Prussian Soldiers under Frederick the Great were trained to load and Fire their 1750's Era Muskets, 6 Times A Minute. By 1750, most European armies were fascinated with the speed of fire demonstrated by the Prussian troops in the War of Austrian Succession. Austrian military veterans and theorists saw that their troops could fire 4-5 rounds a minute on the drill square, basically matching the Prussian drill square ideal. Prussian troops were capable of firing six rounds a minute, but could not maintain that pace for any length of time. Lossow comments, "Altogether, it would be too much to expect troops to maintain six rounds a minute for an extended time." The British achieved a similar level of drill-square proficiency in this regard, with veteran troops being able to fire four rounds a minute
@@VerkingKerng of a piece of furniture or equipment) able to be bent or rearranged into a flatter or more compact shape, typically in order to make it easier to store or carry. Now that’s Foldering
Outstanding shot at that distance using a muzzle loader and only iron sights! These days we have gizmo's, spotters, computers windage tables and telescopic sights! I have used modern black powder muzzle loaders in the States and balancing it on a leg lying on your back in the heat of battle - THAT is a masterful act Sir. It is sad to hear of his demise but the demon drink does destroy many a good man.
I walked the ground and tried to calculate the distance, but absent precise locations, my guess at maximum range would have been a bit over 300 yards. I read a history that said Tom died in a Poor House, a gibbering idiot, probably poxed, definitely an alcoholic. Long before PTSD was a diagnosis.
@@paulrevere2379 At that time "going for a soldier" was considered an action of last resort. Regimental posting to a colony was for 7 years, few wives could accompany and 10% wastage in transit by disease and shipwreck was acceptable. Enlistment was for 21 years and there were no protections against disease, internal medicine was decades away and almost any bacterial infection was fatal. Wellington called British troops "the scum of the earth, but terrifying". Little wonder, fatalism and copious amounts of alcohol fueled them.
To Mr Burke. Any British success always brings a negative report from you. Middle Class don't find it easy giving credit to the plebs. It would have been yards back then. Metres is europhile lingo not English. It won't last.
It was a great story of the Peninsular War, Plunket's shot, sad part is that like many chaps exposed to the horrors of wars he tried to fight his inside pain with alchool, a sad ending as many also had. Good of you to get back at it Chris.
I, myself, read the book called 'Recollections of Private Harris'. As I recall, he tells on how easy soldiers (both regular and 95th) died whether on battles or on skirmishes. Those kinds of things can make any survivor have survivor's guilt and PTSD. I remember that Harris remained as a cobbler after the war.
Thank you for covering the story of Rifleman Plunkett . I always wondered what happened to him having seen the sketch and account of his shooting the French General.
Find a neglected veteran and give him back some dignity then you won't feel so sad. It's not the custom of honorable men to beg. Death isn't welcome but it's preferable to disgrace.
My favorite "long shot" was by Billy Dixon at Adobe Walls in Texas. Over 1500 yards as measured by a Army survey team. Done with a Sharps rifle, but the caliber was in question as he used a borrowed rifle and there were several calibers of Sharps present.
@@stevek8829 First, it wasn't "supposed borrowed", it was in fact borrowed as he himself stated. His own Sharps was a 45-90 and he didn't think it would do the job. Several other men there had various Sharps calibers. In some reports he borrowed a 50-90, in others it was 50-100. Sharps made several rifle calibers and several calibers were present during the battle. And Billy never claimed the shot was anything other than luck. In his book he called it a "scratch" shot.
Whatever the distance it wasn't a lucky shot because Plunket reloaded and shot the next Frenchman in exactly the same spot! His troops were so enraged by this that they charged a group of the 95TH who were taking cover behind a low wall with broken rising ground behind several of them paid the price too!
The thing not mentioned is the position, which is the origin of modern ‘backgunning’. Resting a rifle on your leg gives an incredibly stable position. It’s still used to day in Match Rifle shooting (1,000-1,200 yards) - I use it myself - and is really only taught at Cambridge University (CURA), who’s shooters then feed into the national teams.
'Backgunning' was also known as 'the supine position'. I've taught and used the position on a variety of weapons from pistols to rifles in my former employment.
As the contemporary report states that the General "appeared to live a charmed life" as all shots were missing him despite him being "frequently aimed at by ouir men ", that presumably means that the range was such that people at least thought it was worth shooting at him from the range they were at, and also that the observer commenting felt they had some chance of hitting him. That can't have been much more than 300 yards, or they wouldn't have bothered. Plunket then ran forward 100 yards to close the range. So 200 yards would seem about right. Anything over 300 would mean the previous shooters were pointlessly wasting ammunition, which surely would have been discouraged rather than encouraged.
An excellent short documentary. I'm impressed at how much detail you managed to get into 9 minutes. A fascinating tale of derring-do and human frailty.
In the late 60's a Soldier of the Argyles and Sutherland Highlanders took out two terrorist's with a single shot over a distance of a mile or so, in Aden, but in those days no one recorded, but I think it was also reported in in one of the daily papers. Maybe the Daily Mirror. peace.
As a member of Morgan's Riflemen, Timothy Murphy shot British General Simon Fraser from a tree during the American Revolution. Distance was just over 300 yards during the Battle of Bemis Heights (Saratoga). He then shot Sir Francis Clerke through the head (same distance). Another example of outstanding marksmenship.
@@jasonallen9144 Correct, the stress is on the first “o”, not the “e”. The name is of Norman origin, having gone through Gaelic forms. It looks Italian, hence the common mistake in pronunciation. Quite annoying, when Elvis Costello became famous I thought “ they’re pronouncing it wrong “, but there you go. Don’t know if there are any Italian Costellos, I’ll look into it.
Both Plunket and Costello (Costell) are Norman names. They would have gone over to Ireland when the Normans invaded and eventually just blended in. Most Normans (even to this day) have dark hair and brown eyes while the majority of "other Irish" have blue eyes.
So I'm hearing PTSD and potentially a mass shooting fortunately avoided. That's happening more than a few times. Then the all too common story, then and now of ex soldiers becoming homeless due to addiction and inability to adapt to civilian life. The French called it the "Canard", the Americans after the Civil War called it Nostalgia or Soldiers Heart. Those Union troops demobilised were given rail passes sewn to their uniform stating "Homeward Bound", many didn't want to return to normal society and formed homeless camps, their uniform labels becoming the slang term Hobo.
I think by 'canard' you mean 'cafard'. "Avoir le cafard" is the usual slang corresponding to 'being down in the dumps', say; sort of like Churchill's "black dog". 'Cafard' is also the word for a cockroach. At origin, this bit of slang springs from that sense of hopelessness and depression we might these days call 'having PTSD'. All too often it related to the pest-ridden and dilapidated housing post-war soldiers had to endure. By contrast a 'canard', besides being a duck, might be a piece of fake news, or a 'red herring'.
@@richardlinter4111 Actually, it's a FFL term, used as slang allegorically for a beetle that gets into the head of soldiers. The original formation was drawn from the need to empty Paris of the disruptive foreign veterans of the Napoleonic wars and ship them to die in the new north African colonies.
Have you ever read " Rifleman Dobbs " by CS Forester ? It's an excellent read set around the time of Sharpe , as it was published in 1932 I have often wondered if it inspired Bernard Cornwell to write the Sharpe books .
As far as I know you are half-way onto something here. It was indeed CS Forester who inspired Cornwell to write Sharpe. But is was the Hornblower series which made Cornwell think that the army needs a similar hero of its own.
I find it difficult to take anything seriously that refers to bullet drop as "windage" ...... which is horizontal, not vertical deflection and any good shot, used to longer distances than their rifle is sighted for, will know how much to aim off in order to hit an "impossible" target. Otherwise, very nicely done, thank you.
Yes, windage = side to side wind correction. Elevation = up and down gravity correction. Difficult to listen to someone who gets the basic targeting wrong.
@@malcolmwright7440 I suspect that the guy actually knows his weapons, but speaking on video is not his usual comfort zone, hence the brain fart. Just a thought.
You should watch some of Rob’s videos on his Britishmuzzleloaders channel and he really does know his stuff from actually shooting these period weapons, usually on fire and manoeuvre in the Canadian countryside. He has the uniforms as well as the weapons, very informative and fun channel.
@@stonemarten1400 I suspect you mean fire and movement unless he has entire companies of hundreds or thousands of people out there doing it in competitive and creative ways against each other. That's something that actual militaries with vast budgets actually have a difficult (hence rare) enough time practicing. But fire and movement is an essential technique on which good tactics can be built.
@@malcolmwright7440 absolutely Malcolm, from what I gather from watching this man's content is that because it was an Irishman that took this shot then it must have been an exaggerated fluke. It was highly possible for a Baker rifle to hit a target from 400 yards plus, as the right elevation/ trajectory. Its a pity this man spews such garbage as the channel should be so much more interesting.
0:37 Ha! Just found this, after watching all 15 episodes of Sharpe, and the first moving image you show is good old Daniel Hagman, Chosen Man, and best shot of the 95th Rifles. I look forward to watching this.
Sounds like a perfect candidate for the SAS special forces regiment..... brave and courageous and capable misfits are the ones who thrive in a more professional yet less standard military discipline.The less formal atmosphere brings out personal discipline that allows the regiment to concentrate on the job at hand knowing the men are there because they want to be there.... BTW the British army Rifles regiment are encouraged to give their opinion and concerns about a plan of action, this builds confidence and bonds that produce great soldiers.....
Not wrong, but questionable. Too often embellishment encourages the foolish and immature to call their own failings as assets. It's true that traditional discipline, the kind needed to keep the careless and thoughtless types from hurting themselves and others is not always the best, especially for special operations. What is needed, what is essential in fact is maturity, trustworthiness and intelligence, the capability of small teams acting independently but still reliably on board with broader military objectives. In such cases there is room for some rough edges, but only so much. Insisting that no exceptions to discipline are to be ever tolerated misses out on possible heroics, but too many exceptions guarantees permanent regrets.
I tried shooting my Gew88 and Type 38 Arisaka from the ' Plunkett Position ' since they are both very long rifles. It took some getting used too. But I was soon able to ring the 400m gong with every shot . A massive accomplishment with a flintlock frontstuffer and round ball. With smokeless handloads .... not so much!
I believe it was the claimed 500m, I have been competing in black powder shooting for the past 27 years beginning when I was 15 in the North-South Skirmish Association. When I was 18 I took my father's 1842 Springfield(.69 called smoothbore) while at a practice session and consistently rang a 12 inch dia gong at 200 yards. I take my original 1863 Springfield rifle-musket and shoot it at 600 yards for deer season and have taken deer at 430 yards with it before. While the Baker Rifle was a bit inferior to my 1863 Springfield, it is not so inferior as to not being able to make a 500m kill
I note that some people have posted comments about Rob’s validity in shooting. The man not only has been a Baker Rifle shooter for very many years and demonstrated an ability that would put him in the top class were he in the period 95th Regiment, but has seen army service including real action. He knows what he is talking about. Yes there was an element of luck in Plunkett’s shots given the dispersion inherent in the weapon, no matter how superhuman a shot he might be. But there is no doubt he did it. The reports probably refer to the distance from the rest of the regiment so 100 yards must be added to the actual shot distance. I would imagine it was over 200 yards and the rifle is sighted to 300 so a maximum of 400 yards from the regiment. I have a period Baker Rifle and, given the sights, he would be hard put to aim at more that the general position of a man but he struck lucky on the day. Well done him. Bad luck to Brigadier General Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais, Comte de l’Empire and his unnamed Trumpet Major. I don’t know why some have whinged about Plunket not being specified as Irish. The only person whose nationality was mentioned was Colbert. The fortunate Captain Stewart was never specified as English or Scots for example. Plunket was a British soldier. Beyond that he had his personal history and background and the Peninsula Army had British soldiers who were English, Scots, Welsh, Irish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Maghrebi Lord alone knows who else. They did not care. The same these days. Take your Attestation to the Crown and you are a British soldier of the Crown. British, Fijian, Canadian, Danish, Antiguan, Ghanaian, and whatever else. One of my soldiers was ex Irish army and had seen service in the Congo.
I believe at that time, and I'm no expert on the Napoleonic era but I believe they were still using the round ball. If that is the case, the accuracy is not great. I sometimes hunt big game (North America) with a .50 cal rifled muzzleloader and round ball. I have passed up animals at beyond 200 yards because I feel it would be unethical to make a bad shot and have the animal suffer. In a wartime situation, perhaps I would take longer shots.
OK, so Mr. Mustashio says no, now during our own civil war a shot was made by a rifleman at over 1400 yds. with a cap and ball rifle using a paper-patch bullet, THAT'S AT OVER HALF A MILE. so three or four hundred yards is ok with me. The Baker rifle was capable of regularly hitting the target when fired by a sharpshooter at 400 yds, and by a common soldier at 200.
We can kinda estimate the distance by making a few assumptions. Assume Tom can run 100m in about 20 seconds over rough terrain, we know that after making the two shots he was "just about" set upon by some cavalry troopers. Assuming an average horse speed of 30hm/h you get about 8m a second from the horses. If Tom took the shot and nearly got caught by the cavalry then it took nearly 20 seconds for the cavalry to close the distance between the shot General and Tom or 8m/s x 20s = 160m, which is still a really nice shot with a Bakers. I know I'm being pretty liberal with my exponents but it seems plausible.
I think that 200 yards is a little underestimated ... I shoot a smoothbore 1777 Charleville .69 calibre, I am no great marksman but I can reliably hit a 2 foot gong at 200 yards. That's with only a front blade sight (no rear sight at all) and a patched ball. My point being that 300 with a rifle is attainable and would be plausible and garner applause in the era. I think it likely the shot was between 200 and 300 yards.
I'd guess 350yards, maybe a little further, I agree that it would be a long shot, but we're talking about an aclaimed excellent shot in an infantry regiment that specialised in sharp shooting (Rifles as opposed to line infantry) using his own weapon the deficiencies and characteristics of which he would be intimately familiar with and it being a shot that was clearly regarded as exceptional at the time.
@@tomriley5790 Thanks Tom, I think we're both in agreement that 200 yards (as suggested) is a little short of what would likely be an historic shot in the period. 350 is plausible. I frequently encounter a strange bias in modern portrayals of napoleonic era military shooting (in fact all muzzle loading military firearms, right up to the American civil war). That is the suggestion that flintlock accuracy was poor. As a lifelong enthusiast I can tell you that a smoothbore (let alone a rifle) of the period was more than adequate in terms of accuracy. I think this notion comes from the viewpoint of modern historians who consider the pan flash and delay in main charge ignition as almost ludicrous and at odds with accurate shooting. This view tends to completely avoid the notion that one becomes familiar with the tools of one's era, much like any craftsman. I have been lucky enough to shoot many frontline flintlocks of the period as well as some very fine civilian pieces from esteemed makers of the time. Ignoring the ergomics, it's fair to say the high quality civilian firearms have generally better/faster ignition, but not by much. The military issued locks were very very capable and robust. Baker rifles have a nice lock, and good ergonomics even by modern standards. This rifle, in capable practiced hands could and did perform admirably.
@@tomriley5790 Then you are assuming that the soldiers previously firing and missing at the General who "appeared to live a charmed life" were firing from 450 yards. Is this likely?
On a different tack, I must say I enjoyed the style and use of the English language in Costello's writing. Unfortunately, now a language style mostly unused. Modern education to blame?
@wasp6594, In particular since he was a born and bred Dublin man. However the English Media encouraged laughter at the "attempts" of the Irish use of English. Also great reluctance to the give the Irish soldiers in the British Army credit for anything. But no disrespect to the average Englishman, or woman, here. I am referring to the "elitist" view. My first cousin was in the Rifle Brigade in the 60's and my Uncle, now dead, was in Dunkirk.
Considering that there were American sharpshooters during this same period who could shoot 500-800 yards. Like Davy Crockett was a amazing proven sharpshooter
Some people got really good at Kentucky windage. Hitting a target repeatedly at distance beyond what the firearm is capable of is one thing. A one time lucky shot is another thing totally. When I was young and got excited I hit a running deer at 300+ yards with a 12 gauge slug firing from my hip. Could I do that every time? Nope. Can it be done with a lot of luck. Yup.
Given that during the Hundred Years war English and Welsh archers were not only known to hit targets at up to 300 yards but bet on which eye they would hit, don't these men deserve to be known as our first snipers.Wellington himself asked Horse Guards to try to give him a battalion of longbowmen( they couldn't be found) as the accuracy and rate of fire would have destroyed French colombs fare beyond their ability to fire back.
An interesting "what if" - I've never heard of the request for a battalion of longbowmen but sounds like it would have been an interesting experiment...
@@redcoathistory Thanks for taking the time to reply, to imagine what prompted the request ( if that was factual and not apocryphal) imagine a full battalion ( 5-600 in the peninsula) firing up to 20 arrows per minute at rages beyond 200 yards.If Wellington had kept archers on his preferred reverse slope until French columns were too close to allow their artillery and then ordered the archers forward then in not much more than a minute's fire an entire French column could be wiped out,as you said a very interesting "what if".( Btw,my all time "what if" is a meeting of Edward IIl's archers an the Mongolian Golden Horde( provided we had a full supply of arrows)
fundamentally the range doesn't change, it's not that the projectile couldn't go over a few hundred yards. It's that it starts to have a dispersion greater than the target being shot at. When the gentleman said the soldier needed to adjust his windage he was describing elevation, windage on those rifles is fixed that is the left and right coordinates, elevation is essentially up and down. It's a fairly long winded description of the incident which is inside 200yards, skill in use of the firearm allows most to all projectiles to hit a man sized target, once the target is over 300yards the particle dispersion is so great that it's almost equal to chance and past that, it changes to pretty much only chance. This precision measurement would generally be known (and published in army manuals of the time) as the armies, would "pattern" their rifles. Standing 10 or so soldiers facing a large blanket ,fire a few volleys then count the number of projectiles in the lethal zone. The Germans in WW2 had a very comprehensive test for firearms entering service. The British had an alternative one and they would select rifles that performed better during testing to give to soldiers that where better marksman, thus creating really a designated marksman/sniper.
Are you serious? You went through this entire video without mentioning that Thomas Plunkett was an Irishman! Born and bred in Co Wexford! Also, it was highly possible for a Baker rifle to hit its target from 400 yards plus at the right trajectory. I have noticed before you do not mention the Irish who served in the British army in this era. So many brave men hidden in history by yourself and the likes. Pity.
Hi. A third of the army were Irish - I just take it for granted that people are aware of that. You are the third person to mention it so I will admit that Irish in the Peninsular army clearly deserve their own video but to accuse me of trying to hide their service for some nefarious means is silly - why would I do that? I have Catholic Irish blood myself and have absolutely no issue with the Irish.
200 yards is a way to short of an estimate. You have the second leaf giving the 200 yds aimed sight if used normal but if you use the base of the blade that gives you another 75-100, I would think 300yds would be the beginning of any shot that would gain any notoriety.
I've made shots beyond the maximum range of the round I was using. I don't put much stock in claims this is 200 meters based on what a average rifleman could do. This person simply could be far above average. Ps I hit a target several times with a pistol that my friends never hit all day with their rifles.
Stick a shooting stick on the rear gun sight.Some smart units practice with them . ByI've shot muzzle loaders plenty.. In a way they are like B B guns. Remember elevating high, hitting target .No damage. Of course.
A patched ball muzzle loader extremely difficult and very lucky but not impossible perhaps. Muzzle loading match Rifles circa 1860 are shot out to 1200 yds in national & International comps. My own muzzle loading Enfield rifle from 1858 is shot out to 800yds. They are admittedly an entirely different animal to the Baker rifle. I've shot a couple of friend's Bakers at 100yds. The original was very accurate with the correct load. The reproduction not so much. With any muzzle loader the shooter needs to develop a load that gives best results for the rifle and be consistent with it. That said a Rifleman in 1809 wouldn't have that luxury. The 1814 regs for riflemen state that a recruit should eventually practice at 300 yds and that is what makes me believe Plunkett's shot was around that distance. A head shot at that range with a follow up kill would have been truly remarkable
For even an expert shot to hit two consecutive individual targets with a Baker at anything over 150 yards seems unlikely given the spread of shots on a standard target from a Baker rifle at that range. Also the size of an individual target at battle ranges makes it difficult to even see what you are aiming at, at about 100 yards a man sized target appears to be about the height of your thumb at arms length, at 300 yards it appears to be the height of your thumbnail at arms length, Hughes in "Firepower" has some excellent images of what targets appear like at various ranges including showing a line of infantry at about 600 paces, hitting an individual target with an SLR at 600 ranges is not easy, hitting one with a Baker or even an Enfield would be close to impossible. Costello even says that Plunkett had to run forward about one hundred yards before he could take the shot.
@@fjb4932 The only thing I am doubting are the highly improbable ranges quoted at which he is reported to hit the targets at and at no stage in the narrative provided does Plunket actually state himself what the range was. The evidence of his being able to hit two individuals consecutively at ranges in excess of the technical capability of the Baker rifle make the whole thing a wonderful story unless he was shooting at the target within the weapons accuracy range. A small degree of knowledge of ballistics would indicate that this is just a ripping yarn rather than a proven shot. I don't doubt Plunket was a great marksman but the only way you could hit two targets consecutively at ranges greater than the capability of the weapon would be by luck not skill and that seems unlikely therefore the range at which he shot these men was probably within the capability of the weapon which would be less than 200 yards. I also don't believe the claims about Robin Hood being able to split arrows at 100 yards.
Agree. I am a regular flintlock shooter and have built a Baker from The Rifle Shoppe , just has The British Muzzleloader. He was trying to point out the arc of the ball. For example a 62 caliber ball with a 1450 FPS muzzle velocity drops about 100 inches between 200 and 300 yards . That means with the 200 meter leaf the marksman has to hold over the top of a 300 yard target by about the 1.5 times height of a man. Hard to do when the front sight and barrel block your view of the target. It's telling that the account describes him as running forward. - He had to get in range.
@@ivorjones6618 Absolutely, better than a gullible jingoist that can't think logically because of the strains of "The British Grenadier" thundering away in the background.
Plunket's Heroic Accomplishment is to be Lauded, but like so many of the Troops of any army you choose to name today, from that period on, if you like, even to this day The Mental State he was in may simply have been Alchoholism, which God Knows, was so very common. Nobody, incluting the very most Senior Generals at that time, had the slightest understanding of Mental Health, Stress, Depression and of course PTSD. God Knows the Brit General Population have little or no idea today. "Pull Yourself Together" they cry. Impossible
@@johncoffin9354 Bullseye. Your first comment was not so clear. So many different inferences that can be drawn from it. You know artillery is just a scaled up version of firing a rifle bullet and there are a multitude of variables that affect accuracy including such things as curvature of the earth, propellant temperature, etc. such that the skill involved really amounts to minimizing the errors to increase the likelihood of some rounds hitting close enough to be effective. I think it's about the same thing with a proven expert rifleman. It doesn't mean he will hit every time like in some Hollywood story, but he's going to hit most of the time. I don't think the man rushed forward, putting his life at sizable extra risk, based on a weak possibility that luck was on his side. I think he knew he was much more likely to succeed than not.
"3 shots in under a minute, now that's soldiering"
Prussian Soldiers under Frederick the Great were trained to load and Fire their 1750's Era Muskets, 6 Times A Minute.
By 1750, most European armies were fascinated with the speed of fire demonstrated by the Prussian troops in the War of Austrian Succession.
Austrian military veterans and theorists saw that their troops could fire 4-5 rounds a minute on the drill square, basically matching the Prussian drill square ideal.
Prussian troops were capable of firing six rounds a minute, but could not maintain that pace for any length of time.
Lossow comments, "Altogether, it would be too much to expect troops to maintain six rounds a minute for an extended time."
The British achieved a similar level of drill-square proficiency in this regard, with veteran troops being able to fire four rounds a minute
A process used for joining metal parts to form a mechanical or electrical bond, now that's soldering.
@@VerkingKerng of a piece of furniture or equipment) able to be bent or rearranged into a flatter or more compact shape, typically in order to make it easier to store or carry.
Now that’s Foldering
Now you have to stand...
"Bastard." haha
Outstanding shot at that distance using a muzzle loader and only iron sights! These days we have gizmo's, spotters, computers windage tables and telescopic sights! I have used modern black powder muzzle loaders in the States and balancing it on a leg lying on your back in the heat of battle - THAT is a masterful act Sir. It is sad to hear of his demise but the demon drink does destroy many a good man.
I walked the ground and tried to calculate the distance, but absent precise locations, my guess at maximum range would have been a bit over 300 yards. I read a history that said Tom died in a Poor House, a gibbering idiot, probably poxed, definitely an alcoholic. Long before PTSD was a diagnosis.
Alcoholic dementia is common.
PTSD isn't the prerequisite, merely a society which easily regards warriors with disdain when the enemy no longer threatens.
@@paulrevere2379 At that time "going for a soldier" was considered an action of last resort. Regimental posting to a colony was for 7 years, few wives could accompany and 10% wastage in transit by disease and shipwreck was acceptable. Enlistment was for 21 years and there were no protections against disease, internal medicine was decades away and almost any bacterial infection was fatal. Wellington called British troops "the scum of the earth, but terrifying". Little wonder, fatalism and copious amounts of alcohol fueled them.
To Mr Burke. Any British success always brings a negative report from you. Middle Class don't find it easy giving credit to the plebs. It would have been yards back then. Metres is europhile lingo not English. It won't last.
It was a great story of the Peninsular War, Plunket's shot, sad part is that like many chaps exposed to the horrors of wars he tried to fight his inside pain with alchool, a sad ending as many also had. Good of you to get back at it Chris.
Thanks a lot. Yes, you are right - it's very sad and all too common.
I, myself, read the book called 'Recollections of Private Harris'. As I recall, he tells on how easy soldiers (both regular and 95th) died whether on battles or on skirmishes. Those kinds of things can make any survivor have survivor's guilt and PTSD. I remember that Harris remained as a cobbler after the war.
It’s a great book 👍🏼
Thank you for covering the story of Rifleman Plunkett .
I always wondered what happened to him having seen the sketch and account of his shooting the French General.
Such a great story & such a sad end to the life of the man.
Just finished the entire Sharpe's series, it was amazing.
Great insight on the rifleman 👍
May i ask where you found the whole set? I've only been able to find small pieces on UA-cam and would love the whole set :)
@@The_Daily_Tomato I was talking about the books.
@@notthefbi7932 Damn ;)
@@The_Daily_Tomato The BBC series is great, but seriously read the books. Paper Sharpe is arguably three times as badass as TV Sharpe
@@richardtaillon1616 It's on my book bucket list. But it's a long list 😅
I can't help but feel sad at Plunket's end.
Sounds like typical army treatment,used and discarded
Not unlike many of the VC recipients at Rorkes Drift
Find a neglected veteran and give him back some dignity then you won't feel so sad.
It's not the custom of honorable men to beg. Death isn't welcome but it's preferable to disgrace.
My favorite "long shot" was by Billy Dixon at Adobe Walls in Texas. Over 1500 yards as measured by a Army survey team. Done with a Sharps rifle, but the caliber was in question as he used a borrowed rifle and there were several calibers of Sharps present.
No. Second Battle of Adobe Walls.
@@andrewgates8158 I did not mention which battle sport so your "no" is meaningless. But yes, it was at the Second Battle Of Adobe Walls.
@@andrewgates8158 Oh Andrew, why such a no-it-all?
That's a pretty tough shot with a supposed borrowed rifle. The sights at the time couldn't even adjust to 1500 yards.
@@stevek8829 First, it wasn't "supposed borrowed", it was in fact borrowed as he himself stated. His own Sharps was a 45-90 and he didn't think it would do the job. Several other men there had various Sharps calibers. In some reports he borrowed a 50-90, in others it was 50-100. Sharps made several rifle calibers and several calibers were present during the battle. And Billy never claimed the shot was anything other than luck. In his book he called it a "scratch" shot.
tragic, but now lives forever in this video.
Whatever the distance it wasn't a lucky shot because Plunket reloaded and shot the next Frenchman in exactly the same spot! His troops were so enraged by this that they charged a group of the 95TH who were taking cover behind a low wall with broken rising ground behind several of them paid the price too!
9
The thing not mentioned is the position, which is the origin of modern ‘backgunning’. Resting a rifle on your leg gives an incredibly stable position. It’s still used to day in Match Rifle shooting (1,000-1,200 yards) - I use it myself - and is really only taught at Cambridge University (CURA), who’s shooters then feed into the national teams.
I got to try backgunning once, and I was shocked at how stable it was as a (very average) TR shooter. My neck hurt for a week after though!
It was also used at the Bisley National matches. Elmer Keith also was a big proponent of it
They do that for pistols also. My brother has one in .308 and would knock down steel targets at 300 yds
@@JohnSmith-dt1tw A sore neck is better than an enemy bullet in you anywhere.
Looks like a good way to be a small target to the enemy.
'Backgunning' was also known as 'the supine position'. I've taught and used the position on a variety of weapons from pistols to rifles in my former employment.
As the contemporary report states that the General "appeared to live a charmed life" as all shots were missing him despite him being "frequently aimed at by ouir men ", that presumably means that the range was such that people at least thought it was worth shooting at him from the range they were at, and also that the observer commenting felt they had some chance of hitting him. That can't have been much more than 300 yards, or they wouldn't have bothered. Plunket then ran forward 100 yards to close the range. So 200 yards would seem about right. Anything over 300 would mean the previous shooters were pointlessly wasting ammunition, which surely would have been discouraged rather than encouraged.
again thank you ! always look forward to your postings
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.
Great synopsis Chris! I'll eventually get to this story over on the Channel. As always, had a great time chatting!
An excellent short documentary. I'm impressed at how much detail you managed to get into 9 minutes. A fascinating tale of derring-do and human frailty.
Thanks a lot.
In the late 60's a Soldier of the Argyles and Sutherland Highlanders took out two terrorist's with a single shot over a distance of a mile or so, in Aden, but in those days no one recorded, but I think it was also reported in in one of the daily papers. Maybe the Daily Mirror. peace.
Been too long chap....wargamed that engagement when I was a Sprogg.... brilliant stuff as per usual.✌️
Fascinating story! Thanks.
As a member of Morgan's Riflemen, Timothy Murphy shot British General Simon Fraser from a tree during the American Revolution. Distance was just over 300 yards during the Battle of Bemis Heights (Saratoga). He then shot Sir Francis Clerke through the head (same distance). Another example of outstanding marksmenship.
Murphy. Costello..Plunkett..wonder what part of the world they sprang from??
@@cgdeery ☘️
@@cgdeery The Riflemen of that time were called Longhunters and were purely an American creation.
@@cgdeery "That part of the world"? No wonder we fought for freedom.
Austrians and Prussia had jaegars.
Elevation, Windage is lateral correction for wind.
Great video! Really interesting story
Great video, Christian! Good to see you back!
You made it again, congrats.
He ran 100 yards towards an advancing French army, as the saying goes. “ luck favors the brave “. and maybe the insane ?
Fortes Fortuna Juvat are words still known this day by bold riflemen of the Third Marines.
- Semper Fi
Glad this came across my recommends, good story sir.
Thanks a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
The Rifles were full of Irish men - Plunkett and Costello being but two of them.
About 30% of the entire army was Irish if I recall 👍🏼
Don’t the Irish pronounce it cos-ter-low.
@@jasonallen9144 Correct, the stress is on the first “o”, not the “e”.
The name is of Norman origin, having gone through Gaelic forms. It looks Italian, hence the common mistake in pronunciation. Quite annoying, when Elvis Costello became famous I thought “ they’re pronouncing it wrong “, but there you go. Don’t know if there are any Italian Costellos, I’ll look into it.
We Irish have a deep sadness
Both Plunket and Costello (Costell) are Norman names. They would have gone over to Ireland when the Normans invaded and eventually just blended in. Most Normans (even to this day) have dark hair and brown eyes while the majority of "other Irish" have blue eyes.
So I'm hearing PTSD and potentially a mass shooting fortunately avoided. That's happening more than a few times. Then the all too common story, then and now of ex soldiers becoming homeless due to addiction and inability to adapt to civilian life. The French called it the "Canard", the Americans after the Civil War called it Nostalgia or Soldiers Heart. Those Union troops demobilised were given rail passes sewn to their uniform stating "Homeward Bound", many didn't want to return to normal society and formed homeless camps, their uniform labels becoming the slang term Hobo.
No shit? I've never heard about the origin of the word Hobo.
Interesting, thanks.
@Robert Stallard I'm sure the slang term has been vernacular for some time before it was documented, especially at that time.
I think by 'canard' you mean 'cafard'.
"Avoir le cafard" is the usual slang corresponding to 'being down in the dumps', say; sort of like Churchill's "black dog". 'Cafard' is also the word for a cockroach. At origin, this bit of slang springs from that sense of hopelessness and depression we might these days call 'having PTSD'. All too often it related to the pest-ridden and dilapidated housing post-war soldiers had to endure.
By contrast a 'canard', besides being a duck, might be a piece of fake news, or a 'red herring'.
@@richardlinter4111 Actually, it's a FFL term, used as slang allegorically for a beetle that gets into the head of soldiers. The original formation was drawn from the need to empty Paris of the disruptive foreign veterans of the Napoleonic wars and ship them to die in the new north African colonies.
Great addition with the fella from British muzzle loaders! I've been watching him for years, excellent channel
Awesome, thank you!
Well done! I laughed so hard at the Don Knotts insert.
Great tale
Fascinating.
Have you ever read " Rifleman Dobbs " by CS Forester ? It's an excellent read set around the time of Sharpe , as it was published in 1932 I have often wondered if it inspired Bernard Cornwell to write the Sharpe books .
As far as I know you are half-way onto something here. It was indeed CS Forester who inspired Cornwell to write Sharpe. But is was the Hornblower series which made Cornwell think that the army needs a similar hero of its own.
Rifleman Dodd. Private Matthew Dodd of the 95th Foot.
Rifleman Dodd is the alternate, less offensive title which I believe was "Death to the French"
If you haven’t come across it, “Adventures with the Connaught Rangers” by William Grattan is a fantastic contemporary read of the era.
Great stuff 👏 👍
I find it difficult to take anything seriously that refers to bullet drop as "windage" ...... which is horizontal, not vertical deflection and any good shot, used to longer distances than their rifle is sighted for, will know how much to aim off in order to hit an "impossible" target. Otherwise, very nicely done, thank you.
Yes, windage = side to side wind correction. Elevation = up and down gravity correction. Difficult to listen to someone who gets the basic targeting wrong.
@@malcolmwright7440 I suspect that the guy actually knows his weapons, but speaking on video is not his usual comfort zone, hence the brain fart. Just a thought.
You should watch some of Rob’s videos on his Britishmuzzleloaders channel and he really does know his stuff from actually shooting these period weapons, usually on fire and manoeuvre in the Canadian countryside. He has the uniforms as well as the weapons, very informative and fun channel.
@@stonemarten1400 I suspect you mean fire and movement unless he has entire companies of hundreds or thousands of people out there doing it in competitive and creative ways against each other.
That's something that actual militaries with vast budgets actually have a difficult (hence rare) enough time practicing. But fire and movement is an essential technique on which good tactics can be built.
@@malcolmwright7440 absolutely Malcolm, from what I gather from watching this man's content is that because it was an Irishman that took this shot then it must have been an exaggerated fluke. It was highly possible for a Baker rifle to hit a target from 400 yards plus, as the right elevation/ trajectory. Its a pity this man spews such garbage as the channel should be so much more interesting.
0:37 Ha! Just found this, after watching all 15 episodes of Sharpe, and the first moving image you show is good old Daniel Hagman, Chosen Man, and best shot of the 95th Rifles. I look forward to watching this.
Enjoy!
I've got a picture of two roman soldiers manning an MG42 makes me smile
Special delivery for Colbert. Hot lead. Sign here please 😂
Great story, thanks
Thanks for listening
Sounds like a perfect candidate for the SAS special forces regiment..... brave and courageous and capable misfits are the ones who thrive in a more professional yet less standard military discipline.The less formal atmosphere brings out personal discipline that allows the regiment to concentrate on the job at hand knowing the men are there because they want to be there....
BTW the British army Rifles regiment are encouraged to give their opinion and concerns about a plan of action, this builds confidence and bonds that produce great soldiers.....
Not wrong, but questionable.
Too often embellishment encourages the foolish and immature to call their own failings as assets.
It's true that traditional discipline, the kind needed to keep the careless and thoughtless types from hurting themselves and others is not always the best, especially for special operations.
What is needed, what is essential in fact is maturity, trustworthiness and intelligence, the capability of small teams acting independently but still reliably on board with broader military objectives. In such cases there is room for some rough edges, but only so much.
Insisting that no exceptions to discipline are to be ever tolerated misses out on possible heroics, but too many exceptions guarantees permanent regrets.
I owned a 54 cal. with set sights , I buried the back sight under the front and could shoot over 200 yds. with great accuracy.
Great work, Sir.
And yet his name achieved immortality.
I tried shooting my Gew88 and Type 38 Arisaka from the ' Plunkett Position ' since they are both very long rifles.
It took some getting used too. But I was soon able to ring the 400m gong with every shot .
A massive accomplishment with a flintlock frontstuffer and round ball. With smokeless handloads .... not so much!
NIce work!
As an ex-Squaddie FNLR 7.62 NATO I loved my friend King of a European Battlefield, But in a modern War a short path to a body bag,
Enjoy this little factoid immensely. Thank you.
I can highly recommend Mark Urban's book "Rifles"....
Great but sad story
I believe it was the claimed 500m, I have been competing in black powder shooting for the past 27 years beginning when I was 15 in the North-South Skirmish Association. When I was 18 I took my father's 1842 Springfield(.69 called smoothbore) while at a practice session and consistently rang a 12 inch dia gong at 200 yards. I take my original 1863 Springfield rifle-musket and shoot it at 600 yards for deer season and have taken deer at 430 yards with it before. While the Baker Rifle was a bit inferior to my 1863 Springfield, it is not so inferior as to not being able to make a 500m kill
Three Shots a minute in any weather
I note that some people have posted comments about Rob’s validity in shooting. The man not only has been a Baker Rifle shooter for very many years and demonstrated an ability that would put him in the top class were he in the period 95th Regiment, but has seen army service including real action. He knows what he is talking about.
Yes there was an element of luck in Plunkett’s shots given the dispersion inherent in the weapon, no matter how superhuman a shot he might be. But there is no doubt he did it. The reports probably refer to the distance from the rest of the regiment so 100 yards must be added to the actual shot distance. I would imagine it was over 200 yards and the rifle is sighted to 300 so a maximum of 400 yards from the regiment. I have a period Baker Rifle and, given the sights, he would be hard put to aim at more that the general position of a man but he struck lucky on the day. Well done him. Bad luck to Brigadier General Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais, Comte de l’Empire and his unnamed Trumpet Major.
I don’t know why some have whinged about Plunket not being specified as Irish. The only person whose nationality was mentioned was Colbert. The fortunate Captain Stewart was never specified as English or Scots for example. Plunket was a British soldier. Beyond that he had his personal history and background and the Peninsula Army had British soldiers who were English, Scots, Welsh, Irish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Maghrebi Lord alone knows who else. They did not care. The same these days. Take your Attestation to the Crown and you are a British soldier of the Crown. British, Fijian, Canadian, Danish, Antiguan, Ghanaian, and whatever else. One of my soldiers was ex Irish army and had seen service in the Congo.
Well said, Sir. Appreciate the input.
I believe at that time, and I'm no expert on the Napoleonic era but I believe they were still using the round ball. If that is the case, the accuracy is not great. I sometimes hunt big game (North America) with a .50 cal rifled muzzleloader and round ball. I have passed up animals at beyond 200 yards because I feel it would be unethical to make a bad shot and have the animal suffer. In a wartime situation, perhaps I would take longer shots.
Yep. Round balls. I think the first conical tipped round was the Minié ‘Ball’ of 1847.
OK, so Mr. Mustashio says no, now during our own civil war a shot was made by a rifleman at over 1400 yds. with a cap and ball rifle using a paper-patch bullet, THAT'S AT OVER HALF A MILE. so three or four hundred yards is ok with me. The Baker rifle was capable of regularly hitting the target when fired by a sharpshooter at 400 yds, and by a common soldier at 200.
Minute bullet changed battle so lethal to line up to attack😊
Try going at the puppeteers who put him there.
It's an impressive feat until you realize he was aiming for the genera;'s adjutant, Georges Lucas.
We can kinda estimate the distance by making a few assumptions. Assume Tom can run 100m in about 20 seconds over rough terrain, we know that after making the two shots he was "just about" set upon by some cavalry troopers. Assuming an average horse speed of 30hm/h you get about 8m a second from the horses. If Tom took the shot and nearly got caught by the cavalry then it took nearly 20 seconds for the cavalry to close the distance between the shot General and Tom or 8m/s x 20s = 160m, which is still a really nice shot with a Bakers. I know I'm being pretty liberal with my exponents but it seems plausible.
Regardless of range, he got him.
Plunk ett,of course, was an irishman. Liked Wellington
Regardless of the injuries to his wife. Love is love. If you have felt that sort of love, you would understand.
I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me.
"Britain's first sniper"?
Might I suggest Major Patrick Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson rifle, for that title.
Now matter how you slice it he had a good amount of luck on that shot.
i learn't this story when watching EpicHistoryTV video
Did they actually get over the bridge .
Im sure Harry Flashman blew that bridge up
I just watched this all the way through and I don't recall it being mentioned that Plunkett was Irish.
there was a plunket a signature of the 1916 proclamation its a fairly common irish name
@@gordondarker2734 I was also thinking of the Saint who was hung drawn and quartered by the English.
I think that 200 yards is a little underestimated ... I shoot a smoothbore 1777 Charleville .69 calibre, I am no great marksman but I can reliably hit a 2 foot gong at 200 yards. That's with only a front blade sight (no rear sight at all) and a patched ball. My point being that 300 with a rifle is attainable and would be plausible and garner applause in the era. I think it likely the shot was between 200 and 300 yards.
I'd guess 350yards, maybe a little further, I agree that it would be a long shot, but we're talking about an aclaimed excellent shot in an infantry regiment that specialised in sharp shooting (Rifles as opposed to line infantry) using his own weapon the deficiencies and characteristics of which he would be intimately familiar with and it being a shot that was clearly regarded as exceptional at the time.
@@tomriley5790 Thanks Tom, I think we're both in agreement that 200 yards (as suggested) is a little short of what would likely be an historic shot in the period. 350 is plausible. I frequently encounter a strange bias in modern portrayals of napoleonic era military shooting (in fact all muzzle loading military firearms, right up to the American civil war). That is the suggestion that flintlock accuracy was poor. As a lifelong enthusiast I can tell you that a smoothbore (let alone a rifle) of the period was more than adequate in terms of accuracy. I think this notion comes from the viewpoint of modern historians who consider the pan flash and delay in main charge ignition as almost ludicrous and at odds with accurate shooting. This view tends to completely avoid the notion that one becomes familiar with the tools of one's era, much like any craftsman. I have been lucky enough to shoot many frontline flintlocks of the period as well as some very fine civilian pieces from esteemed makers of the time. Ignoring the ergomics, it's fair to say the high quality civilian firearms have generally better/faster ignition, but not by much. The military issued locks were very very capable and robust. Baker rifles have a nice lock, and good ergonomics even by modern standards. This rifle, in capable practiced hands could and did perform admirably.
@@tomriley5790 Then you are assuming that the soldiers previously firing and missing at the General who "appeared to live a charmed life" were firing from 450 yards. Is this likely?
Might want to figure out the difference between windage a no Md elevation.
If the rifle will shoot 300 yards you could do 360 with compensation. Pretty good for an old muzzleloader.
04:39 "You need to be able to judge the extra windage that you need ......." Slip of the tongue perhaps? He's referring to elevation not windage.
Yep, I think a small slip of the tongue. Rob's films on period fireamrs are well worth a look if this is your cup of tea.
On a different tack, I must say I enjoyed the style and use of the English language in Costello's writing. Unfortunately, now a language style mostly unused. Modern education to blame?
@wasp6594, In particular since he was a born and bred Dublin man. However the English Media encouraged laughter at the "attempts" of the Irish use of English. Also great reluctance to the give the Irish soldiers in the British Army credit for anything. But no disrespect to the average Englishman, or woman, here. I am referring to the "elitist" view. My first cousin was in the Rifle Brigade in the 60's and my Uncle, now dead, was in Dunkirk.
500 yards because he was British and we usually make best long shots.
600 yards, if he'd been the one that got away.
He was Irish.
@@olmecking1 those Provo snipers really proved it 😂
Considering that there were American sharpshooters during this same period who could shoot 500-800 yards. Like Davy Crockett was a amazing proven sharpshooter
Not with a baker rifle.
Some people got really good at Kentucky windage. Hitting a target repeatedly at distance beyond what the firearm is capable of is one thing. A one time lucky shot is another thing totally. When I was young and got excited I hit a running deer at 300+ yards with a 12 gauge slug firing from my hip. Could I do that every time? Nope. Can it be done with a lot of luck. Yup.
Given that during the Hundred Years war English and Welsh archers were not only known to hit targets at up to 300 yards but bet on which eye they would hit, don't these men deserve to be known as our first snipers.Wellington himself asked Horse Guards to try to give him a battalion of longbowmen( they couldn't be found) as the accuracy and rate of fire would have destroyed French colombs fare beyond their ability to fire back.
An interesting "what if" - I've never heard of the request for a battalion of longbowmen but sounds like it would have been an interesting experiment...
@@redcoathistory Thanks for taking the time to reply, to imagine what prompted the request ( if that was factual and not apocryphal) imagine a full battalion ( 5-600 in the peninsula) firing up to 20 arrows per minute at rages beyond 200 yards.If Wellington had kept archers on his preferred reverse slope until French columns were too close to allow their artillery and then ordered the archers forward then in not much more than a minute's fire an entire French column could be wiped out,as you said a very interesting "what if".( Btw,my all time "what if" is a meeting of Edward IIl's archers an the Mongolian Golden Horde( provided we had a full supply of arrows)
With snow on the ground could the cold, less dense, air have significantly increased the range of the rifle?
fundamentally the range doesn't change, it's not that the projectile couldn't go over a few hundred yards. It's that it starts to have a dispersion greater than the target being shot at. When the gentleman said the soldier needed to adjust his windage he was describing elevation, windage on those rifles is fixed that is the left and right coordinates, elevation is essentially up and down. It's a fairly long winded description of the incident which is inside 200yards, skill in use of the firearm allows most to all projectiles to hit a man sized target, once the target is over 300yards the particle dispersion is so great that it's almost equal to chance and past that, it changes to pretty much only chance. This precision measurement would generally be known (and published in army manuals of the time) as the armies, would "pattern" their rifles. Standing 10 or so soldiers facing a large blanket ,fire a few volleys then count the number of projectiles in the lethal zone. The Germans in WW2 had a very comprehensive test for firearms entering service. The British had an alternative one and they would select rifles that performed better during testing to give to soldiers that where better marksman, thus creating really a designated marksman/sniper.
Cold air is more dense, not less.
@@sheerluckholmes5468 D'oh - of course it is. So would have reduced the range if anything... :)
Are you serious? You went through this entire video without mentioning that Thomas Plunkett was an Irishman! Born and bred in Co Wexford! Also, it was highly possible for a Baker rifle to hit its target from 400 yards plus at the right trajectory. I have noticed before you do not mention the Irish who served in the British army in this era. So many brave men hidden in history by yourself and the likes. Pity.
Hi. A third of the army were Irish - I just take it for granted that people are aware of that. You are the third person to mention it so I will admit that Irish in the Peninsular army clearly deserve their own video but to accuse me of trying to hide their service for some nefarious means is silly - why would I do that? I have Catholic Irish blood myself and have absolutely no issue with the Irish.
Windage is left and right on target it’s the elevation that is critical if you’ve an eye for distance and then doping the wind all is reasonable
will you also cover the king's german legion?
Yes defeintely
200 yards is a way to short of an estimate. You have the second leaf giving the 200 yds aimed sight if used normal but if you use the base of the blade that gives you another 75-100, I would think 300yds would be the beginning of any shot that would gain any notoriety.
Yeah exactly at 200 years any rifleman could take that shot..
Can you please 🙏 make a video about the Xhosas frontier war of 100 years (9 wars)
Don,nt believe a word of it,on his back in the snow and a man on a horse in battle!
I've made shots beyond the maximum range of the round I was using. I don't put much stock in claims this is 200 meters based on what a average rifleman could do. This person simply could be far above average.
Ps
I hit a target several times with a pistol that my friends never hit all day with their rifles.
Wow
Stick a shooting stick on the rear gun sight.Some smart units practice with them . ByI've shot muzzle loaders plenty.. In a way they are like B B guns. Remember elevating high, hitting target .No damage. Of course.
He was Irish
now that's soldiering
Even loose cannons, sometimes hit the target.
I'm not sure your so called experts opinion is worth so much as he seems not too know the difference between windage and elevation....
Bro rob looks like a Bulgarian revolutionary!!!
The distance of the shot was from London to Paris 😂
Great video! 500m with a muzzel loader seems very unlikely or extremely lucky.
A Kentucky long rifle maybe but even that would be " stretching the barrel ".
A patched ball muzzle loader extremely difficult and very lucky but not impossible perhaps. Muzzle loading match Rifles circa 1860 are shot out to 1200 yds in national & International comps. My own muzzle loading Enfield rifle from 1858 is shot out to 800yds. They are admittedly an entirely different animal to the Baker rifle. I've shot a couple of friend's Bakers at 100yds. The original was very accurate with the correct load. The reproduction not so much. With any muzzle loader the shooter needs to develop a load that gives best results for the rifle and be consistent with it. That said a Rifleman in 1809 wouldn't have that luxury. The 1814 regs for riflemen state that a recruit should eventually practice at 300 yds and that is what makes me believe Plunkett's shot was around that distance. A head shot at that range with a follow up kill would have been truly remarkable
Regardless, Plunket was challenged to make the shot and did so, twice. That suggests he was a very good shot.
@@bigtrev9043hitting man at 300mwas possible.headshot was a bonus
It should be noted that Plunkett and Costello were Irishmen.
Mustache mam I think means elevation when he said windage.
The Indian mutiny next ?
Would love to, but it wont be for a while as I would love to combine it with a visit to India eventually.
For even an expert shot to hit two consecutive individual targets with a Baker at anything over 150 yards seems unlikely given the spread of shots on a standard target from a Baker rifle at that range. Also the size of an individual target at battle ranges makes it difficult to even see what you are aiming at, at about 100 yards a man sized target appears to be about the height of your thumb at arms length, at 300 yards it appears to be the height of your thumbnail at arms length, Hughes in "Firepower" has some excellent images of what targets appear like at various ranges including showing a line of infantry at about 600 paces, hitting an individual target with an SLR at 600 ranges is not easy, hitting one with a Baker or even an Enfield would be close to impossible. Costello even says that Plunkett had to run forward about one hundred yards before he could take the shot.
SC,
Throughout history, events occur that are later doubted by lesser men . . .
@@fjb4932 The only thing I am doubting are the highly improbable ranges quoted at which he is reported to hit the targets at and at no stage in the narrative provided does Plunket actually state himself what the range was. The evidence of his being able to hit two individuals consecutively at ranges in excess of the technical capability of the Baker rifle make the whole thing a wonderful story unless he was shooting at the target within the weapons accuracy range. A small degree of knowledge of ballistics would indicate that this is just a ripping yarn rather than a proven shot. I don't doubt Plunket was a great marksman but the only way you could hit two targets consecutively at ranges greater than the capability of the weapon would be by luck not skill and that seems unlikely therefore the range at which he shot these men was probably within the capability of the weapon which would be less than 200 yards. I also don't believe the claims about Robin Hood being able to split arrows at 100 yards.
Agree. I am a regular flintlock shooter and have built a Baker from The Rifle Shoppe , just has The British Muzzleloader. He was trying to point out the arc of the ball. For example a 62 caliber ball with a 1450 FPS muzzle velocity drops about 100 inches between 200 and 300 yards . That means with the 200 meter leaf the marksman has to hold over the top of a 300 yard target by about the 1.5 times height of a man. Hard to do when the front sight and barrel block your view of the target. It's telling that the account describes him as running forward. - He had to get in range.
@@steveconway1948 doubting thomas
@@ivorjones6618 Absolutely, better than a gullible jingoist that can't think logically because of the strains of "The British Grenadier" thundering away in the background.
Plunket's Heroic Accomplishment is to be Lauded, but like so many of the Troops of any army you choose to name today, from that period on, if you like, even to this day
The Mental State he was in may simply have been Alchoholism, which God Knows, was so very common. Nobody, incluting the very most Senior Generals at that time, had the slightest understanding of Mental Health, Stress, Depression and of course PTSD. God Knows the Brit General Population have little or no idea today. "Pull Yourself Together" they cry. Impossible
Any chance of losing the annoying backing music?
LOL, Colbert looked exactly like Justing Trudeau! I wonder if they're somehow related.
The amount of luck involved cannot really be factored. I've read accounts of unexpected long-range hits even without an exceptional marksman involved.
There's still a vast skill difference between the reliable competence of many veterans compared to that of a random green youngster.
@@paulrevere2379 A good, experienced, shot isn't going to need so much luck, even if some was required.
@@johncoffin9354 Bullseye. Your first comment was not so clear. So many different inferences that can be drawn from it.
You know artillery is just a scaled up version of firing a rifle bullet and there are a multitude of variables that affect accuracy including such things as curvature of the earth, propellant temperature, etc. such that the skill involved really amounts to minimizing the errors to increase the likelihood of some rounds hitting close enough to be effective. I think it's about the same thing with a proven expert rifleman. It doesn't mean he will hit every time like in some Hollywood story, but he's going to hit most of the time.
I don't think the man rushed forward, putting his life at sizable extra risk, based on a weak possibility that luck was on his side. I think he knew he was much more likely to succeed than not.
One "oh shit!" wipes out 1000 "atta boy"s
Or in this case, a few drinking episodes negate a day of great deeds done.
ELEVATION not WINDAGE. Windage is horizontal