Jeff56 – No, it still remains the Mauser bolt action and variants! The AK is duty issued in more countries then any other weapon but not all of the countries build them…A few companies make them and export them to the various satellites, where Mauser sold the manufacturing rights also to that country.
”Little Big Man” by Thomas Berger was a great read of historical fiction and so was the sequel
“The Return Of Little Big Man” …It was made into a movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Chief Dan George but it still was fiction.
The archaeologists state that only a 2 to 3 per cent of the thousands of rounds collected had pry marks…What I don’t understand is where the 7th got thousands of rounds fired off…The trooper carried forty in his pouch and maybe another forth in his saddlebags…210 troopers x 40 rds = 8,400 divided amongst the five plus different (Medicine Tail Coulee, Calhoun Hill, Deep Ravine, Nye-Cartwright Ridge, Finley Ridge) sites that Custer’s (Not Reno’s) command put up resistance, losing troopers at each one—last stand hill only had about 70 bodies on it after the battle…268 may have died but that also included Reno’s battle (47), civilians and scouts.
- 1. Fox, in 1993, notes that only 3.4% (3 out of 88) of .45/55-caliber Springfield cartridge cases from the Custer battlefield and 2.7% (7 out of 257) cases from the Reno-Benteen field exhibit any indication they were pried from jammed weapons-- ^ Fox, Richard A., Archaeology, History and Custer's Last Battle, 1993, University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 0-8061-2998-0, pp. 241–242
Custer’s troops didn’t get faulty rifles, at the behest of Pres. U.S. Grant, that were returned from other troops—they got brand new ones…What they didn’t have was experience with them or any degree of training and especially marksmanship since they didn’t have any kind of weekly target practice because ammo was expensive to transport in from the East and scarce.
Custer was not offered any repeaters that he turned down—he turned down two gun carriage mounted Gatling guns with caissons, extra men and horses thinking them too heavy etc. for a lightning strike he was hoping to accomplish.
Whether Custer’s troops carried Winchesters wouldn’t have helped them, not against 5,000 plus hostiles and the same argument was put forward by the proponents of the lever action, they could carry more, lighter ammo, for the same weight and attacked by the same statements as today by the opponents of the lever action, they could kill at greater distances, more effectively…The problem lay in that the army seldom, if ever, got into long range shooting battles with the Indians—who avoided pitched battles at all costs and would only maintain “holding actions” to allow their families to get to safety.
As to the Indians having vastly superior firepower, they certainly did, just not in repeating lever action rifles but in the bow and arrow…Many of the Sioux stated they got their first rifle, ever, at or after the battle…Yes, they had some but nowhere near the numbers you’re suggesting just as they had some trade muskets.
Also a few points of fact…at the time of his death George Armstrong was only a light colonel not a general…During the Civil War he was “breveted” to major general but those are only temporary titles used in expedient measures.
Custer held the final slot, the absolute bottom of the roll, in all studies except sabre drill and horsemanship…Also, he and his whole class (of 1862) never completed the whole course at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point …They were jumped into the military in June of 1861, some to the Confederates but most to the Union.
Both ammo’s would have been fired from the same rifles, just the heavier kicking rifle rounds would hurt the shoulder more BUT none of the longer cased brass was found at the sight…Also, remember that the .45-55-70 Gov used copper not brass shells and
“the troopers soon discovered that the copper expanded in the breech when heated upon firing; the ejector would then cut through the copper and leave the case behind, thus jamming the rifle”
As to fire power, first off the troop loses 20% of it’s manpower in horse handlers and they wouldn’t have been able to add their strength until the final stand(s), by which time the troop had probably lost 50 to 60 percent of the troopers.
Grant couldn’t have cared and didn’t one bit about Custer and he couldn’t have sent him to his death since Grant didn’t know what was happening out west, who Terry would send in which direction to scout “for the hostiles” (since no one knew where they were) and there were many troops out at the same time as Custer so you can forget any conspiracy theory of Grant vs. Custer…The accusations were correctly directed at Belknapp and only as an off shoot towards Grant since he being his superior.
For further reading try:
Court Martial
Kuhlman….. Charles….. Legend Into History And Did Custer Disobey Orders At The Battle Of Little Big Horn (1957 Edition)
Frost….. L…… The Court Martial Of George Armstrong Custer
Murray….. Robert A…… The Custer Court Martial~ (1964 Edition)
Shoemaker….. John O., Col. ….. The Custer Court-Martial (1971 Edition)
Jones….. Douglas C…… The Court Martial Of General George Armstrong Custer (Historical fiction but a great read)
General info:
Nightengale….. Robert….. The Little Big Horn~ (1996 Edition)
Pennington….. Jack L. ….. Custer, Curley, Curtis: An Expanded View Of The Battle Of The Little Big Horn (2005 Edition)
Pennington….. Jack L. ….. The Battle Of The Little Bighorn: A Comprehensive Study (2001 Edition)
Progulske, Donald R. & Frank J. Shideler….. Following Custer (1974 Edition)
Sklenar….. Larry….. To Hell With Honor: Custer And The Little Big Horn (2000 Edition)
Archaeology:
Barnard….. Sandy….. Digging Into Custer's Last Stand (2003 Edition)
Fox….. Richard Allen, Jr, ….. Archaeology, History And Custer's Last Battle (1993 1st Edition)
Hardorff….. Richard….. Camp, Custer And The Little Big Horn (1997 Edition)
Hardorff….. Richard….. The Custer Battle Casualties ll: The Dead, The Missing And A Few Survivors (1999 Edition)
Hardorff….. Richard….. The Custer Battle Casualties: Burials, Exhumations And Reinterments (1989 Edition)
Rankin….. Charles E. ….. Legacy: New Perspectives On The Battle Of The Little Bighorn (1996 Legacy Symposium Edition)
Reusswig….. William….. A Picture Report Of The Custer Fight (1967 Edition)
Scott….. Douglas D. ….. Archeological Perspectives On The Battle Of The Little Big Horn (1989 Edition)
Scott….. Douglas D. ….. They Died With Custer: Soldiers Bone's From The Battle Of The Little Big Horn (2002 Edition)
Tauton….. Francis B. ….. Custer's Field: A Scene Of Sickening Ghastly Horror (1989 Edition)
Tauton….. Francis B. ….. Sufficient Reason? An Examination Of Terry's Celebrated Order To Custer (1989 Edition)
Little Big Horn, Battle of:
Brown….. Dee….. Showdown At Little Big Horn (19 Edition)
Patten….. Louis B. ….. The Red Sabbath (19 Edition)
Sandoz….. Mari….. The Battle Of The Little Big Horn (1966 Edition/Signed)
Kershaw….. Robert J. ….. Red Sabbath: The Battle Of Little Bighorn (2005 Edition)
Wa-shi-ta, Battle of:
Brill….. Charles J…… Custer, Black Kettle And The Fight On The Wash-ita (19 Edition)
Hoig….. Stan….. The Battle Of The Wash-ita: The Sheridan Custer Indian Campaign Of 1867 - 69