Rifle vs. Muskets

[Sheogorath]

Sorry but I have to call BS on this one….

It is much more likely that it was a political decision on Howe’s part and the disturbance in tactics of the day…

The average infantryman was seen as little more than an animal who did as he was told and one could not allow him to decide when and what to fire at…

That was hyperbole. An exaggeration, if you will, for the sake of humor.
However, as with most early breechloaders, they were rather fragile and tended to break a lot. They were also rather expensive as well.
Its basically the Yamato paradox. You can build one giant battleship or a thousand fighter planes. Or, in this case, 1 rifle or 50 muskets (rough guess, of course).

[Martok]

As informative as this thread is, it belongs more in the Monastery.

[Veho Nex]

Sigh. It was more likely 80 yards than 800.

There is not one source that give an indication that it was a long range shot. They were impressed because he killed a general and quite possible the courage he showed by advancing 100 yards as he saw a chance and took it.

Some sources state the shot went through Colberts head. For a shot to have such power means it had to be much closer than 800 yards.

It seems Oman was the first culprit by stating 'from a range that seemed extraordinary to the riflemen of that day' and here 100 years later a range of 800 yards (coming from a Sharpe's novel) now keeps popping up


CBR

He was irish, it explains all things. The greater ones favor the irish