered to the union with x4 magnification :)
Ryan Alexander Boom That's horsecrap
@@Ravnulv Confederacy not Union
@@FIREBRAND38 what is? That the rifle will actually shoot that far or that you could effectively see your human sized target in dark clothing to aim at over 1500-2000 yards away with iron sights?
John Simpson I’ll add that the longest confirmed kill of the entire civil war was 1390yds, so the gun was effective out to at least that range but nobody seemed to be able to hit anything farther out than that in 4 years of shooting at each other.
Nice job. Again, the perfect mix of history and shooting. I did a very similar clip with a PH Volunteer Rifle... Some of the same pictures too! They are, of course, of the same generation. Well done.
I shoot a PH Volunteer as well. I have the rifle for more than 10 years now. I love it. 60 grains of 3Fg Swiss + the Lyman Volunteer bullet sized to .451 will put the bullets hole in hole at 100m.
***** Do you have the 2 band or the three band version? Platinum nipple? I haven't tried any 3F powder in mine yet and typically use 2F. Must see what the finer powder does to the groups, for sure.. I use a bullet by Lee Shaver specifically designed for muzzleloaders which is 500 Gr. Your clips are so well polished with great lighting and clarity. They are a pleasure to watch. Thanks.
britishmuzzleloaders
Thanks!! I have the 2 band version. PH bore + Euroarms lock and stock. The lock is a piece of sh... unfortunately... No platinum lined nipple, but i decided to buy one this year, as the high pressure kills the normal steel nipples quickly. I saw Lee Shaver's bullets. They are excellent in my opinion. Do you shoot long range as well?
***** I have shot my Volunteer (and Enfields) out to 500yds.... Not in any competition, mind you. The small bore rifles are so powerful when you compare them to their full bore cousins. I have a similar sight setup to the one in this video, even with the same backsight. Fortunately mine is a full-on PH. The lock has a fly on the tumbler and the overall quality is excellent, as you'd expect from a British PH. Do you use a card-wad or anything under the bullet? What is your cleaning regimen during firing?
britishmuzzleloaders
I sae that on the rifles 3 sights were present, but never thoght the diopter was just for orthopic use. Thanks for the info! Great vid on the Volunteer. Makes me wanna take my rifle to the range. :)
Thank you for this. I am a Whitworth from Melbourne Australia. A great man that did many things.
Superb work Balázs. Perfect mix of the historical facts and practical experiences
Great info. I had the experience of firing a Whitworth about 45 years ago. The most memorable part was the recoil. Firing in a standing position, it lifted my leading foot off the ground.
The engineering prowess behind this rifle is astounding.
Great, informative video, love it!
Engineer: "Wait, the Queen will be firing the first shot?? Someone, quick, I need a stand built to make her hit a bullseye in one shot!!!"
You made the bullet hole first, of course.
The Queen was actually a pretty good shot in her own right.
Gde da kupim Remington 1858. Od ne rđajućeg čelika u SRBIJI.
@@milosmilosevic5113 I definitely understood that.
Historical background shots of a beautiful old rifle, target shooting. It's got it all. What a great video. I'm furious at UA-cam that they now penalise people like Cap and Ball, making great historical videos. This has nothing to do with gun violence, it's just a great video.
As always, superb work! The Atlanta History Center here in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) possesses 2 original Whitworth rifles from the War Between the States, what we Southerner refer to as the Civil War. As there was little actually "civil" about it! They are not typically displayed, but are alelgedly in fine condition.
Your phrasing is backwards. Southerners refer to it as 'The War Between the States.'
@@bloodybones63 I stand corrected. My only hope is you're no Yankee!
@@tomsterism No, SC. 1st SC Confederate Regiment, Greggs
Whitworth definitely belongs in the Firearms Hall of Fame, if that exists. What an amazing feat of engineering. Even Browning who came up with so many great firearms and bullet caliburs would have to acknowledge how amazing this feat was, especially for it's age of production. Maybe this was the best black powder rifle ever made before muzzle loading blackpowder rifles would become obsolete except within certain hunting and firearms enthusiasts. I've gone hunting with a muzzle loader for deer and I would have loved to have one of these, but I agree that they aren't the most pretty (at least this version). Apparently some of the originals were very elegantly made for the wealthiest of wealthy patrons.
Thanks for sharing this - It was suggested in the sidebar on Forgotten Weapons as Ian had an original on the channel today up for auction. He or Karl recommended your channel a year ago or so and I've been subbed ever since.
As always, an excellent video, you really enjoy all this don't you, it certainly beats working! The Whitworth bullet moulds are still made to order in UK.
Those sights have always amazed me..the intricacy and mechanical engineering in them are way beyond the times ... fantastic rifle
This is really amazing. I've been wondering for a long time if one could make a well functioning rifle with polygonal bullets. Great video!
I feel like this guy is trying to seduce me lol
Jason Bartone what do you mean “trying”? Haha. 😂
He's successful if he's trying
If I were queer I'd be all over him.
That's because he looks like fucking Randolf Scott, from the handsome-hero shaved-down mustache to the swashbuckling perfect hair. He should be swinging on a chandelier in his tights while holding a maiden-in-distress and sword-fighting three guys at the same time...
Roll over and check who is bed with you tonight...you never know
That is an amazing weapon for the era. I never suspected it to be that accurate
Amazing history and fantastic shooting. I just ordered my very first 1861 Special today. I'm looking forward to it.
Nice rifle, interesting history, and damn expensive when it was first conceived and in production. Comparing the rifle to the revolver which was $17, versus the rifle which would fetch $1000 ... no wonder so few were around. Probably fairly impossible to find one these days, along with the specialty bullets, makes shooting this shooting a real piece of history. Thanks for showing this to us!
I think he made a mistake, that was probably $1000 in modern currency. According to Forgotten Weapons channel the rifle cost around $96, which is still x3 times of a typical high-tech rifle of those days.
Parker Hale produces an outstanding reproduction but they have three serious design flaws in the manufacture of the breach.
The recomended load for these rifles is a 560 projectile and a 90 grain powder charge. My P-H Whitworth had a catastrophic breach failure, this was not the result of abuse, but a common design flaw I see in many P-H Whitworths, including the one fired here in the video.
The problem can be easily seen in slow motion video of the breach when the rifle is fired.
The first issue is the nipple threading. The thread they use is a course thread, which is a poor choice for rifles designed for such heavy charges. All P-H Whitworth rifles fail to form a sufficient seal by simply tightening the nipple or using material applied to the threads. I found making a copper O-ring gasket was the only way to stop the gas blowby. The blowby is occurring on the rifle in this video as well. Evidence can be seen by the dark, almost wet looking, dark ring at the contact point where the nipple seat contacts the breach. When watching it fired in slow motion, and excessive amount of smoke can be seen coming from the nipple region, and the shooter generally has an uncomfortable feeling when the unexplainable hot gas strikes his face. Most the time you will actually see the shooter look directly at the breach the moment the rifles is fired, because of the hot puff of air. A thin copper gasket was the only solution I found in stopping this leakage.
Secondly, the small access screw is not typically seen on rifles that fire such a heavy load. Some original Whitworths had it, but most were manufactured without it or had it removed because of pressure issues.
But the dangerous flaw in these rifles is how P-H soldered the breech components.
The breech plug is round and made from several pieces. there is an inner and an external part. These parts are not threaded and appear they should be silver soldered in the original whitworth design.
But after mine blew up, I was shocked to learn mine was soldered with bronze.
Repeated firing on a bronze solder will slowly etch out the bronze, forming an air cavity. Air cavities and black powder can create a rebound pressure effect that can exceed 100,000 PSI, and once the cavity is formed, the repeated firing will cause the cavity to enlarge and eventually blow the poor breech solder apart.
I saw early signs of the breech failure but I failed to diagnose the problem correctly.
The sign my rifle was giving prior to the failure was a small thin dark, wet-like line which appeared when where the barrel met the breech. I didn't realize that this was the result of gas escaping the bronze solder. Behind this small line, I also detected a extremely small, hardly detectable bulge in the bottom of the breech. This was only noticeable when the barrel was removed from the stock.
My only advice to anyone who may be seeing these symptoms is to have the breech disassembled, and the bronze solder repaired and properly welded with stronger Silver Solder.
this could be remedied by putting a flintlock action. From what I understand it was not uncommon to convert the new primer system to the old flintlock system in the 19th century.
Mag30th so in other words ouch!?
Thanks, i have this rifle, i will look out for the signs of a possible failure
Besides the matter of authenticity, I'd rather have a small tig weld instead of a much weaker braze. Unless it would need to be easily removed, then silver would be a better option.
Thanks for the information.
Have you looked at the Pedersoli replica? www.davide-pedersoli.com/scheda-prodotto.asp/l_en/idpr_395/rifles-whitworth-rifle-whitworth-rifle.html
Love me some Civil War guns. There were some pretty interesting ones, as well as some really ahead-of-their-time stuff like the Whitworth.
Personal favorite Civil War era gun, for me, is still the LeMat revolver. Just an interesting concept.
But the Whitworth is a beautiful gun. And as someone said in other comments, the big downside was the cost. At the time, anyway
What an awesome weapon! Totally amazing beyond belief. Had to be the finest rifle for years. I would love to shoot this.
Sir Joseph Whitworth was my ancestor. There are still to this day a few excellent marksmen in the family. Sadly though no examples of the rifle. :(
Excellent video, thank you for taking the time to lay the foundation on the rifle for clarification and understanding. Your attention to detail is Exhilarating. Please continue to keep insightful knowledge and understanding of history.
Well.. Joseph Whitworth also standardized the engineering measurements. Also linked to the Blockade runners in the American Civil war.. The Alabama traded his guns for Cotton. to supply the Lancashire Cotton Mills in work
23,000 people died in the Rossindale area of Lancashire due to the blockade Hench the Alabama,supported by the Cotton traders in Liverpool
All down to my ancestor
.
My Great Great Great Grandfather Jesse Stanfield went to battle in the Civil War with a .451 whitworth. In his journal , when his dad sent him to war, he was given it as his father wanted his son to be equipped with the best rifle in the world at that time. Till his dying day he kept that rifle and at his funeral , they buried him with it. Great video!
Iiiiiinteresting….how many Jesse Stanfields could there have been in the Civil War? Not many I’d imagine. Now just the matter of tracking down his burial site and…well…a guy’s gotta make a buck 😅😅😅
I am so jealous of you getting to shoot that rifle my friend!
Nice. I know a little bit about these from a few gunzine articles over the years. I had forgotten all about the hexagonal bullet design. Didn't know they were so expensive back then- that explains a lot. Thanks for the presentation.
As a mining electrician in the 60/70s I used 'Whitworth' spanners but also had some AF spanners - not because we ever came across AF (American Flat - for Brits who don't know), threads in mining but so that, when, occasionally, I found some hexagon-headed bolt that my Whitworths didn't fit, an AF just might. This happened because during World War 2, to conserve steel - bolt heads had metal shaved off them. These we called 'bastard' sizes, and were still found on some older gear. Otherwise it was inserting a flat-bladed screwdriver blade in the gap - not ideal or most times very effective. The American civil war misnamed, I believe, as it was a war of secession, I've always found to be particularly heart-breaking but the story of Jack Hinson's murdered sons, especially so.
I am a Brit. And AF stands for Across Flats
@@MURDOCK1500 I got American Flat from an ex soldier/electrician who used to work on American cars and jeeps during the war but you are correct, thanks I remember this now.
I'm here after watching the Forgotten Weapons video about this rifle, I was seriously intrigued. Great to see it in action. Fantastic video, Cheers from Canada!
Ive read about this rifle before and never thought Id see one fired. Great job brother and keep it up man I love your videos. I bet youd have fun here in the US especially Texas, youd have a field day with all of our firearms!
Very interesting vids and shooting of weapons from the past-my godfather was a collector of old weapons-from flintlocks to ww2 -my favorite was a 68cal halfstocks and the 7.92mm Mauser made in 1939
You sir have an excellent channel. Have not seen a bad video yet, nor do I expect I will.
Good job as usual! I really like your including history, shooting, and family. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
One has to wonder if a step back in time mite not lead to a super performance sniper rifle. Modern rifling scars the projectile and might effect it's performance. A higher spin rate may help. With modern CNC machining and advanced metallurgy we may be able to produce a 50.cal Whitworth type gun. Just a thought.
+Rl Badger That is a very interesting idea!
+Lightspit Well thank you
+Rl Badger
mite1
mʌɪt/
noun
a minute arachnid which has four pairs of legs when adult, related to the ticks. Many kinds live in the soil and a number are parasitic on plants or animals.
+William Shakespeare thank you corected
The original Witworth rifles, and the mechanism used by Queen Victoria are in the NRA musuem Bisley. Whitworth built the rifles originally to study ballistics. Four started wit seven foot long barrels and wer etrimmed till optmum performance was achived. In the process developing the mathmatics of small bore ballistics.
There is a movie ...[somewhere]...that centers around a 'sniper' shot at very long distance. Its a civil war setting. Just one chance to 'kill the general'...as the shot would give away the presence of troops with the sniper. Also, a movie of a youth with a long range rifle, with scope, working vengence from unseen distances.
I recall the 'movie' re the shooting of the General; though I recall it to be a '50s TV program rather than a movie. The sniper remained in concealment for the longest while, waiting for the General to appear. Finally, knowing he was to return to his unit, he fired at his secondary target... just as the General emerged from his tent, to take the round.
and i was so happy about my erma gallagher from '75. now i want this beauty here. imagine the hours of fun in your workshop to create your own bullet mold. holy moly.
I enjoy history and black powder weapons. You produce excellent videos on both counts.
Loved the video! I enjoyed knowing the information behind it ! Interested in seeing more videos... especially about sniping and the American civil war.
THAT is a sniper rifle. Very good video, will be watching more
An informative video, calmly and competently presented. Excellent work!
I can just picture that exchange ;-P
Wife: "It cost HOW MUCH??"
Hubby: Honey, I don't drink, hit you, & am loving to our kids & your mother. Leave my Whitworth alone."
@Rusty Shackleford Star Trek Angel One was a warning... lol
It's whitworth it!
An hexagonal bullet! Who'd 'ave known! Thanks, what an amazing piece of firearms history I didn't know.
Years ago I was in Knoxville driving somewhere when I saw a historical marker about some Union General killed by a sniper from a distant tower. The tower still stands, and using the car's odometer I drove the distance between the two points..... just under one mile. The clerks and mechanics from the large northern cities never could grasp the danger they were in at great distances from natural-born riflemen who'd been shooting since weaned.
I did not know about this beauty. Incredible precision instrument from the mid-1800's. Very impressive, and very effective. Thanks for the vid!
Sharps Rifle Vs. Whitworth : Discuss
Siddharth fgjhfh Depends on which Sharps and for waht purpose. For skirmish in the Civil War: 1859 Sharps for sure. For taking out a Union general from 600 yards: Whitworth.
Well as for which Sharps, I was thinking long cartridge like .50-90 or .50-110, think Adobe Walls :)
Siddharth fgjhfh I think they can be something like equal in accuracy, but the center fire self contained cartridge is far superior than the muzzleloading system.
From what I understand from wikipedia (lol) they were effective "sniper" weapons too, being the preferred rifle of "2nd United States Sharpshooters". I think the Whitworthis beautifully engineered though
Siddharth fgjhfh Wikipedia is not the best source for info... :) IN the civil war the sharps rifles used were breech loading percussion rifles, not metallic cartridge guns like the 1874 Sharps rifles. The civil war time guns fired a linen or paper cased cartridge including the bullet and powder. The rifles had to be primed separatly by placing a percussion cap on the niplle after closing the breech.
Met a fellow at the range one morning, John Person from Hunterdon Co. N.J. He had a Parker Hale Whitworth .451 sniper rifle which he was extracting from its beautiful velvet-lined fitted and formed case as I approached him. A lengthy conversation ensued and he offered me the first shot of the morning. I punched out the x of the 50 yard paper bulls-eye. Offhand. That experience was a very bright moment. I never saw John again and have not come across another PHW. All you may imagine is what it was. Semper Fi.
I fell off the chair when i heard my mother language during the video.....
:)
Hungarian is the coolest sounding language in my opinion
it's so much more gratifying to see the antique weapons being discussed actually at work than just looked at.
Union Major General John F. Reynolds was felled on the first day's fight at gettysburg by a confederate sharpshooter. And let's not forget about another union corp commander at spotsylvania courthouse, Major General John Sedgwick in 1864 who chided his men when the rebel sharpshooters were making it rather hot for the yankees. No sooner than he had said his famous quip of "they couldn't hit an elephant at that distance" to a cowering soldier, he fell dead by a round from one of those rifles aimed in his direction.
No evidence a Whitworth did it
It is amazing how good and surprisingly cool and old gun like this is, even though most old guns are cool, this gun has quite neat sights that seem to work rather well for the time period, making this a very cool old weapon, great video
I've been wanting to invite you to the annual Mathew Quigley Long Range Buffalo Rifle Match, held in Forsyth, Montana, USA every father's day weekend. I think you would absolutely love it. If you are interested, I'm willing to provide you with all the information.
Rick Herzog
It's like Quigley just muzzle load. Same caliber.
Another superbly illuminating and excellent piece! For your reference, the Atlanta History Center, in the Buckhead area of the city, possesses TWO original Whitworth Civil War-era rifles, employed by the Confederates. One is kept out on display while the other is maintained in storage. A truly magnificent weapon.
100 meters, vs 500 is a massive change.
It is the length of the range on Parris Island.
Very cool. As you said, proper sizing of that hexagonal bullet must have been a real pain. Thanks for sharing this.
that was an awesome vid!
Nice, and with a 1 in 20 twist, and with hexagonal bullets they can't jump the riffling, plus could make bullets out of different material as well matching the hexagonal shape. Pretty cool stuff!
Adjusted for inflation... this rifle would be a about $30,422... and some change.
Its no wonder only the best sharpshooters got them...
Wow it's absolutely incredible how expensive these were.
Wow nice presentation . .. I was very surprised. No yelling yanky... no crappy music ..
Your pulling your face off the rifle too quickly. Hold your face , right there, until the echoes die away....follow through is critical to fine shooting. Other than that. . Slow down...ease into it...Groups will shrink even tighter!! Love you vids!!..Your a smart guy, and a credit to gun collectors everywhere!
I agree.
K. W. Churchill It doesn't really matter, it's a muzzle loading rifle so you have to reposition yourself after every shot anyway.
+Stale Meme that's what you tell yourself when you bite the pillow.
You'll never be sorry you had good follow thru at the target range.
follow thru is legit
Whitworth also built a 12 pounder 2.75 inch breech loading cannon using the same rifling during the Cvil War period. One account said that it could shoot a group that did not deviate more than 5 inches laterally at 1600 yards. They were mostly used for counter-battery fire.
Can't you folks at least put metric conversions in the corner or something so the rest of the civilized world can understand? Thanks.
mbogucki1 civilized? fucking please... U.S. LEADS the world in just about EVERY category.... from stupid shit like Silicon Valley (aka Apple, Droid, Drones, technology) even too our Culture.. Every country copys the U.S... Why do you think so many people choose to leave terible countries like Australia or UK. Cause your governments are run by CUCKS.
So salty. Did I hurt your ego?
I guess whatever makes you sleep at night buddy.
If only you were nr 1 in education, then you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense.
bulg7430 From which country?
mbogucki1 That gun is older than metric or SI system, so conversion would be stupid.
Grear Video! Sorry to hear it is not available anymore. Thanks! You are the best!
One of the greatest and genius inventions in firearms history 👌
I wasn’t expecting such a great video. Great job on this. Informative and educational.
im looking at getting into BP long range shooting and i was thinking the pedersoli whitworth might be a good start i find the whitworth a fascinating gun!
There were Confederate regiments of hand-picked Sharpshooters too. The Palmetto Sharpshooters out of South Carolina was one of these regiments. However, the South had so few men to begin with that they put their sharpshooters in with regular infantry regiments.
Amazing rifles thank you for posting this. Aside from the price issues the only main problem was they were very susceptible to fouling after a relatively low number of shots, far more so than a normal rifle/musket. This made them very unsuitable for general issue
I have a specially made bayonet for that rifle, it looks the same as most of the 1856 yataghan rifle bayonets of the day but this one has a circular mortise slot that was specific to the 1863 whitworth rifle, fairly hard to come by. my dad gave it to me when he was having a clear out, i asked him why he had it and he told me his mum let him buy one from the junk shop as a kid and he used it to play with and it was used as a fire poker!. its safely mounted on a wall now haha!
Beautifull rifle and test,whats speed bullet?
I very much like that you mentioned the price for the rifle and what that meant, I.e. that it was almost 60 times as expensive as a standard rifle. That context helps the understanding a lot.
My uncle has one of these. It was used in long range contest into the 1960's
I love how cool those sights look.
This is the second video of yours I have watched today. Again, excellent, educational, and entertaining. Thanks again!
real neat video, good balance of history and shooting as well as just interesting to learn about a gun that i've never seen or heard of
Wow i grew up on a street called Whitworth close as a kid in the UK , nice to learn its name has some badass history behind it
This is a very good insight into this Firearm, I shoot these and the Enfield 2 Band & Musket...It's a great way to send you mad chasing the Paper ....But it's a great way to spend a day..
In 1862, the Kingdom of Saxony tested a new .45 caliber cavalry carbine whith a whitworth type barrel and a breech loading mechanism made by Malherbe et cie. from belgium. Onfortunately the commission dropped it due to a too weak locking mechanism in favour of the 62 caliber terry carbine.
Excellent video, I could see my fire father struggled and invented longer distance shooting points. God bless them and their families.
For the technology at the time the setup and design of this rifle was totally amazing
A very interesting bullet, lots of lead, originally maybe softer no ? When I was casting for the 41 and 44 mag it was wheel weights and a bit of tin, a very hard bullet, fingernail could not cut it. I admire the cut checkering and would need a bigger room for that barrel length though.
Impressive i never thougt a Blackpowder Gun could be this accurate, clearly ahead of its Time
Excellent video.
I've seen chaps use hexagonal wad punches used on waxed felt for an excellent fit though doubt if they a totally necessary .
I finally found your show. You are a great historian and an excellent shoot.
Queen Victoria original target,mentioned is on display at NRA Museum Bisley Surrey England along with some fully original Whitwort rifles and scopes
My 3rd great grandfather was issued one of these rifles. he was garrisoned on the islands outside of Charleston. His name was Franklin Sharp and he was a German/Native American mixedblood from Orangeburg County, SC. He died of yellow fever in the later part of the war.
My cousin Jeff had one of these guns . And he went to a tournament .of whitworths only. He said it was amazing .how far some of those guys . where hitting with them.
Very cool video, never knew about hexagonal bullets before either
Very interesting. If the hexagonal bullet had so many advantages, as it surely did, why was it not produced in greater numbers for the army sharp shooters. Judging from what you said, the principal could even be useful today. I assume the cost of manufacture is the fly in the ointment.
+Adrian Larkins The main method of making hexagonal barrels, as I understand it, was to make hexagonal tubes, then twist them with a very high level of precision, which is obviously slightly hard to accomplish in the 1860s.
An interesting look at a unique rifle/bullet combination that could hold its own even today.
Very good video do you have one in the girondoni air rifle... That could fire at an amazing rate of fire and used a bicycle type pump