The Smith carbine was included in the 1860 firing tests presented in The Rifled Musket book. The first round of tests resulted in poor accuracy results and a number of disabled guns (all tests against 10' by 10' target):
13/20 at 100 yards
0/16 at 300 yards
2/12 at 500 yards
The second round of tests gave better hit ratio's at closer ranges:
65/70 at 100 yards
15/40 at 300 yards
1/15 at 500 yards
The third round of tests included the firing of buckshot, with 5 shot per shot and 25 attempts. 66 out of 125 struck the target.
The buckshot scatter from the rifled Smith carbine appears to be much narrower than canister, with 39 of 66 buckshot hits within a 3' wide area near the middle of the target (59%). Only 4 of the 66 hits (6%) were within 1' of the lateral target edge.
The significant fall off in Smith accuracy with range, compared to a .58 caliber rifled musket, may be related to the 28% lighter projectile since the carbine muzzle velocity is similar and the Smith bullet cross section is smaller (.50 caliber). The inaccuracy may also be due, in part, to large scatter or dispersion with increasing range.
The comparison with the musket is presented for comparison purposes to examine why the carbine accuracy fell off so fast with range.
13/20 at 100 yards
0/16 at 300 yards
2/12 at 500 yards
The second round of tests gave better hit ratio's at closer ranges:
65/70 at 100 yards
15/40 at 300 yards
1/15 at 500 yards
The third round of tests included the firing of buckshot, with 5 shot per shot and 25 attempts. 66 out of 125 struck the target.
The buckshot scatter from the rifled Smith carbine appears to be much narrower than canister, with 39 of 66 buckshot hits within a 3' wide area near the middle of the target (59%). Only 4 of the 66 hits (6%) were within 1' of the lateral target edge.
The significant fall off in Smith accuracy with range, compared to a .58 caliber rifled musket, may be related to the 28% lighter projectile since the carbine muzzle velocity is similar and the Smith bullet cross section is smaller (.50 caliber). The inaccuracy may also be due, in part, to large scatter or dispersion with increasing range.
The comparison with the musket is presented for comparison purposes to examine why the carbine accuracy fell off so fast with range.
Last edited:
Bringing the