Famous long-range shot: Battle of Adobe Walls

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Famous long-range shot: Battle of Adobe Walls

Postby Lumpy on Thu Feb 17, 2022 4:11 pm

For a long time, it was considered apocryphal: a 1500 yard shot with a black powder Sharps .50-90 buffalo rifle. Even the man who made it claimed it was a "scratch shot". But reenactors have since confirmed that it was well within the range of the rifle.

https://qr.ae/pGQ7NM

The Native Americans dubbed the 1874 Sharps as the “shoots far” rifle, or the “shoot today, kill tomorrow gun.”
:lol:
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Re: Famous long-range shot: Battle of Adobe Walls

Postby smurfman on Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:22 pm

I have a copy of Billy Dixon's (auto)biography. I'm not sure what to call it as it was a written account of Billy's words by Billy's wife. He gave this shot maybe three sentences in his telling of the story, almost as much was given towards the Indians who ran back to drag the fallen Indian to safety. Billy describes his shot as having killed the Indian but other accounts which actually name the Indians present at the bluff stated the shot broke an arm and took the Indian off his horse thereby knocking him out. Either way, it is a good story.

A chapter in Mike Venturino's book on buffalo rifles of the old west has a section on this shot. Many years ago there was a class on ballistic forensics being put on in which the Army was providing a Doppler radar unit to measure bullet paths. One of the students had written an article stating that Dixon's shot would have been impossible as a bulket in those days would have been unable to range that far.

Mike and a few guys from the Shilo Sharps company were invited out to give a demonstration. The maximum range of a 50/90 was well over 3000 yards by radar with a mid-range trajectory of something like 4000 feet! if I remember that correctly. The angle needed to attempt Dixon's shot was found to be within the limits of the normal sight found on a Sharps so that was possible without even needing holdover.

The legend of Billy Dixon's shot lead me to an interest in buffalo hunters and their arms. I had intentions of becoming more involved in shooting these rifles but have been able to do so on a very limited scale. I still have a gun, I just need to get around to shooting it more.
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Re: Famous long-range shot: Battle of Adobe Walls

Postby minnesotatv on Thu Nov 09, 2023 4:15 pm

I'm looking for someone to do yard cleanup.
Do happen to know anyone?

Thanks,
Tom Vogt






Lumpy wrote:For a long time, it was considered apocryphal: a 1500 yard shot with a black powder Sharps .50-90 buffalo rifle. Even the man who made it claimed it was a "scratch shot". But reenactors have since confirmed that it was well within the range of the rifle.

https://qr.ae/pGQ7NM

The Native Americans dubbed the 1874 Sharps as the “shoots far” rifle, or the “shoot today, kill tomorrow gun.”
:lol:
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Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:21 am
Location: near St. Paul, MN


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