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The history of marksmanship
JROTC Rifle Marksmanship SFC Mark Mebes
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History of Marksmanship
Prehistoric man Rocks Spears Atlatl The Bow and Arrow
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History of Marksmanship
Archery Oranians and Caspians 15,000 years ago Egyptians freed from Persian rule 5,000 BC using the bow Recurve Bow 500 BC Turks, Huns Greeks studied ballistics mathematically 300 BC Roman Sagitari Battle of Hastings 1066 AD The English Yew Longbow Mongols 1100s AD Halidon Hill 1333; Crecy 1346; Agincourt 1415 Native Americans
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History of Marksmanship
Gunpowder Invented by the Chinese around 1100 AD First described for the west by Roger Bacon in 1249 Brought to Europe by Marco Polo Original Composition 41% Saltpeter 29% Charcoal 29% Sulfur 1338 French Formula English Formula
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History of Marksmanship
First Firearms Chinese Fireworks Crew-served Swiss “Culverins” Cannon Early Matchlocks Germans invented the “Wheellock” in 1515 that struck steel against flint Redesigned as the “Flintlock” in the later 1500s by reversing the flint and steel
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History of Marksmanship
History of the rifle By 1500 rifled barrels from Switzerland and Germany began to appear Mass-produced Military smoothbores Brown Bess 1504 first recorded “Schutzenfest” in Zurich Switzerland Schutzenvereins
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History of Marksmanship
History of Marksmanship in America 1814 Joshua Shaw invents the percussion cap The “Kentucky Long Rifle” German gunsmiths from Pennsylvania Lite Remington 1816 Jacob Hawkins 1822 Eli Whitney 1846 Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson patented the metallic cartridge fitted with a percussion cap (primer) Volcanic Arms went out of business/ Smith and Wesson partnered with Oliver Winchester to form Winchester Arms
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History of Marksmanship
History of Rifle Marksmanship in America Christian Sharps 1848 1874 Sharps Buffalo Guns Quigley John Moses Browning 1824 Worked for himself Worked for Winchester Worked for Sam Colt Invented the machine gun 1910 watercooled MG for WWI Invented the for Colt Arms Invented the BAR for WWII and Korea
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History of Marksmanship
Marksmen in History American Revolution Francis Marion Nathanial Savage Fort Watt George Rogers Clark Capture of Fort Daniel Morgan Morgan’s Rifles Battle of Saratoga Timothy Murphy and Gen Fraser
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History of Marksmanship
Civil War Marksmen Union 1st and 2nd US Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiment (named for the Sharps sniper rifles they carried) Col. Hiram Berdan Confederate Most were attached to regular units as designated marksmen Col. Robert El Rhodes commanded the only sniper unit. Used British Whitworth rifles
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History of Marksmanship
Billy Dixon Battle of Adobe Walls June 27th, 1874 28 Buffalo Hunters attacked at Adobe Walls Trading Post in Texas Panhandle by Quanna Parker and 1,000 Comanche warriors 2nd day of battle, Billy Dixon makes shot of 1,538 yards with Sharps “Big Fifty” buffalo rifle
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History of Marksmanship
In Europe: Schutzenvereins Community affairs King and Queen Switzerland Germany
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History of Marksmanship
In America: “Turkey Shoots” “Shooting Frolics” Davy Crockett Daniel Boone Lewis and Clark
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History of Marksmanship
Civil War Both the North and South had specialized Marksmanship Units Southern Units were much superior Jack Hinson Stonewall Jackson Commanders of the Union Army were painfully aware of the accuracy of Confederate Snipers
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History of Marksmanship
Post-Civil War Northern Commanders were concerned with the marksmanship skills of the average US Army Soldier NRA formed in 1871 as a marksmanship program for civilians 1874 NRA issued a challenge by the Irish World Champions
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History of Marksmanship
1874 Sharps and Remington both sped up production of their breechloading single shot Buffalo rifles for the match. Held at Creedmoor American Team won, mostly thanks to the 1874 Sharps
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History of Marksmanship
James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickock vs. Dave Tutt – the classic “high noon” shootout “Buffalo Bill” Cody vs. Ben Thompson-shooting coins. Cody won, but he used a rifle, Thompson used a pistol. Annie Oakley (Phoebe Anne Moses) vs. Frank Butler 1881 Cpt Bogardus vs. Dr. F. Carver
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History of Marksmanship
Olympics established in 1896 Almost all events were a demonstration of military skills National Shooting Match moved to Sea Girt, NJ National Match moved again in 1907 to Camp Perry, OH where it remains today Civilian Marksmanship Program developed Teddy Roosevelt
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History of Marksmanship
2nd Lieutenant George Patton at 1912 Olympics Women first compete in Olympic Shooting events and National Matches in 1911 Ad and Elizabeth Topperwine 1901 to 1945 Winchester Exhibition Shooters Ed McGivern handgun Exhibition Shooter early 1900s Herb Parsons-Broke 7 clay targets with a pump shotgun in the 1950s
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History of Marksmanship
Morris Fisher 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games Won 5 Gold Medals USMC Warrant Officer A dead center “10” at 300 meters is still referred to as a “Morris 10”.
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History of Marksmanship
World War I First wide use of marksmen in Europe German marksmen used Mauser 98s head-shoot British troops in the trenches British responded. Major Hesketh Prichard develops the first sniper school. First use of 2 man spotter/sniper teams First use of spotting scopes First use of the terms: Sniper and Gillie Suit
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History of Marksmanship
World War II Russian Snipers Due to a lack of money, premium was placed on making shots count. Most Russian snipers armed with Mosin-Nagant 1891s Vassili Zaytsev Battle of Stalingrad Oct 44 to Jan 43 255 confirmed kills 11 sniper kills Klavdiya Kalugina 17 years old Youngest female sniper
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History of Marksmanship
World War II German Snipers In response to Russia’s snipers, Germany reinstitutes it’s WWI Sniper Program Mauser 98s and Walther rifles topped with Ziess Scopes Much better gear, better formal training program
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History of Marksmanship
Vietnam USMC Scout Sniper Program Carlos Hathcock 1966 Sniper vs. Sniper=Hathcock vs. The Cobra Spotter’s canteen shot Glare of scope gives The Cobra’s position away Shot through scope Longest shot: 2200 meters Held world record for almost 40 years
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History of Marksmanship
Longest Sniper Shots in History November, 2009 CoH Craig Harrison Sniper, Household Cavalry, British Army Musa Quala, Afghanistan .338 Lapua Magnum Killed 2 Taliban Machine Gunners 2,475 Meters 6 seconds flight time 363 feet of drop
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History of Marksmanship
SSG Steven Reichert US Marine Sniper Iraq, 2004 1600 meter-1 Mile kill shot through a concrete wall using a 671 gr .50 Caliber bullet CPL Robert Furlong Canadian Sniper Operation Anaconda Afghanistan, March 2002 McMillan Tac .50 Long Range Sniper Rifle 9,000 ft elevation 2,430 meters
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History of Marksmanship
Art Cook 1948 Won Olympic Gold with a 599 out of 600 First American Gold Medal in 24 years
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History of Marksmanship
1956 Soviets dominate the international shooting scene US Military responds: Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) builds a center in Fort Benning, GA Air Force builds a shooting center at Lackland AFB, TX USMC Builds a shooting center at Quantico, VA
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History of Marksmanship
US Army Shooter Gary Anderson wins Gold Medal (Gary Anderson is the current director of the CMP) “Fearsome Foursome” from the US dominate the shooting sports 1. Wigger (current West Point Shooting Coach) 2. Bassham 3. Writer 4. Murdock
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History of Marksmanship
Launi Meili Competed in 1988 Olympics was in 1st place until the “surprise final”. Dropped to 6th because she had not trained for it. Came back in 1992 at Barcelona, Spain and won the Gold Medal Won 3 position World Championship 7 times Holds 3 World Records Currently shooting coach at Air Force Academy
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Now, it’s YOUR turn
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