![]() ![]() For a given cartridge, a bolt-action rifle is cheaper to build and maintain, more reliable, and lighter, due to fewer moving parts in the mechanism. The choice between bolt-action and semi-automatic, usually recoil operated or gas operated, is usually determined by specific requirements of the sniper's role in a particular organization, with each design having advantages and disadvantages. During the American Civil War, the Confederate sharpshooters equipped with Whitworth rifles were tasked to eliminate Union field artillery crews, and were responsible for killing Major General John Sedgwick - one of the highest-ranking officers killed during the Civil War - at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Also, the Whitworth rifle was able to hit the target at a range of 2,000 yards, whereas the Enfield could only manage it at a distance of 1,400 yards. At trials in 1857, which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons, Whitworth's design outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one. His rifle was far more accurate than the Pattern 1853 Enfield, which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War. Designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer, it used barrels with hexagonalpolygonal rifling, which meant that the projectile did not have to bite into the rifling grooves as was done with conventional rifling. ![]() The Whitworth rifle was arguably the first long-range sniper rifle in the world. ![]()
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