Target Shooting

The string system of measuring shots is an odd one, and a method which could not successfully be used today. The small number of shots used to score, two and three, compares interestingly with the usual 5-shot string or 10-shot string of today. Because of the large amount of black powder being burned in barrels which were made of low-carbon steel or iron, the barrels heated up rapidly. Modern rifle barrels undergo a stressrelieving operation during manufacture so they will not Warp from the heat of firing and change their shooting. But the old match rifles, while highly accurate, had their limitations. They could not be fired often without overheating. Therefore two or three shots was more common a target than one of many shots. As methods of working metals became more scientific, and riflemakers discovered how to make barrels which would not Warp, targets were often fired composed of as many as fifty shots. These targets were often used in advertising of the period, and corresponded somewhat to today’s automobile catalog which has vital statistics of “0 to 60 m.p.h. in umpteen seconds flat.” To fire a large number of shots and have them all strike in the bullseye was almost an unheard of thing.

The string measurement was used because a circular bullseye was not always the shape of mark shot at, and because it offered a statistical evaluation which had some realism to it. A figure of merit which is merely how far apart the widest placed shots are, is a good test of the rifle but not of the man. A rifle making a small “group” may be a good rifle, but for Berdan’s Sharpshooters to spend their time just making groups was a waste of ammunition. Accordingly, they tried to hit the bullseye or aiming point, which had a center. Their shots were measured by, sometimes, an actual piece of string, laid off to see how far away from the center the shots were. Each shot was measured and the total was the figure of merit for the match. A “string” of 4 inches for two shots could mean that both shots were touching each other or almost in the same hole, and both struck about 2 inches away from the target center, or it could mean that each shot struck on an opposite side of the target, but just 2 inches each from the center.
To the modern target shooter this might seem to be an unfair method of scoring, giving the palm to a man who made a better “string” but a wider group. This is true, and the modern system of bullseye scoring based on the German ring target arose out of this primitive but widely used “string” system.
In the Sharpshooters’ camp before Washington, target practice was a constant amusement. Unfortunately, Colonel Berdan, who had merely been commissioned for the purpose of raising the regiment and was not a Regular Army officer, ran into continual opposition to his plans from official circles. Springfield Armory was rolling day and night but only 13,802 of the new rifle muskets had been made in 1861 to the time of authorizing the Sharpshooters, and there simply were not enough arms on hand to equip the regiment for the field. Some smoothbore muskets were issued from stores, and used for guard duty. Two companies also retained their personal target rifles, but the men of both regiments were anxiously awaiting their issue of Sharps military breechloaders.
They had suffered some disappointment at learning that the promises of the Government to pay for their fine target rifles at $60 each was without authorization. They were even more disgruntled to learn that no new rifles had been provided for them. A man who did have a light target rifle was in an enviable position at first since such a weapon, about the weight of a common sporting rifle, was at least as handy in the field as a musket. Consequently men having such rifles were well armed. But those who had brought along cased bench rest rifles, weighing upwards of 20 pounds, found their target shooting pets wholly unsuited for maneuvers and work in the field.
While in camp at Weehawken Heights, the agents of all the patent gun makers had besieged the men, showing them the virtues of this and that breechloader or repeater. Apparently a considerable number of the men settled, in their own minds, that they were to have Sharps rifles. But months passed and they remained in camp near Washington, becoming highly skilled in the school of the skirmish, but not getting their guns.