Whitworth Rifle - Hexagons are Bestagons

An overview of the Whitworth Rifle including some places it can be found in Movies, TV, and video games.

Movies/Video Games Featured:

Ripper Street 2013
Gettysburg 1993
Gods and Generals 2003
History Channel: Civil War – Secret Missions

#gun #guns #firearms

[L_Train]

Whitworth created a method of using three plates to create a completely flat precise surface. It was this that helped launch the industrial revolution through standardization.

[GregoryAdamScott]

Joseph Whitworth is very well-known in Manchester England, where there's a street, an art gallery, and a park named for him.

[Chiller]

Quite amazing being that accurate in the 1860’s. Black powder fouling made everything more difficult in those days.

[michaelhoward]

Hexagons are Bestagons?!?!? The title alone pulled me in... well done as usual Johnny.

[Bayan]

As someone who shoots and competes a lot with black powder and muzzleloading rifles, a Pedersoli Whitworth reproduction has long been on my list, but the cost of them has been to say, a little prohibitive. A gun that doesn't get a lot of attention, but was used as by sharpshooters on the Union side, were Horace Dimick rifles, competitor to the Hawken rifles. They were purchased and used by the 66th Illinois Western Sharpshooters. Very little is mentioned about them, and there's a few photos.

[williamashbless]

While significantly more accurate than the Springfield and Enfield rifled muskets of the day, it’s not to say that these weapons were inaccurate.  
The accuracy of civil war era rifled muskets was quite good and 400-500 yard shots were capable of hitting target.
The biggest impediment to long range fire was the accumulation of powder smoke after repeated firing. Visibility was really impaired after just a few moments on the firing line.


Your mix of content to time spent watching is about perfect.

[hunter]

If I recall correctly from Forgotten Weapons episode on the Whitworth, the price of a Springfield or Enfield musket was about 7$ in todays money while a Whitworth was closer to 1000$ which also contributed to it's very limited military use

[rkoibiu]

War of Rights has a great depiction of this rifle in game. I'm glad you used it in this video!

[Penekamp]

Great stuff. Especially the bit about the sonic signature the bullet made in flight. Thanks Mr. Johnny

[paulseaman]

Sir Joseph Whitworth brilliant engineer who believed in accuracy hence the standardised screw threads he created.

[Nugcon]

hexagons are bestagons, even with firearms.

[prinzchen]

That was very informative and surprising for me - a hexagon afficionado😌
Indeed, hexagons are bestagons👌

[SeanDahle]

"Why gentlemen, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dis..."
- union General John Sedgwick

[AnonEMus-cpmn]

For early cartridge guns, the Remington Rolling-Block rifle has an interesting history as the rifle that saved the company from bankruptcy, was a solid contender against converted Springfields in military trials, and was a personal favorite of General Custer who used it on hunting expeditions.

[RebelSandGaming]

Honestly the recoil on the whitworth is quite manageable especially compared with a elephant gun

[ChrisS-fhzt]

I own an Euroarms reproduction and yet to fire an actual round through it but have put over 500 blanks through it ( War between the states re enactor). And the hexigonal twist is a sort of a pain as you have to make sure you are using patches that match and so can actually clean but yet can pass without catching and so stopping progression. Unlike regular rifling which sort of helps by grabbing said patch and so causing it to take to the rifling and spinning as it goes down the lands and grooves of the barrel. The least I shot was 8 times which was a breeze to clean the worst was 50 times and I actually had to use a scrapper to get down to the breech and break loose the unburnt gunpowder residue then to take patches to extract what water couldn't flush out (field cleaning since you just can not break out your modern cleaning supplies while the public mills about camp and the grounds).

And here is something you probably didn't know a Whitworth sniper rifle with it supporting kit and equipment and a 1000 rounds cost $1, 200 USD (1862) to buy the same cost as a 12 pound Napoleon field cannon! Hence why they was ultra rare and the best shots was given them. So the South had a choice a field cannon to engage and perhaps turn the tide tide of a battle or a rifle that might or might not have a shot against a distant officer or other important support personnel.

[Daniel]

Geez, this video channel brings up arms and armaments either long forgotten or unknown to the ignorant. Another piece of information learned. Thanks, Johnny.

[TheKickassK]

The whitworth rifle still holds 20th place on the longest sniper kills in history. On December 5th, 1864, an unknown Confederate soldier stationed at Ft. Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina, shot and killed a Union soldier walking about Battery Gregg, a distance of 1, 390 yards.

[marpintado]

Your channel is very under rated!!! Another masterpiece!!! Thank You!

[oldtruthteller]

As an 0811 I was interested to see the Withworth cannon being a breechloader and capable of lobbing a projectile 6 miles, thus the need for a Forward Observer and a Fire Direction Center (FDC).