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For the unanswered questions raised by the earlier poster pointing out that his 1861 Springfield always hit high at 50 yards when it was sighted for 100 yards.
First you need an understanding of ballistics. Here is an image that shows a bullet's path from the muzzle to impact, click on the picture for the webpage with more detailed instruction.
As you can see in the picture the barrel is not perfectly parallel to the alignment of the rear and front sights. This is done to compensate for the forces of gravity and drag that act on a projectile during it's flight. The purpose of weapon's design, especially for standard service weapons ment to be used by newly trained line troops is to set the sights for the effective range of the weapon. This is done so that by applying basic marksmanship techniques, the point of impact at the effective range is within the critical zone of the target.
Partly this doesn't have much to do with Campaigning since we don't carry live rounds, nor did the average soldier have detailed knowledge of these principles.
The country boys who did know how to shoot, would have a much more practical knowledge of changing their point of aim based on the distance to their target. They would instinctly know to lower their point of aim for a target close to them and to raise their point of aim for a target at distance. Then as well they understand the affect of wind as well as target movement in adjusting their point of aim.
Now many of the original cast in 1861 and especially those from the urban centers of the country had no experience with a fire arm beyond the pocket pistols and derringers of the day used for personal protection. They were trained by the armies to load and fire their pieces when ordered and anything they picked up about marksmanship was more by accident and experimentation than actual training.
SO, in my opinion although an interesting topic... there is limited application to Authentic Campaigning. If you want to shoot your piece with live rounds at a target go get into the NSSA and enjoy that hobby.
First you need an understanding of ballistics. Here is an image that shows a bullet's path from the muzzle to impact, click on the picture for the webpage with more detailed instruction.
As you can see in the picture the barrel is not perfectly parallel to the alignment of the rear and front sights. This is done to compensate for the forces of gravity and drag that act on a projectile during it's flight. The purpose of weapon's design, especially for standard service weapons ment to be used by newly trained line troops is to set the sights for the effective range of the weapon. This is done so that by applying basic marksmanship techniques, the point of impact at the effective range is within the critical zone of the target.
Partly this doesn't have much to do with Campaigning since we don't carry live rounds, nor did the average soldier have detailed knowledge of these principles.
The country boys who did know how to shoot, would have a much more practical knowledge of changing their point of aim based on the distance to their target. They would instinctly know to lower their point of aim for a target close to them and to raise their point of aim for a target at distance. Then as well they understand the affect of wind as well as target movement in adjusting their point of aim.
Now many of the original cast in 1861 and especially those from the urban centers of the country had no experience with a fire arm beyond the pocket pistols and derringers of the day used for personal protection. They were trained by the armies to load and fire their pieces when ordered and anything they picked up about marksmanship was more by accident and experimentation than actual training.
SO, in my opinion although an interesting topic... there is limited application to Authentic Campaigning. If you want to shoot your piece with live rounds at a target go get into the NSSA and enjoy that hobby.