renrich
Chief Master Sergeant
Interesting article in "American Rifleman" about the Hall rifle. In 1811 John Hall invented a breech loading flintlock rifle and eventually, in 1816, proposed to mass produce the rifle by using interchangeable parts. He was allowed to use the Harper's Ferry armory to put into production his rifle. During trials comparing his rifle with conventional muzzle loading rifles and smooth bore muskets, the following results were noted. 38 men fired at targets at 100 yards for ten minutes. Regular muzzleloading rifles got off 494 rounds and hit the target 33% of the time. Smooth bore muskets got off 845 rounds with 25% accuracy and the Hall rifles got off 1198 rounds with 36% accuracy. The Hall was not only faster to load and fire than either other service piece but was more accurate also. The Hall was used by our military during the Indian Wars prior to the advent of the percussion cap and was one of the first truly successful breech loading rifles.
