See, Bob, the British had their Brown Bess muskets, and so did some of our lads. They came from the same heritage or stock, with the same goods as a common denominator. But we were also hunters over here, Bob. We needed to take out game at a long rang or we'd starve. So we also had rifles, you know, with rifling on the inside of the barrel, and where the name comes from, Bob. Now these were expensive, and not everybody could afford one. But Bob, they existed -- and we didn't starve to death. Now Bob, after The Shot Heard 'Round The World, we were fighting a war of secession or a war of rebellion, depending on your point of view. So anyway, Bob, some of our guys had rifles and were used to hunting game at long range. A musket's effectiveness at 25 to 30 yards out gets dodgy. These guys were standing line abreast shooting at each other and losses overall were minimal. But you see, Bob, we had those frontiersmen who had rifles. So they started hunting British officers. Only officers were on horseback, so they were easy targets, being elevated in plain sight. The officers on foot were also easy to target and eliminate with a high rate of efficiency, and from a much longer distance than the muskets would ever allow. Now Bob, these guys weren't in a line abreast, they were behind trees and bushes and other natural points of ambuscade. The losses of officers in one theater (I forgot which at the moment) caused the British to hold a parlay with the rebels to request that they stop targeting their officers specifically. The British were fine with taking their chances with musket fire since it was inaccurate, but they didn't like the idea of a suicide mission. (I forgot how that parlay went.)
But the point here, Bob, is that we were taking out their command and control structure. We were eliminating their leadership. Now let me put it in terms you'll understand, Bob, we were taking out their quarterbacks. We were taking out the brains behind the brawn. You've seen that happen many a Sunday, Bob.
The rifles were a far superior technology to muskets. They didn't win us our Independence, Bob, but they most certainly helped. But their most important reason for existence at that time was to kill the elite officer corps in the British army. If one of those boys had've been able to take a shot at ol' King George, he'd have killed him, too. Bob, we have guns to kill kings and lords. Now the Forefathers, being the geniuses they were, knew that a free people needed to have access to the same weaponry as the government for a couple of reasons, Bob. The first was a fight on equal footing. The other, and this is the important one, Bob, was to allow us citizens when necessary to kill our politicians, too. So Bob, guns are for hunting, just not what or who you think. The right to own weapons is the right that keeps us Free from totalitarian schmucks like youself, Bob.
Thanks for listening, Bob.
