'Out of the box' thinking home projects

I think we are confusing sniping and skirmishing here, the British army did not start 'teaching' soldiers to aim until roughly 1800. Even when you start aiming that is not sniping. No soldier did anything that would be considered sniping during the period - unless your definition of sniping is 'to hit something rather well' - not even those with a Baker. The odd tale of the likes of Plunkett stays with us because it is fun, but such isolated shenanigans are it.

'Sniping' in the period sense is more akin to 'sniping' in the airsoft sense.

Well, if this is turning into a debate on 'what really is sniping', might want to read up on the battle of Saratoga in 1777

'Sharpshooter' called Murphy, 2 shots. Killed Brigadier Fraser and another senior officer who was acting as a messanger. Now this may not be now called 'conventional' sniping but it definitly fulfills one of the main objectives, 'to pick off high value and important targets'

Sniping should be called more than 'shooting rather well', more shooting targets of decreasing importance. The main idea of the Rifle companies of the 1800s would be to pick off Officers, NCOs, Artilleryman first before going for normal footsoldiers (high value targets) So in my opinion, the greenjackets could be called snipers of their own era for this reason

I think we are confusing sniping and skirmishing here, the British army did not start 'teaching' soldiers to aim until roughly 1800. Even when you start aiming that is not sniping. No soldier did anything that would be considered sniping during the period - unless your definition of sniping is 'to hit something rather well' - not even those with a Baker. The odd tale of the likes of Plunkett stays with us because it is fun, but such isolated shenanigans are it.

'Sniping' in the period sense is more akin to 'sniping' in the airsoft sense.

The 95th (Royal Green Jackets) and American Rifle Regiments respectively were skirmishers in the classic sense, they developed the art of sniping. In the early years of the 95th Rifles, Plunkett who you refer to as 'fun' picked off an officer on horse back at 400yds, which is like modern day snipers making the '1000yd shot' It's where sniping came from although it was also used in the American War of Independence to our disadvantage!
Bit silly calling some of the finest shots of their time just able to 'hit something rather well'...and I would say absolutely nothing like sniping in an airsoft sense...for a start your target doesn't disappear in a huge cloud of smoke as soon as you pull the trigger.

Plunkett's shot was 'fun', it was taken as a bet to show of his skill. It was not done as part of his soldierly duties at all. 'Sharpshooter', yes, and some very good shots amongst them certainly, but not a 'sniper'.

The role of a sniper is not one that was undertaken by the 'sharpshooters'. Yes they would shoot at officers and NCOs, but this was not their primary role - in fact in the memoirs of several light infantry soldiers of the time many speak of their distaste at even picking out individual targets, which they found unfair - a hark back to the previous century. They operated as full companies and battalions on the front line as regular soldiers, even if eventually classed as elites, not as independent marksmen in search of targets. Neither were they responsible for reconnaissance.

'To hit something rather well', or however you would like to reword it to suit some moral sensibility, is the only function that they share with what would be termed a sniper. Sniping proper can be argued to arise during the American Civil War, but even then I am sceptical and view this more as an undue obsession with gadgetry and tall tales, coupled frankly with the desire of American historians to place undue importance on the A.C.W. as the first 'modern war'. I would look to the Franco-Prussian war for starters, and definitely by the first world war.

The similarity with an airsoft sniper, though jocular, comes from Heidi's point that a very small part of sniping is shooting things, but in airsoft being a sniper is being on the front line with a slightly longer ranged and more accurate gun, akin to the riflemen mentioned.

Back on topic please!

back on topick ,ive a mind to do a conversion with a ksc mac11 to make a sterling ,have to make a remote gas chamber(dun that to a mico uzi and added a hi-cap) but there's plenty of space internally.
also got a huge number of idears building slowly into a design for a lewis gun ,but they must wait till ive finished the bren,was a big wrench over making a bren or a lewis first ,i made my own sten 2.5 years ago using m14 internals before viva made theres,dont know how to do links but its on ambush adventures forum im weapons images titled "say hello to my little sten "im grandadio on that forum btw.i also made a mount to fit a mak 11 to the front of a revolver launcher as a perfect cqb weapon it's fun to use but not strictly in period with this forum .