Kelly Gang Armour

Kelly Gang Armour. "...The armour had been the subject of endless debate, especially as it made accurate aiming of a rifle impossible. Yes, it was proof to a Martini-Henry bullet at ten paces. But extra horses were needed to carry it, it had to be put on and off, which was time-consuming in the best of conditions. A new set of habits was required. In other words, the members of the gang would have to learn how to wear it; new disciplines were required to replace natural habit. There were too many unknown factors, said Joe, and the weight was terrible. It was approximately that of a bag of wheat, in other words about as much as a strong man could carry. To compensate for the inaccuracy of fire associated with the armour, Ned bought four rapid-fire Winchester repeaters and shortened the barrels. The gang now had several score men ready to take up arms. No doubt the armour captured their imaginations and it was their preference which swung the argument." From Ned Kelly: Australian Iron Outlaw. Hang out with an Aussie long enough and you'll eventually hear about Ned.