User blog comment:Kazanshin/All bend to the Law: Shinsengumi vs Texas Rangers/@comment-17814994-20190809161359

Elgb's "Oh I've Been Waiting For This" EDGES!!!

Melee: Yeah the only advantage that the bowie knife has is the fact that it can be thrown but besides that LOL there's no way it can compete with an uchigatana. While some bowie knives are absurdly large that some weapons expert classify them as short swords, but the katana is a 2 feet long sword. Granted, knives are favored nowadays because they are smaller and can be drawn faster, but samurais are known to be fast on their sword draws as well (and very graceful too). I'll stop my blabbering and give the edge to the shinsengumi. EDGE: Shinsengumi

Pistol: The Beaumont Adams revolver has the advantage since its a double action revolver compared to the shitty Colt Peacemaker which is only available in single action. This meant that the gun can fire faster and is more ergonomical and comfortable to use since you don't need to cock the hammer each time you fire it. The Colt Peacemaker may have the advantage of having 6 rounds, but in reality people only load 5 rounds in the cylinder for safety reasons, so this advantage is negated. EDGE: Shinsegumi

Single-Shot Rifle: Again, this is a tough one. Tybalt made a good point in that the snider enfield obviously has the larger round, but both guns are large caliber rifles which I'm pretty sure anyone shot with either the two would die horrifically. However, the Sharps does have one advantage over the Snider Enfield and that's in its loading action. While both rifles are falling block action, the Sharps has a lever that can be opened faster than the Snider-Enfield's breech loading mechanism. It's kind of hard to describe in text, but with the Sharps, all you have to do is to cock the lever, tilt the rifle so the spent casing can fall, and insert the new round. With the Snider Enfield, you have to really open the breechlock, take out the cartridge and fire. Although this breechlock mechanism makes the Snider a bit easier to reload on prone, I have to give it to the Sharps at least 7/10. EDGE: Texas Rangers

Repeating Rifle: Okay straight edge goes to the Winchester rifle on this one. All you have to do is cock the lever and you're all set to fire. With the Spencer, you have to cock the hammer and the cock the lever before firing, and this is an annoying thing to do since you have to aim the gun again after every cocking you do (unlike in the Winchester where you can work the lever while you are aiming it in you shoulder). Yeah sure the Spencer has a proto "speed loader" but in reality they are a bitch to use. The blakeslee box is not like a modern clip, in order to use it you have to grab one tube and pour all its contents on the spencer's magazine whcih is located in its butt. And while doing it you have to be standing up or at least semi crouched and make sure none of those rounds spill, all the while being shot at by your enemies. The Winchester has an easier, faster and more comfortable to reload system where you just place each round in a loading gate. EDGE: Texas Rangers

Tactics: This... is an interesting one. To be honest, I think we remember the Ikedeya Incident differently here Kaz. You said that the Shinsengumi killed and arrested 40 rebels and suffered no losses, and yet based on my memory and a quick google search there were only 7-8 rebels killed and 23 arrested. And the Shinsegumi actually lost 1 agent during that raid (with two more dying of their wounds later). I also don't remember the Shinsengumi using the tactic of "hide inside buildings and force their enemies to move in into close-quarters combat" since IIRC it was the rebels who were hiding and it was the Shinsegumi who were charging in.

Also, another thing I want to point out with the Gunfight at Palo Alto is that the Texas Rangers weren't just fighting cattle rustlers here. Hell no. The gunfight happened during the Cortina Troubles, one of many Mexican-American "Wars" that were fought at that time. And the Rangers were up against Mexican soldiers who were raiding Texas for supplies at that time, not just any ordinary catte thieves.

But let's just say that I will follow what is written in Teh blog. And to be honest this is a complicated matter. The Shinsengumi can retreat inside buildings and take refuge there, which would basically negate all the advantages that the Ranger's rifles possessed. But I doubt the Texas Rangers are going to be lured inside that easily, since they were knowledgeable and trained not to force a shootout inside a building since thick blackpowder gunsmoke can make it hard to distinguish for both parties who are friend and foe. In my opinion, the Texas Rangers would instead either get inside an opposite building and fire at the Shinsegumi, or hide behind cover and wait for the Shinsegumi to step out and ambush them (like what happened during the Jenkins Saloon Gunfight, in which a group of cowboys took hold of a saloon and a siege happened between them and law enforcement. Texas Rangers waited for the cowboys to try and escape behind a back door before pumping them full of lead). EDGE: Texas Rangers

X-Factors: Kaz has given some good points here but I would also like to add some of my own. When it comes to training, both have their own advantages. The Texas Rangers has the advantage of being a more modern police force with more experience using more modern weapons and tactics. The Shinsegumi on the other hand, were trained from a young age in tough samurai upbringing compared to the Texas Rangers who trained like any other militias. In experience, both are even for me. The Texas Rangers fought a wider variety of enemies ranging from the Comanche, Mexicans and American outlaws. But the Shinsegumi fought in bloodier and larger scale battles like Toba-Fushimi. In logistics, the Shinsengumi were better funded unlike the Rangers who were poor just like any other police force at that time (it was actually required in Texas at that time that the Rangers bring with them their own firearms). EDGE: Even

Deadliest Warrior?

TBC