In my humble opinion. I think that I would rather have a Marlin lever gun like this one for hunting. Than a majority of the lever guns put out by Winchester. What with the additional of a scope & the stronger action of the Marlin. But that is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree with the old fart if so inclined!
Now this is a very old infantry trick that can be still used today. Especially when you really want to upset somebodys plans on messing with you.
For example the British Army at the Battle of Mons gave the Germans a very nasty surprise. With their rapid aimed fire that could take a man out at over 4oo yards.
Below is how it came about and how to do it.
Enjoy
Grumpy
British Lee-Enfield Model SHT’22/IV Rifle, courtesy www.iCollector.com.
Our friend Dennis Santiago was a technical advisor for History Channel’s Top SHOT TV show. One of the notable Top Shot episodes involved the “Mad Minute”, a marksmanship drill practiced by the British Army in the decades preceding World War I. Dennis observed that the Top Shot competitors didn’t fare too well in their “Mad Minute” attempts, not scoring many hits in the alloted one-minute time period. That prompted Dennis to give it a try himself — seeing how many hits he could score in one minute with an authentic Lee-Enfield rifle. So, a while back, Dennis ran the drill at a range in California.
Dennis, an active high power rifle competitor and instructor, enjoyed his “Mad Minute” exercise, though he assures us that this takes practice to perfect. Dennis tells us: “Here is a ‘Mad Minute’ drill, done using a period correct Lee-Enfield (SMLE) No.1 Mk III rifle and Mk VII ammo. I got to the Queen’s Regulations (15 hits in one minute) on the second run and put a good group on the target at 200 yards. This is ‘jolly good fun’ to do every once in a while. This is ‘living history’ — experiencing a skill from a time when the sun never set on the British Empire.”
Dennis Does the Mad Minute
British Lee-Enfield Model SHT’22/IV Rifle, courtesy www.iCollector.com.
Lee-Enfield No. 4 Rifle (1943), courtesy Arundel Militaria.
“Mad Minute” was a pre-World War I term used by British Army riflemen during training at the Hythe School of Musketry to describe scoring a minimum of 15 hits onto a 12″ round target at 300 yards within one minute using a bolt-action rifle (usually a Lee-Enfield or Lee-Metford rifle). It was not uncommon during the First World War for riflemen to greatly exceed this score. The record, set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall, was 38 hits. (From WikiPedia.)
Want to See More “Mad Minute” Action with a Modern Tubegun?
In 2012, Gary Eliseo ran a “Mad Minute” exercise using a modern, .308 Win Eliseo RTM Tubegun of his own making. Gary ended up with 24 hits on a bull target set at 300 yards. (Gary actually had 25 hits in 25 rounds fired, but the last round hit just after the 60-second time period expired.) Note how Gary pulls the trigger with the middle finger of his right hand. This allows him to work the bolt faster, using his thumb and index finger. CLICK HERE for Eliseo Tubegun Mad Minute story.
Watch Gary Elesio Shoot the ‘Mad Minute’ (Starts at 4:47 on Video)
NOTE: In an interesting coincidence, Dennis Santiago was actually in the pits pulling targets for Gary during Eliseo’s 2012 “Mad Minute” exercise.
History of the Mad Minute
Commentary by Laurie Holland
The original military requirement of the “Mad Minute” saw the soldier ready to fire with a round in the chamber, nine in the magazine, safety on. This course of fire is still followed by the GB Historic Breechloading Arms Association and other bodies in their recreated “Mad Minute” competitions.
The first 10 would go quickly, but reloads were critical, this not done by a magazine change as Gary did with the RTM or in a modern tactical or semi-auto rifle, but through slick use of ‘chargers’. It is this aspect which fouls so many of my colleagues up as it is very easy to cause a jam and a large part of 60 seconds can go in sorting it out!
Charger clips were selected for those that just held the rounds firmly enough to stop then falling out, were sand-papered and polished with a stove / fireplace polish called ‘Zebrite’ so that the rimmed rounds would slip through the clips like corn through a goose.
If you’re unfamiliar with the cock-on-closing Enfield action, it seems clumsy. With intensive practice it is very smooth and can be operated incredibly quickly. The trick is to whip the bolt back onto its stop and initiate a rebound movement that takes it and the cartridge well into the chamber thereby reducing the effort required to close the bolt and chamber the round.
A British sergeant instructor with the Royal Scots Fusiliers trains a recruit on how to fire the SMLE Mk III Lee–Enfield in prone position, 31 August 1942.
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The Lee–Enfield bolt action rifle is known for its smooth operation and often associated with the Mad Minute.
The Mad Minute was a pre-World War I bolt–rifle speed shooting exercise used by British Army riflemen, using the Lee–Enfield service rifle. The exercise (Practice number 22, Rapid Fire, ‘The Musketry Regulations, Part I, 1909) required the rifleman to fire 15 rounds at a “Second Class Figure” target at 300 yards.
The practice was described as; “Lying. Rifle to be loaded and 4 rounds in the magazine before the target appears. Loading to be from the pouch or bandolier by 5 rounds afterwards. One minute allowed”.
The practice was only one of the exercises from the annual classification shoot which was used to grade a soldier as a marksman, first-class or second-class shot, depending on the scores he had achieved.
The rapid aimed fire of the ‘Mad Minute’ was accomplished by used a ‘palming’ method where the rifleman used the palm of his hand to work the bolt, and not his thumb and fore finger, while maintaining his cheek weld and line of sight.
The “Second Class Figure Target” was 48″ square (approximately 1.2 x 1.2 meters), with 24” inner (61 cm) and 36” magpie (92 cm) circles. The aiming mark was a 12” x 12” (30 x 30 cm) silhouette figure that represented the outline of the head of a man aiming a rifle from a trench. Points were scored by a hit anywhere on the target.
Although a 12” target is often mentioned in connection with the Mad Minute practice, this seems to have been an error originating in Ian Hogg’s book, ‘The Encyclopedia of Weaponry’. No other source mentions a 12″ target.
Thus according to the myth the target size would have been a 1.11 mil circle (3.82 moa), while in reality the target size was a 4.5 mil square (15.3 moa) making the area counting scoring hits over 15 times bigger.
A sketch of the Second Class Figure target used in the original Mad Minute Classification Exercise. The 12″ aiming mark resembles the silhoutte of a soldier. 3 points are scored for hits within the inner 24″ circle, 2 points are scored for hits within the outer 36″ circle and 1 point is scored for hits within the 48″ square
The first Mad Minute record was set by Sergeant Major Jesse Wallingford in 1908, scoring 36 hits on a 48 inch target at 300 yards (4.5 mils/ 15.3 moa).[1]
Allegedly another world record of 38 hits, all within the 24 inch target at 300 yards (2.25 mils/ 7.6 moa), is said to have been set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall,[2] but there is little documentation and it is unsure whether it was actually accomplished or British propaganda.
There has been major discussion whether it is actually possible to shoot that fast and accurate with a bolt rifle.
In the Mad Minute Challenge in Norway in 2015 a standard 200 m DFStarget was used, scoring 1 point for every hit inside the black area which is 400 mm in diameter and corresponds to 2 mils at 200 meters (6.9 moa).
A Mad Minute event was held in Soknedal, Norway, on 30 May 2015 featuring some of the best stang shooters in the country.[3]
The competition was called the “Mad Minute Challenge”[1], and was shot at a round 400 mm diameter target at 200 meters (2 mils/ 6.9 moa), making the target smaller than original. The winner, Thomas Høgåsseter, scored 36 hits. The average score, of 11 shooters, was 29.
The tables below are based on the sections (12, 24, 36 and 48 inches) of the original Second Class Figure target placed at 300 yards, and shows the same relative target sizes for different ranges.
The military service ammunition from that time (such as .303 British, .30-06 Springfield, 6.5×55mm, 8x57mm etc.) are more high powered and less wind drift prone compared to modern military intermediate service ammunition (such as 5.56 NATO, 5.45×39mm, 5.8×42mm, etc.).
With the high powered calibers wind drift will barely be noticeable at 100 m, slightly more at 200 m and will only become a small factor at 300 m.
| Relative size | 100 yd (91 m) | 200 yd (183 m) | 300 yd (270 m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.82 moa (1.11 mil) | 4 in (100 mm) | 8 in (203 mm) | 12 in (305 mm) |
| 6.75 moa (2 mil) | 7 in (180 mm) | 14 in (355 mm) | 21 in (530 mm) |
| 7.64 moa (2.22 mil) | 8 in (203 mm) | 16 in (406 mm) | 24 in (610 mm) |
| 11.46 moa (3.34 mil) | 12 in (305 mm) | 24 in (610 mm) | 36 in (914 mm) |
| 15.3 moa (4.5 mil) | 16 in (410 mm) | 32 in (810 mm) | 48 in (1220 mm) |
As most war films that I have seen in my life are at best a so-so event. This one at least rises above the manure pile that is Hollywood.
Now from what I have read and heard from my Senior German Relatives.
One of whom was in the Luftwaffe & the other in The Waffen SS. Who were at the Eastern Front themselves. They were at Kursk and the Crimea by the way.
What they told me was that it was the bottom pit of Hell. 
That could of probably matched any other war in Savagery & Horror. With the added twist that both sides had madmen in charge. Since both Stalin & Hitler were the overall commanders.
Both of my great uncles had served in France 1940 by the way. Which they called picnic in comparison to Russia.
Now if you can ignore the mandatory love triangle of the movie. It is not a bad story. With the growth of a Russian Sniper & his ruthless German Counterpart.
All in all it is worthy of your consideration. Grumpy
https://youtu.be/PoPhVrVsvtk?t=3
https://youtu.be/AH4Y2d-SyzM?t=3
Why you still know the name of a 19th century weapon.
In April 1861, Richard Jordan Gatling watched hundreds of Union soldiers march through Indianapolis, ready to ride the rails to the front. In the opposite direction came a never-ending stream of badly wounded men, to say nothing of those who lost their lives.
Gatling set about inventing a ‘labor-saving device for warfare’ that he hoped would minimize the number of men needed to fight a war, and thus minimize the number of men exposed to its horrors.
Working throughout the summer of 1861, Gatling developed the invention that would carry his name though history: the Gatling gun. The Gatling is the most famous of late 19th century’s manual machine guns.
In an age of slow-loading rifles, the Gatling offered unprecedented firepower. Even today, a century and a half after its design, the gun retains its iconic status. So why does the world still know the name of gun that’s been obsolete for a hundred years?
Gatling would refine the basic design of his gun over its 40-year lifespan, but the basic operation remained the same. The Gatling featured four to ten barrels arrayed around a central axis and a top-loading magazine which loaded each barrel in turn before the continuing turn of the gun’s crank fired the weapon.
Each barrel fired with one turn of the crank, and the weapon’s rate of fire was limited only by the speed at which the gunner could crank it. Early models fired up to 200 rounds per minute; later ones could get up to 700 to 1,000 rounds in 60 seconds.
Yet this fast-firing weapon got off to a slow start. Gatling earned his first patent in November 1862, for the “Improvement in revolving battery-guns,” his idea for reducing the number of men needed to fight the American Civil War.
In hindsight, we know how flawed this logic proved to be, as the Gatling gun and later machine guns caused untold death and destruction. At the time, Gatling had a difficult path even getting his weapon into the war.
While the new weapon was promising the US army’s reluctance to embrace the machine gun meant Gatling was ignored, at least at first.
It wasn’t until summer 1863 that the Washington Navy Yard testing the Gatling gun, with an evaluating officer reporting: “The mechanical construction is very simple, the workmanship is well executed, and we are of the opinion that it is not liable to get out of working order.”
Despite this glowing report, the U.S. Navy declined to adopt the gun and it would wait another three years before the military took it seriously.
A few Army officers bought Gatling guns themselves, but the invention would see little action in the war that inspired its creation.
The U.S. Army made its first order for 50 1-inch and 50 .50-caliber Gatling guns in 1866, right after war’s end, and Gatling approached Colt to manufacture them.
Following tests at Fort Monroe, the U.S. Army used the Gatling extensively throughout the 1870s during its campaigns against Native American tribes in the West.
Custer’s 7th Cavalry left their two Gatling guns behind when they embarked on the ill-fated 1876 summer expedition of the Great Sioux War.
Custer believed they’d slow his advance, but without them, he and his men were famously overwhelmed and massacred.
The first British use of the Gatling gun came in 1879 during the Zulu War. At the Battle of Gingindlovu, two guns broke up a Zulu attack with long bursts of suppressive fire that forced the Zulus to take cover.
At the Battle of Ulundi the guns were used to great effect, despite several jams. The British commander, Lord Chelmsford, later wrote that the Gatlings: “proved a very valuable addition… machine guns are, I consider, most valuable weapons… where the odds against us must necessarily be great.”
Indeed, this statement typified the use of the Gatling during the late 19th century: The guns, with their incredible volume of firepower for the time, acted as force multipliers in engagements where the enemy were far more numerous.
The Gatling would go with British units to Afghanistan, Egypt, and the Sudan in the late 1800s, remaining in service until the Maxim gun came around.
The British were not the only European nation to embrace the Gatling gun, Imperial Russia made large orders, and the Tsar used his Gatling guns against the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War 1877-8 and again in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War.
Gatling guns went to South America during the War of the Pacific, with Peru deploying them first in 1879. By 1880, nations and individuals around the world had bought Dr. Gatling’s guns.
The Gatling gun of the late 1870s was greatly improved from the early models, of tremendous rates of fire they were lighter, more reliable and extremely well made.
The improved Gatling gun’s finest hour came during the Spanish-American War. During the Battle of San Juan Hill, Lieutenant John Parker’s Gatling Gun detachment laid down suppressive fire on Spanish positions by firing over 18,000 rounds during the American attack, preventing the Spanish from firing down on the U.S. forces.
The detachment turned back the Spanish counter-attacks, too, by decimating an attacking battalion of Spanish regulars.
This success helped to prove to the U.S. Army that machine guns could be used offensively as well as defensively, with President Theodore Roosevelt himself praising Parker’s “invaluable work on the field of battle, as much in attack as in defense.”
But the end would come soon.
Despite American forces using the weapon into the 1890s, the Gatling gun fast became obsolete. The culprit in its quick death was Hiram Maxim’s new automatic machine gun, introduced in 1886.
The weapon would come to define early 20th century warfare. Maxim’s gun was recoil-operated, using the recoil energy created when the weapon was fired to cycle the action. Feeding from a cloth belt, the Maxim could fire up to 600 round per minute.
Gatling tried several times to revive his design after he saw market share slipping away. In 1893 he patented a Gatling powered by an electric motor.
In 1895, he tried to create a truly automatic gas-operated Gatling gun. These designs proved to be too complex or cumbersome, losing the simple practicality that made the original Gatling so good.
In 1911, the U.S. Army declared all its remaining Gatling guns obsolete and began a process of rearming with automatic machine guns.
Gatling himself never confined his life’s work to firearms design. The inventor patented a successful seed planter and wheat drill in 1855.
He later patented designs for flushing toilets, a device to control wagon reins, and a steam plough. He died in February 1903 at the age of 84.
More than a hundred years later, the Gatling gun is one of a rare few weapons that are iconic and instantly recognisable.
The Gatling owes a lot of its fame to its unique operation and appearance, one cemented in the public imagination first through Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows and later through comics, pulp fiction, and countless films.
Today Gatling’s design lives on in the form of electrically powered M134 Minigun and fearsome auto-cannons like the GAU-8 used in the USAF’s A-10. Even in the 21st century, the Gatling gun is no mere museum piece.
Sadly I would NOT take a chance on firing this old timer. I say it’s time for a honorable retirement to the gun safe for it. But it is a nice looking smoke wagon nonetheless!
Somebody really know their way around a gunsmith shop!
My Grandfather Morris had one of these back before he got called home. Pity that it disappeared those many years ago (1970’s)
