Could the USA of won the Revolutionary War with the 22 LR rimfire?

[Swampman]

Being an archer and bowhunter with traditional equipment myself, I beg to differ with the fact that they needed to be trained from birth.  I have trained novices in very little time with traditional equipment and if firing in flights and volleys, I wouldn't stand downrange of a group of novices on the first day!  Let alone consider they'd be firing at RANKS of troops as well!!  Precise accuracy isn't necessary in that scenario, just like shooting smoothbores in ranks!  Chances are they wouldn't even hit the soldier they were aiming at if shooting 100yards and in smoke!!

Here's more from BF:
"Franklin believed the bows and arrows were more efficient than guns. He wrote to an major-general in the US army saying that bows and arrows were better because:"

Benjamin Franklin wrote:


      1. Because a man may shoot as truly with a bow as with a common musket.
      2. He can discharge four arrows in the time of charging and discharging one bullet.
      3. His object is not taken from his view by the smoke of his own side.
      4. A flight of arrows seen coming upon them terrifies and disturbs the enemy's attention to his business.
      5. An arrow sticking in any part of a an puts him hors de combat until it is extracted.
      6. Bows and arrows are more easily provided everywhere than muskets and ammunition.

A real military archer could hit a 3" target at 250 yards.  Few modern archers using traditional equipment can hit a 3" target at 50 yards.  Most can't hit a 3" target every time at 30 yards.  Been there made the bows & shot them for many many years.

[DalesCarpentry]

Being an archer and bowhunter with traditional equipment myself, I beg to differ with the fact that they needed to be trained from birth.  I have trained novices in very little time with traditional equipment and if firing in flights and volleys, I wouldn't stand downrange of a group of novices on the first day!  Let alone consider they'd be firing at RANKS of troops as well!!  Precise accuracy isn't necessary in that scenario, just like shooting smoothbores in ranks!  Chances are they wouldn't even hit the soldier they were aiming at if shooting 100yards and in smoke!!

Here's more from BF:
"Franklin believed the bows and arrows were more efficient than guns. He wrote to an major-general in the US army saying that bows and arrows were better because:"

Benjamin Franklin wrote:


      1. Because a man may shoot as truly with a bow as with a common musket.
      2. He can discharge four arrows in the time of charging and discharging one bullet.
      3. His object is not taken from his view by the smoke of his own side.
      4. A flight of arrows seen coming upon them terrifies and disturbs the enemy's attention to his business.
      5. An arrow sticking in any part of a an puts him hors de combat until it is extracted.
      6. Bows and arrows are more easily provided everywhere than muskets and ammunition.

A real military archer could hit a 3" target at 250 yards.  Few modern archers using traditional equipment can hit a 3" target at 50 yards.  Most can't hit a 3" target every time at 30 yards.  Been there made the bows & shot them for many many years.

If that is true all I can say is wow!!!!!!! We should have armed them with bows then and forget about the 22 LR rimfire. Dale

[anweis]

Could the USA of won the Revolutionary War with the 22 LR rimfire?

What you forget is that at that time, Britain had some kind of manufacturing establishment, whereas we didn't. This means that if we had the .22's, they would have had them as well, only more of them.
For the most part the Revolutionary army was equipped with a hodge podge of already outdated firearms, bought on Europe's surplus markets with the political and financial support of France.

Now, that would be an interesting question. Could the USA have won the Revolutionary War without the political, financial, and military support (they kept the Brits engaged elsewhere) from France? Probably yes, but it would have taken longer.
Now, to be sure, they did not help because they liked us, but because they disliked England.   

[slim rem 7]

 well swampman ..ive seen a man shoot for long yardage .. so why are the hunting bows so short ranged..
 thats why i never got into them..i saw a fellow shooting ballons around his assistance [pretty lady]
body as she lay against a cork target..he was shooting from one end of an area ,,they played hockey on,,
to the other end..if im not mistaken he was shooting from way up in the seats somewhere..couldn t see anything but him an her in the spotlights..slim