The following is from Jim Shepherd's "The Shooting Wire". He said this came from a discussion he had with Roy Jinks the S&W historian and expert.
"Everyone knows that frontier riflemen were recruited by the Continental Army due to their abilities to place a bullet accurately into small arms targets more than 300 yards away. But Roy Jinks brought the wonderment of those abilities into clear focus when he explained the King of England offered a reward for the capture of a rifleman and his return to England to demonstrate their marksmanship.
According to the traditions, Jinks says, a marksman was delivered. He displayed his skills; enlistment in the English military dropped."
There are other interesting historical tidbits about shooting in the newsletter. http://www.shootingwire.com/ (http://www.shootingwire.com/)
Chap