History's Deadliest Bullet...

[@rohawaha]

I was at a public range in the !970s and there was an old gentleman there with an authentic civil war rifle. He was shooting at a box he had made that was filled/packed with wet news paper, this box was open topped so that he could replace the damaged paper and was nine feet long. I was curious and began talking to the fellow, he told me he was a long time shooter and that his civil war rifle was actually carried and used by his grandfather in the war between the states. When I asked him about his rather unique target box he told me he was verifying something that his grandfather had told him as a boy. He stated that his grandfather had told him the rifle was capable of reliably penetrating a cavalry horse from chest to tail, and that he had used his target box to verify that it was indeed a fact. I was impressed at the lethality of this weapon and that's when I started all my crazy reload testing, it has been a lot of fun .

[@ILikeToLaughAtYou]

That is one of the coolest stories I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Gotta wonder where that rifle is now. Hopefully being cared for by that gentleman's son or even grandson. Gotta love generational firearms. They're getting harder and harder to find in this day and age, let alone have one yourself. I wish I had my Great-great-great grandfather's Colt Navy, which, according to family legend, he got as a battlefield pickup at Gettysburg, which, being part of the Cavalry, he became very fond of over the carbines. After the war, now an amputee with a wooden leg after one lucky cannonball ripped through the right side of his horse, severing his leg from the upper thigh down, he kept it within arms reach for the rest of his life. He supposedly also grabbed a tintype the soldier he picked it off of had on him, which was of himself and presumably his wife or fiancee, that tintype is still in the family. Nobody knows where the revolver went. Possibly somewhere in the back yard of the old farm, when he finally forgot about it, and never found it again, maybe it was destroyed accidentally, or lost on a hunting trip. Wish I knew. Hold onto your family firearms, folks! Don't let the government "buy back" meaning STEAL your heirlooms. Every firearm has its own history, and that history is forgotten every time you destroy a firearm or pawn grandpa's double barrel for a quick buck. Would you burn your family photo album?

[@ILikeToLaughAtYou]

@@1madmax22 Walking point has NEVER been a fun position in combat. Not now, not then, not tomorrow. Just ask 'Nam vets. One of my great uncles had his entire lower intestine blown into his upper rib cage from an infantry mine. As the first in line, you're always going to be the first to be seen by enemy combatants, and therefore, the first to find out there is enemy very close by.

[@ILikeToLaughAtYou]

@@MM-qi5mk They're issued Segway's nowadays to carry their balls in front of them while on the move.

[@dkeith45]

@Roha Waha Amazing. I wonder if that's why no modern inline muzzleloaders are designed to shoot 58 cal using Minie bullets? Just too powerful?

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

I hope that gentleman is doing well

[@terwilligerjenkins9446]

the thing i find really cool about this video, is that the civil war soldier who first fired that miniball..( if it was fired, and not just dropped by mistake...) could have never envisioned that it would one day be salvaged and fired again in the year 2014 for a demonstration that would be remotely viewed by 865,357 people in the comfort of their own homes.....and that the response would be a heated discussion on communism .

[@georgewilliams9167]

Very insightfull post!

[@MrSpardas]

Holy shit that's a thought aint it.

[@aaronsuever2532]

It is crazy to think the person who made that (since they were all hand made the same way you would mold them now) couldn't even conceive of video, let alone the internet. Kind of crazy to think something they produced is still contributing to the world 150 years later.

[@nathanwoodley4299]

Would they have known what Communism was during the Civil War? Karl Marx wrote his Manifesto after that, didn’t he?

[@sewerratt47]

Dropped

[@theoriginalt-paine3776]

This was really great to see. I'm a Civil War buff myself. My parents moved us to the south when I was a kid, and I got really interested because the things I was leaning down here really conflicted with the historical narrative I'd been presented with before, and I wanted to find the truth. The Civil War is probably the most misunderstood war in American history. Its easy for people to point to slavery, and say that's it, but its far more complicated. Conflict was brewing for decades because of the way the North was becoming so industrialized. People in the North were turning to the federal government wiith their issues because local politics in industrializing areas were so thoroughly corrupt. Whereas in the South people were more spread out, and they didn't need government intervention. Slavery played a role, no doubt, but one of the most surprising things I learned was the fact that there was not only a growing abolitionist movement in the South, but even higher ranking Confederate officials who wanted to abolish slavery in their states at the state level. One of my closest friends is descended from a Confederate Lieutenant in Lee's army, and in his war diary that says it all "Today we met the enemy, our former classmates, and colleagues on the field of battle. Some of the men charged with anger, with the fire of hatred in their eyes, but I could not. I charged out of love for my home, my Virginia. I cannot bring myself to hate our opponents, I feel only disappointment that they should resort to placing power in hands to which it was never delegated to see our noble goal achieved. I despise the scourge of slavery as much as any Yankee, perhaps more so because it has held my family back, made it impossible for them to compete with the planter gentry. However, our revolution was fought to resist tyranny. Our government was founded with a clearly defined set of powers. Not so many years ago we were Englishmen, and one need only to observe the history of that ever-expanding institution of Parliament to see that when an institution is granted power, it will not surrender it, and once a precedent is set, it is set for all time. I wish the institution of slavery gone from this land. I will preach in the churches, argue in the town halls, advocate in the courtrooms, and lobby in the statehouse to that end until my last breath. However, on that glorious day when slavery is abolished in the state of Virginia, it will be abolished because the people of Virginia will it done! So I fight. When Rome was faced with tyranny a few brave men, knowing it would likely be their last deed on this earth, struck the tyrant down, a tyrant that was one of their own. Today, I know how they felt, and like those Romans before, I will, through the pain of finding dear friends now enemies, shout the cry of freedom. Sic semper tyrannis." the fact that there abolitionist, and quite a few of them, in the South seems lost to our history books. None of us can know, but I would wager many Confederate soldiers felt that way. Despite having inherited slaves from his father in law, Lee himself voiced his own disdain for slavery. No reasonable person would lament the fact that slavery ended, it was disgusting, and immoral. However, I firmly believe that it would have ended without the by the early 1870s because it was already on its way out. Whites.would couldn't afford slaves were rapidly becoming abolitionists because slavery kept them from competing in the market, and deprived them of job opportunities, and being in that position made them much more open to the moral arguments. The war is a major tragedy because while it ended slavery, it also severely damaged some of the great parts of Antebellum southern culture like the strict adherence to the concept of honor, the legendary manners, and worst of all the tradition of high culture, and higher education by engendering a sense of defeat, and hopelessness in many southerners. Recently due to all the political-correctness bullshit many southern cities have started tearing down Confederate war memorials, and I am extremely disgusted by that. One of my own ancestors, an Irishman who came to Boston in 1857 during the famine fought in the Union Army, and his experiences in the war troubled him so much he ended up taking the money he was able to make here, and moved his wife, and children back to Ireland with him. Yet still, I believe the men who fought in grey should be remembered. We may disagree with what they believed in, but they were Americans who fought, and died for what they believed was the good of our nation, and for that they deserve our respect. I think the Vietnam war was an idiotic waste of life. Ngo Dinh Diem was a tyrant who ignored his obligations to international treaty, and the will of his people, and it was wrong for us to support him, and communism is self-defeating ideology which would have destroyed itself without our help. However, I still respect the men who served in Vietnam, and it would be wrong to disrespect them. Sorry to rant on your channel, but so much bullshit gets said about the Civil War, and the South, and it drives me crazy. When we were getting ready to move here my friends told me it was going to be horrible, that southerners hated foreigners, and I'd get beat up. It turned out to be the polar opposite, and people here have been nothing but kind, and hospitable. To be completely honest, the climate here is absolutely terrible 4-5 months out of the year, but the people are great, and I've grown to love it here despite the heat.

[@iloveNgany]

You survived getting shot with a minie ball! amazing!

[@shewantsmygreg]

the ricochet* which is almost crazier cause anyone whose shot a gun probably knows what its like having a bullet ricochet back which is fucking terrifying but with an almost 600 grain bullet that laugher seemed like he was almost in disbelief he was still alive after having it bounce back

[@DrFrogglePhD]

greg moyer 99.9 percent of people who claim to observed a ricochet are referring to the round splattering on the target, fragments of the target or dirt in the area of impact. An actual ricochet is extremely rare.

[@shewantsmygreg]

Dr. Froggle well im pretty sure lots of ricochets happen and are something you need to be aware of when shooting, this is a prime example there seemed to be no way it would ever bounce back and it bounced off a gel target of all things thats pretty crazy

[@DrFrogglePhD]

greg moyer They happen a lot, sure. In the movies. Not in real life. The most common material, lead will pretty much never ricochet off any hard surface. It's possible it can deflect at an extreme angle. But it wouldn't be back towards you.

[@shewantsmygreg]

Dr. Froggle whatever you say, ill still be careful of them while shooting also a ricochet is when the bullet deflects and changes the direction its flying in, so youre saying someone who doesnt know what a ricochet is wouldnt be able to tell you when they saw it? makes sense.

[@jimbo111589]

This video is by far your greatest video IMHO. I had no idea just how nasty those mini balls could be. I had no idea how a mini ball worked by expanding and gripping the rifling. I had no idea that you could shoot a 150+ year old projectile and live to tell the story. I'm a history buff, and I love guns. This was just the bees knees for me.

[@Kablemodem]

Although I already knew about Minie balls, I totally agree with the rest of your post.

[@Spearfisher1970]

I have to agree that this video is one of their best. Just an all-'round good time.

[@solouroboros]

The musket balls they were using before this minnie rifle ammo, was roughly a .55 round. It would absolutely blow limbs off.

[@slowpokebr549]

solouroboros .577 was the most common Minnie and Pritchett ball diameter used in the civil war.

[@nicolasvillamil7523]

It's just a chunk of lead why wouldn't you be able to shoot it. Tbh I'd rather keep it than shoot it.

[@sstritmatter2158]

Really good video. I live in Winchester, Virginia and there was a lot of fighting here during the Civil War. One fall day I was raking leaves and my rake pulled against a particularly heavy feeling stone. I looked down and knew exactly what it was - a minie ball! It was in good shape and somehow worked its way back up through the ground over the past 150+ years. I researched it and discovered it was made by Gardner, which was Confederate ammunition in .58 cal. Yeah, I'd hate to be hit with that. I wish it could talk, I bet it could tell great stories.

[@mackiwawa]

The deadliest bullet was the one which killed frans Ferdinand

[@skyydott]

No, that was the most powerful bullet. This is still the deadliest.

[@SortenRavn]

The shot heard around the world

[@MRMcLobster]

deadliest is a misleading term :)

[@mach533x]

mackiwawa yep, leading to the world we know today....

[@littleteethkeith]

That's deep.

[@clockguy2]

I wonder what minie balls would do to body armor?

[@RobertoGonzalez-my8um]

clockguy2 nothing

[@greygunner]

Likely dependant on armor type.

[@roadsweeper1]

the armour may stay intact but I wouldn't like to be wearing it, the kinetic force and shockwave would be immense due to the sheer mass of lead hitting you

[@dmithsmith5880]

clockguy2 For example say if it were a .58cal. 400grain virgin lead minie ball. It would not even come close to penetrating the body armor but the energy of 400grains of soft lead traveling at 1,800fps = 2,877 ft lbs of bone shattering, organ scrambling muzzle energy.. one would have a very good chance of not being down for breakfast.

[@georgewilliams9167]

Very good roadsweeper...accurate....it would bust up the chest or back so bad, the penetration loss would be the last thing the wearer was worried about.

[@GUNNYJones-zm5eo]

I used to shoot rifled musket in the NSSA( north south Skirmish Association) it's an organization that utilizes reproduction and original weaponry of the Civil War. Rifle muskets, smoothbore muskets cap and ball revolver and of course artillery. Now you really want to see the effects of the Mini Ball shoot them at 500 yards through 1/2 inch Pine board. Absolutely insanely devastating and they're quite accurate at long range

[@smackyfrog6046]

Calls it the deadliest round. Immediately gets hit by round. Laughs it off. Eric is a beast.

[@FunkerTactical]

Great episode! This felt like a TV segment. Keep up the great work guys!

[@uetzel]

12:03 and thus was the fleshlight invented

[@camrober]

uetzel Imagine if your disk was fast and hard enough to make a hole in ballistics gel LOL. She would be surprised.

[@Krabbo7]

uetzel Thought the same haha, it was pretty awkward =D

[@prot07ype87]

uetzel "That skirt opened up more. I mean look at the size of that hole. Look at that." - "Yeah, and we have small hands, this goes right in there."

[@BrianCDK]

+Fighter_jet210 Gaming nope fleshlight ;-)

[@emmanuelsaenz90]

Prot07ype zksmdr

[@Jssrdrgz443]

"Commies aren't cool" he hates commies and likes history? Hell yeah I'm hoping to see Kevin in a lot more videos!

[@theophrastusbombastusvanho849]

If anyone actually studied history they’d hate Communists

[@YAMaLove11]

If hates commies means he don't know history.

[@nateo200]

Love this! I remember in 7th grade my history teacher taught us about the .58 caliber Minie Ball and he would go on about its ballistics and how it pretty much was a prescription for amputation. That led me to become really interested in learning more about its ballistics and eventually other modern stuff. Its just funny because its been a while since I've heard the Minie Ball mentioned!

[@russellkeeling9712]

My old 58 caliber had flip up sights for 1, 2, and 3, whatever that ment. At 3 the barrel was pointed toward the stars. When I pulled the trigger I could hear the bullet passing through the air like an artillery round. It took a long time to reach the target at 3. I have read of a general being shot by a sniper who planned the shot out. When the general left his tent the sniper pulled the trigger and when the general got to the place where he would shave the bullet hit him. I loved the wing caps that rifle used.

[@rickroscoe4734]

"Commies aren't cool" - Love that t-shirt.

[@mattsmith87]

You just proved my point, except you are too fucking thick to realise it. Btw, I have lived in the States, (as well as 3 other countries, and working in over 80 different countries). Your media is the most biased and insular in the free world, and you Yanks slurp it up like your fat kids slurp up their 10th shake in McDonalds, in an orgy of gluttonous gullibility. You know nothing.

[@mattsmith87]

OK fatty, anything you say. lol

[@rickroscoe4734]

Keep your mouth closed and nobody will see your lousy British teeth.

[@mattsmith87]

I have always found it weird that the most teeth obsessed culture in the world, has the diet that requires the least chewing. How's your diet going? Still managing to get out of that LayZboy once every 2 days to go and take a shit?

[@mattsmith87]

Oh and btw, I am not a communist!

[@StreuB1]

This video was AWESOME and Kevin did great!! Total natural in front of the camera!

[@taytay6600]

Im from Seattle…. I LOVE THE HISTORY YOU TWO JUST TAUGHT ALL OF US!!! Thank You(on the civil war)

[@zamadrian06]

Those slow motion shots were nothing short of AMAZING!

[@RealityCheckGA]

Very interesting. I am not a huge civil war buff. But I like learning about it none the less. I had two grandfathers that died in it. One during the battle of Vicksburg. And another that died here in Georgia in a Savannah field hospital after being injured in the battle of Big Shanty. What I learned doing research about them is that the loss of those two men changed my family history for the next few generations and had long reaching effects financially and other wise. Women did not really work in those times and between the loss of my grandfathers and the destruction Sherman left here like many folks they were decimated.

[@KhrazedTV]

Bullshit, are you saying your grandfathers were born in the 1840's?

[@WingmanSR]

KhrazedTV I'm sure he means grandfathers with a certain number of the word "great" before them...

[@RealityCheckGA]

Yes Great Grandfathers. My grandfather was born in 1922 a few decades from the civil war. So he still knew a lot about what happened from his grandparents and parents.

[@americandissident3580]

Your grandfathers sound like brave men, God bless them both. My great-great-great grandfather was too a soldier during the Civil War (a loyal Confederate). He died fighting at the battle of Olustee, Florida in February of 1864. P.S., extra kudos to your grandfather (the one who died in Savannah) for giving that damn pyromaniac Sherman Hell.

[@americandissident3580]

***** Still have strong views on? You'd better believe it, buddy! Over 700,000 lives were lost in the American Civil War. That's more causalities than any other war our country has been a part of in it's entire history! It's for that very same reason that people (not just exclusively in the South) still argue about what exactly it was fought over to this day, over 150 years later. Generally most people on the more left-leaning side of the political spectrum in this country say it was fought over the institution of slavery and nothing else. I guess they say this in order to help strengthen their totally deluded belief that our federal government is just some "benevolent" giant that is out there just to help out the downtrodden minorities. *COUGH* INDIANS *COUGH* Anyway, I, and many other Americans don't see it that way. Mostly due to the fact that almost 90% of regular Confederate (Southern) soldiers (including my 3rd generation great grandfather) did NOT own slaves. Plus the fact that Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation which "ended slavery" was issued in January of 1863 when the "war to end slavery" (as the left always likes to refer to it as) clearly started in April of 1861. In my eyes, the American Civil War was fought over a calamity of many different reasons and events that had transpired before and even during the war. History is a totally random thing. There's no right or wrong side of it.

[@darwinrisinger6537]

Eric, that WAS AWESOME!!!! That was the best American History Class I have beed in please keep up the good work:-)

[@eskatonica]

I am not a gun enthusiast but I have to admit it, this channel is very insightful, and quite entertaining, of course. I hope to see more videos like this. I love American Revolution and Civil War stories.

[@RedneckTater05]

I love this video. I've watched a few of your videos and so far this is my favorite one. I'm a huge civil war buff. Keep up the awesome videos. I'm definitely subscribin now.

[@scotchrks]

I want to see more videos with Kevin please. Civil war history is very important, especially now.

[@chrisparker4575]

I was late to the party but for the last 6 months been catching up on your videos - another excellent video and Thank You for your service✊️

[@cutlerylover]

Great vid Eric!

[@ILikeToLaughAtYou]

Woah... Jeff?? Fancy seeing you here 6 years late! haha

[@murphysmuskets]

Best video uploaded in a long time! Would love to see more of this kind of thing!!! Eric next time you do something like this give me a shout. I could have sent you a 150 year old Enfield to match your 150 year old projectile. Maybe next time :)

[@doublenickel1000]

I'm 74 years old. I remember reading about the Minie ball when I was a kid, how nasty they were. Once during the '60s there was a tv show that told about snipers in the Civil War. They did a reenactment of a sniper shooting an opposing officer from a distance of over a mile. The bullet took about 5 seconds to reach the target, during which time another soldier walked in front of the intended victim, but passed in time for the bullet to land on the unsuspecting officer. I can't remember the name of the show, but if you could dig it up you'd be fascinated.

[@Sixalienasa]

Nice to see a video like this with no profanity or blasphemy. Good on ya Boys.

[@89tonstar]

+Aidan Stewart wtf, who cares?

[@Sixalienasa]

I care or hadnt you deduced that from my comment? There are many other decent types who care too.Perhaps it is beyond you to appreciate it, but it does matter.

[@rokaiatarbosh1675]

I do care

[@Sixalienasa]

Good on you Girl

[@Lurkness]

I've never met someone who found words morally damaging who had morals worth preserving.

[@dajohnso4374]

Probably my favorite iv88 vid. More Kevin please.

[@theanxious]

One of the coolest vids on KZbin hands down. Firing excavated civil war era minie balls into clear ballistic gel... that's an interesting stream of words to say the least lol. Very interesting for sure! I'm a huge civil war buff and enjoy excavating my own minie balls etc from the mountains here in NC and TN. I'm also an avid shooter, black powder and smokeless. This video is right up my alley! I'm definitely subbed for more!

[@jamesmoir7709]

Great video show more videos with Kevin seems like a cool guy.

[@BloodofPatriots]

The grooves on the minie ball carried bacteria that caused gangrene. For every man that died on the battlefield, 2 more died afterwards from infection and/or surgery.

[@trentweems4374]

BloodofPatriots That's what Bromine did for soldiers. They had discovered it killed that bacteria and they used it on wounded soldiers

[@BloodofPatriots]

Trent Weems Grain alcohol (ie "moonshine") worked, too. Hell, pretty much any liquor that's flammable (>50% ethanol) works pretty well as an antiseptic.

[@brucetucker4847]

It wasn't the grooves, musket balls had infection rates nearly as high. Usually it was germs from the soldier's own skin and clothes, especially if shreds of cloth were carried into the wounds, that caused the infection. However Minié balls caused much more destruction of bones and blood vessels which also leads to gangrene when the surrounding tissue dies and thus has no functioning immune response to stop the gangrene bacteria from colonizing the wound.

[@NORTH_CAROLINA_REAPER]

The rings are to further help stabilize the projectile.

[@wadepage7809]

I found this one very interesting and was rooting for a capture. Couldn't have planned a better one though with that leg "catch". I for one, would love to see a capture on another vid of this kind. Thanks for taking the time to share the fun and for making the effort!

[@olverafernando]

Shoot a body ARMOR AR500 plate with one of those proyectiles!

[@matthewbowen2345]

YES

[@WizvrdOG]

They already shot a shotgun slug at it same thing.

[@matthewbowen2345]

Not the same thing

[@matthewbowen2345]

Wonder what happens if you put a grenade next to it

[@alexreisel8026]

Matthew Bowen ar500 is designed to stop projectiles fired from a gun. a grenade is designed to spray THOUSANDS of bb sized chunks of shrapnel at more than 20,000 fps! couple that with a lethal area of about 50 ft, and you would have to wear a brick wall around to survive one of those. but regarding the Minnie ball, the plates can stop shotgun slugs so i assume it can stop a minnie ball.

[@eiclan]

Gday from Australia, I have the two band .58 cal enfield muzzle loader and the most powder I have ever used was 120 grain load to hit a steel target at 350 metres.Bloody thing kicks like a mule . You could fire a shot and have time to roll a smoke before the slug hits the target. I tried the pure lead minis but they fouled up the barrel very quickly so I used old wheel weights as they have a little tin in them ,I think, and so are a little harder and don't tend to foul the barrel so much.Best fun you can have standing up though here in Aussie you can't shoot them out in the open in summer as you will set the country on fire.. We also use the FFF powder to get rid of large ant nests,pour the powder into the nest ,run a trail away and light it and stand back,lots of fun though my brother destroyed the sewer connection,he was young and used far too much powder. I came home to a eight foot hole and him standing up watching tv. Cheers Ross

[@rifleman17hmrshooter]

I really got a kick out of this video, how cool is it you live in an area you can literally dig up a piece of American history and still shoot it! The old minies likely weren't uniform or sized to your rifles so it's no wonder accuracy was spotty.

[@lerch400block]

Loving that shirt Kevin.

[@orionbarbalate4350]

Kevins shirt is the best thing I've seen in a long time

[@snipper1ie]

Ernest Lynch

[@_Angel_Dust]

Orion Barbalate Poor fellow!

[@samfisher6190]

As always, I love your videos. Great show. Ya'll do a fantastic job with Informing us and teaching. Great personality, great character, lots of fun.

[@patrickslevin6424]

Eric and friend, please pay no attention to the mongoloids who just have to comment below. They use foul, disgusting language and add nothing to the comments. Thanks You guys for doing what you're doing.

[@tajb2595]

+Patrick Slevin Are you using the Mongolian ethnic group as an insult?

[@sugarman454]

I love Kevin's t-shirt!

[@rayeamus8573]

+sugarman454 Commies ARE cool.

[@franchiseboy123]

+Eugene Johnson You and the guy in the video don't even know what communism is.

[@td7shelton]

This has got to be one of my favorite videos that you have ever made! Thanks guys :) Loved it!

[@GIBSON-KNIVES]

awesome video guys

[@charlesbowman8125]

I love the old muzzleloader stuff. It's fun to shoot. It's still one of if not the best way to hunt deer here in Ohio.

[@paulalexander2928]

I have had a lot experience with the muzzle loading Enfield both originals and repros. I use and old Lyman .575 mold with bullets weighing in at 550 grains using with 5050 beeswax and lard lube. I used the original War Department load of 70 grains 1 F. My Canadian armed forces unit the Queens Own Rifles formed in 1860 used the muzzleloading Enfield until 1868 when it was replaced by the Snider. I even made explosive bullets using standard shotgun primers and a few grains of black powder. On old tree stumps they were devastating blowing fist sized chunks out . I even made tracer rounds for night use. Lots of fun!

[@jarkoer]

And consider that people back in the Civil War didn't have the body mass (not as muscular or just plain big) as modern Americans, a round with that kind of penetration could easily take out several soldiers in tight formation with each shot. You shoot one round, and then spend precious seconds reloading all the while the enemy is shooting back at you.... man, being a soldier back in the Civil War must have been terrifying. And with medical technology the way it was, you get shot anywhere and you're absolutely screwed.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

About 15-20 seconds to reload, though some of the sharpshooters were said to be able to reload in 12-15. Still a lot of time when a line of the enemy is shooting back at you!

[@rbxa2147]

indy_go_blue60 yet they all stood in lines.... did they ever think they would be more effective not standing right next to 20+people when your greeting shot at by inaccurate guns

[@sklzlm]

I love that shirt "Commies aren't cool".

[@Tromminator]

I enjoyed your demonstration. As a fan of Ken Burns’ Civil War series, the discussion of the minie ball in the film brought me here. Thanks for your work. 👌👍🏻😎

[@DomePiece123]

Eric I couldn't quite catch what the brand of the musket you were using was? Yearrol 1861 Musket/Rifle? I googled that and I didn't come up with anything. Any help is greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[@Iraqveteran8888]

It's a Euroarms Springfield 1861

[@pinz2022]

+Iraqveteran8888 "Slapstickey?" You need to film this over again doing the "Turtleman" and "Earl" voices.

[@altops4490]

+Iraqveteran8888 whats the FPS?

[@kekeke4467]

+altops feet per second

[@Las-Vegas-Muskets]

+Iraqveteran8888 Yes it is.

[@kleenexDK]

Kevin's Tshirt is cool!

[@luispancich2]

Hey Eric, i'm Brazilian, south Brazil, city Uruguaiana, state River Big South, border Argentine country, i loved your demonstration, is reality effect devastation of minie ball, In the American Civil War, the new technology came across the old military tactics, the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, so that caused a large number of injuries and deaths and minie ball was the decisive role, the soldiers going against fire with devastating effects !!

[@Ishmael3261]

That was so cool! Getting hit by a ricochet with enough energy to do absolutely nothing besides maybe hurt an insect and then just leaning over and picking up the bullet, glad you're safe and I'm sure you will remember that shot as long as you live. In H.S. me and a friend were out hunting rabbits with our crossman pellet guns when we came up on a big brush pile. Long story short my friend propped his gun against a tree and started jumping on the brush pile to flush anything that was in there, after a couple of jumps I said "give up bro there is nothing in there". As soon as the words left my lips a rabbit took off directly to the side at a 90 degree angle and by this time my gun was pointing at the ground held in my right hand, without even thinking about it I leveled the gun at hip level and pulled the trigger. The rabbit did a double somersault and landed on the ground with his back legs kicking. My friends response was "no f*cking way", I went up and saw that I hit him almost dead center in the back and the pellet ricocheted off into the air without even penetrating the skin! That's what I love about shooting and hunting, it's always fun but every once in a while you get one of those shots that you will never forget. Keep doing videos, you have a great personality and are actually having fun while you do what you do. Double thumbs up.

[@MrSiestaFiesta]

Kevin is an OK guy. I would like to see some 7.62x54r ammo comparisons. Maybe even some 303 and 8mm also. A lot of the IV8888 subs are into milsurp rifles.

[@3fgburner]

Excellent piece. Y'all might want to hook up with the North-South Skirmish Association. At their Nationals, over the course of the weekend they put about 2-3 tons of Minie' balls into the backstop, shooting through things like bathroom tiles, flower pots, clay pigeions, and occasionally water-filled 2-liters at 100 yards.

[@chubbyninja842]

Love that shirt. Commies are NOT cool ... though their guns are. :)

[@MrMudNugget]

I like kevin he looks Smart and helpful.

[@rahowhero]

No he doesnt. But looks can be decieving

[@mcguffindoe192]

He looks like a diabetic

[@bobjohnson5934]

Damn, Wish I Could Have Spent The Day With You Guys. I have One Of Those .58 Minie Balls In My Collection Of Civil War Bullets. Thanks For The Post.

[@ArtisanTony]

The secrete is the CCI cap. CCI don't mess around :)

[@jumpkickman1993]

Why would you dig up history just to shoot it out of a gun

[@troy9477]

Fun. Couple of points: 1. The correct word is obturate, not arbitrate. Some people refer to it as "slugging up". 2. You never mentioned bore diameter, but i assume it is 58 cal. 3. How about some velocities? Not possible to use a chrono with tbe very close shots of course, but it certainly is with the longer shots. This would then allow us to easily calculate muzzle energy. I'm estimating probably 1100-1200 fps with the lower charge. 4. I have always heard it pronounced min-YAY, not mini. There is an accent on the e, so that makes sense. He was a French artillery captain. I believe he invented the projectile in the 1850's. Not sure if it was in time for the Crimean War or not. It certainly was a watershed development in ballistic science.

[@SuperVexxy]

Commies Aren`t Cool - NICE Shirt !

[@bwspyder1]

big K is pretty cool!

[@rossbabcock2974]

Great vid. I hunted deer with my dad's 58 Springfield and Minnie's. The mass of the bullet makes for a HIGH impact!

[@Aramis419]

Never put a Reb bullet in a Yank weapon! Thank God the last time I played "Whoop a Yankee", the Johnny Rebs just meant a game of cornhole.

[@johnh6561]

Why pay for expensive sabots when you can cast minie balls? I don't think a deer can tell the difference.

[@ranpat30]

Excellent video. Thanks! I am a southern yankee and yes, I too have been hit by a 44 cal. round ball which riccocheted back at me off of a tree stump during a live fire session. Thanks again. Loved the video.

[@stasferguson0]

7:56 Most evilest laughs ever.

[@TheHondalover2000]

I need to find that shirt

[@Hearthman1159]

You need to do an episode shooting Minie' balls backwards. I used to do this all the time back in my re-enacting days. We'd fire it into mud and the expansion was insane. World's most ferocious hollow point. No, the guns don't blow up. The conical skirt does not expand to catch the rifling so it has a higher muzzle velocity but travels like a knuckleball much like round balls do. Fun stuff.

[@hawks1ish]

That Che Guevara t shirt is so cool however if you wear it in public indie hipsters may throw rocks at you :P

[@bradyhorton7858]

+Joshua Lansell-Kenny Man, paleeaase. I carry my C.S. Battle Flag in public and I live in an extreme left-wing city. I also take it to school and show it off despite the disapproval of the liberal students and all the staff lol

[@BigMek456]

+Joshua Lansell-Kenny No way, their tiny, thin arms couldn't possibly lift a rock.

[@SMGJohn]

+Joshua Lansell-Kenny I wear Stalin shirt in a right wing Nazi country, no one gives a shit because they are grown up people and not actually right wing nuttjobs who go around invading other countries for their own sexual insecurities.

[@caseyb1346]

I rock my Bernie Sanders sticker in a mud truckin rebel flag waving red county.

[@Las-Vegas-Muskets]

+Joshua Lansell-Kenny They throw rocks and I am in fear for my life, I am going to shoot everyone of those communist traitor motherfuckers.

[@stormpilgrim7443]

Nice T-shirt!

[@RickNethery]

Great Video Guys, Those are some Great looking Rifles. The Bounce Back Shot was Cool, but I am so glad Eric was not injured.

[@Imperic0n]

I'm not a gun enthusiast, but this video was pretty entertaining

[@kieranodea771]

I freaking love that Commie's aren't cool T-shirt

[@Coffeebourne]

LOVE THE SHIRT!!!! Great video guys!

[@DoctorRobertBobby]

more Kevin! more anti-commie shirts! make it happen, Eric!

[@ZIGMAN775]

BLAKAAOWWWWWWWWW Fuck yes I like this kind of thing

[@michaelandersen5453]

Just found your site and subscribed like a ton have already. I'm casting .62,.50 balls for54 for my flint lock rifle and and smooth bore and .54 bullets for my 1859 sharps. seeing this type of hard work to get these results in amazing. thank you for the work time you have put into this. I will keep watching and will check out your archive.

[@cornelishenk4569]

Nice t shirt!!

[@paramed5014]

Guy in the "Commies aren't cool" shirt is a boss

[@Nootson08]

love these vids, love the slo-mo the bullet bouncing back and hitting you is ridiculous!

[@Volound]

thats the biggest t-shirt ive ever seen.

[@fbecke]

Stupid comment! Mean!

[@ammattilainen90]

Oh look, 'Murican with Shirt: Commies aren't cool.. that's a new one

[@WithmeVerissimusWhostoned]

It isn't really an American thing, most of the eastern Europe would surely wear it too, but seems like nobody gives a shit about the commie pigs that once oppressed those lands. Although, there still remain small groups of brainwashed commie propagandists that would love to restore the glory of soviet union, when they appear we put them on a train and send them towards the vast lands of Siberia to help their dreams come true.

[@LOL60345]

Withme Whostoned Damn you are much better i must say...

[@artem2031ba]

Gooood... there we go again. Eveery one hate russia, yes, the best way to do stuff, noone cares about how the soviet union worked, no, it only did consist of executions and robberies. Suuuureee...

[@artem2031ba]

Withme Whostoned Oppressed? Brainwashed? God. Please, fucking explain them what communism and fanatics means. Also, there are no roads in Siberia, only some sidewalks, no trains go there.

[@CaptainBoisterous]

Артем Белов i am a proud American. for the most part. obama is a piece and i hate him. i physically hate him. anyway... i love Russia. I have never met a Russian that i didnt like. Putin is the man. the food is exceptional. why the united states isnt trying to make Russia its best friend is beyond me. actually i completly understand why, its just not how i would do things. if we had a president that loved America the way Putin loves Russia we would be doing a lot better. no country is without its problems. intellegent people that can see through the bull, lies, and propaganda know Russia is awesome.

[@paradiseroad6405]

...love the history of the Minie Ball...I'll be watching for more...

[@HrhFish]

Just had to point out that the deadliest bullet is the one that kills you

[@Sunbear415]

You some kind of expert or something?

[@Bruceconsidered01]

Entertaining and informative. A great video for the gun deprived people of Australia. Gun porn. Keep it up.

[@kentwilliams4152]

So, ever black powder rifles are illegal in Australia?

[@Bushmaster73cuda]

Love this video, I have a 1863 Springfield and have always wanted to try something like this. I know these rifles will tear up a telephone pole! Black powder is such a blast to shoot! Awesome video, would LOVE to see more like it. Thanks guys!

[@noquartercompound8283]

why bother with 3 blocks of ballistic gel ? Get three yankees , and let's see it again

[@chrisyoung6880]

Hah

[@gandolfthewhite]

Or shoot one Reb in the forehead, and catch the ricochet.

[@chrisyoung6880]

The funny part is that a rebs brain can't even learn proper English, so you think it would stop a bullet. Besides the north won the war 150 years ago.

[@noquartercompound8283]

a Lego player huh ? Your insularity is common among children. The north won nothing . Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[@bill65761]

Lego Kid The war ain't over. States rights are beginning to come to the fore again ... this time over the 2nd amendment and the commerce clause. A number of states have put the federal government on notice that the states will not enforce restrictions on the 2nd amendment and will not permit the feds to do it, either.

[@gregb6469]

I like that Che-buster shirt!

[@flysubcompact]

Cool video. Thanks for taking the time and expense. Watching the slomo brings another subject to mind. I wonder how much a percussion rifle has it's accuracy effected by the actual fall of the hammer as it smashes the cap? I know on old flint guns follow through was very important because of the time span between sear break, flint spark igniting the pan powder, then main charge. Was noticing the slomo percussion hammer drop. Looked like it actually jolted the rifle a tad before the main charge pushed the projectile out the muzzle.

[@android16B]

Lol all the pissed off commies triggered by the dudes shirt

[@andrewgaming1233]

I like the commies are not cool shirt.

[@louislaveau3143]

Me too, I want it :P

[@louislaveau3143]

Yeah, that's kind of because "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Someone with ambition to make it to the top have no inclination to get down after. Communism doesn't work because it is a fantasy, there will always be gaps between rich and poor, because if not, who would hire you? Why would someone who owns a company want to accept that the government would spread your wealth around? Also for that matter, why on earth, if I have created a product that many likes, why should I not get the fruits of that? What communism creates is an unwillingness to work, because you get the same as everyone else anyways, which would mean that, even in a utopia, where would the ambition to create be? I tell you where, noone would bother, because they would not get the fruits of their hard work. So no, communism is a terrible idea, so is socialism.

[@frankenz66]

Louis Laveau A fair assessment . However, the "state" owned all the industry in those countries. Communism only looks good on paper. In real life, it is a disaster for a society, and for the many of the reasons you list. One thing though, in communist countries of the past everyone works there, and very hard, as they hold the same attitude as the death camps of Nazi Germany "you work and you live". The deal is no one gets very much in return for their labor. You live governed by your stomach there instead of freedom to choose. If it were ever instituted here these people who think it is a fantasy lifestyle with free this and that find out that practically every last liberty will be given up in trade for this crap. They forget euthanasia or experimentation , for most problem persons, (ones who couldn't work) was a norm in Russia.

[@louislaveau3143]

Oh, I agree with you 100%, and the only ones who cannot see it are those dumb protesters that should be burnt alive.

[@louislaveau3143]

Well see, the problem is, when one communist country opens up to an outside market, in china's case, as their currency is worth very little to a dollar, that means manpower is cheap, it all comes down to perspective. Yes, they hold the debt, because most of the money a company makes in china goes towards the CCP, meaning the government, so they can loan out money. The problem there is not capitalist or communist, it is how little their workers "cost". if you can get 60 workers to spew outyour product for the same price in china as in the US would get you a tenth of that, yes, manufacturing moves.Everything is cheap in china because in a communist system, their country should be closed off from outside interference, otherwise, all of a sudden, they get a huge load of money from nowhere to put into their infrastructure. China has factory cities where their familes live and children go to school. That is insane, but that's what happens. Why is this happening? Because taxes AND import costs from china to the US would still be cheaper than if you produce it in the US. When capitalists comes to a communist system, it breaks down, same goes for when communists tris to get their system in a capitalist country.

[@RACookPE1978]

Minie (French) invented an early "type" of Minie ball, but his relied on an expanding "plug" in the base to expand the lead into the rifled grooves. Butler (US Army designer first working at Virginia's Harper's Ferry Armory, then at the CSA's armory in Macon GA) actually invented the hollow end, non-core simple lead bullet with 3 grooves to reduce the leakage of gas around the bullet. Butler worked in England as well.

[@andshrewjackson4737]

As a communist, i find that shirt offensive flame war... BEGIN!!!

[@debbiebaldwin5183]

you are cool NOT

[@tommiatkins3443]

The offensiveness is from the sweaty hippo its glued to

[@andshrewjackson4737]

tommi atkins Lol

[@jerkfacebg]

+Dillon Flannery I love how your point is instantly invalid seeing how bad your spelling is.

[@jaysonsedillo]

,,. .

[@commonsense3230]

can you do a video on the effectiveness and accuracy of suicide bombers...with demonstration please?

[@commonsense3230]

See... your response demonstrates American stupidity at its best...my reference to a suicide bomber was to the guy's youtube Id as an Iraq veteran and not to the fatty's commy hating shirt...I kinda hate commies myself albeit I praise them for fucking US ass in nam or for cutting Ukraine in half without the US actually being able to do shit...go back to school brickhead.

[@hansg6336]

Excellent wisenheimer comment.

[@ManMak6]

I love the sound from the shot out of a muzzle loader... so much softer.

[@chriso9345]

hugh mungus

[@ieuanhunt552]

The deadliest bullet in the world is a 5.56 because that is what the AK 47 uses.

[@birdmansno1fan681]

Please tell me you're being sarcastic

[@ieuanhunt552]

emma luna Nope. Look at the kill count for every gun manufactured in the last 150, the AK would have the highest. If that doesn't make it the most deadly I don't know what would.

[@birdmansno1fan681]

Ieuan Hunt​ i know the ak is deadly but it doesn't fire the 5.56

[@ieuanhunt552]

emma luna Really? what is it 7.62?

[@birdmansno1fan681]

Ieuan Hunt 7.62×39mm

[@DMEII]

Cool video guys. I too am a life long Civil War buff, reseacher and Rifled Musket shooter. I wish someone would put out a video just letting a bullet wizz by a microphone we can hear the same whizz that our ancestors and others heard in the Civil War. I also would love to hear a Whitworth bullet whizz by. I heard they screech.

[@chriskonopasek2826]

where can I get the commies aren't cool shirt