It seems like a nobrainer: a bolt action rifle is a lot better than a muzzleloading musket! But why did the U.S. Army Ordnance Department refuse to adopt the Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr (needle rifle) in the years leading up to the Civil War?

Were they so staggeringly incompetent and stupid that they missed the advantages of a breechloading rifle?

Or were there other reasons why they decided to pass on the Prussian Wunderwaffe?

Also, check out the video on Royal Armouries channel, on the trial versions made for the British tests of the needle rifle

   • The British version of the Dreyse nee...