1. The history of marksmanship
JROTC Rifle Marksmanship
SFC Mark Mebes

2. History of Marksmanship
Prehistoric man
Rocks
Spears
Atlatl
The Bow and Arrow

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. History of Marksmanship
In Europe:
Schutzenvereins
Community affairs
King and Queen
Switzerland
Germany

13. History of Marksmanship
In America:
“Turkey Shoots”
“Shooting Frolics”
Davy Crockett
Daniel Boone
Lewis and Clark

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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”.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. History of Marksmanship
Art Cook
1948 Won Olympic Gold with a 599 out of 600
First American Gold Medal in 24 years

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Now, it’s YOUR turn