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Originally Posted by buckhorn
If they would've had the 7 shoot Spencer, or even the 14 shoot henry [Which the Indians had to some degree] the out-come would have been different.
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I don't know if it would made much of a difference, really. Custer had ~256 men with him and he attacked what has generally been acknowledged to be the largest known gathering of the northern plains Indians ever. Some estimates put the number as low as ~4000 and as high as ~12,000, but 6000 to 8000 is more widely accepted, with at least 2000 experienced warriors taking part in the battle, and women & children finishing off the wounded. Custer was outnumbered by at least 8 to 1 by much more experienced fighting men, men for whom fighting and dieing was a way of life, and adding the women & older children who also participated, perhaps as much as 20 to 1 or more. There is a well documented incident during the battle of a boy of about 12 killing a trooper with an arrow then running another one down and beating him to death with his bow.
I suppose it's possible Custer could have driven off the counter attack if he had Spencers and/or Henrys, but my opinion is the outcome wouldn't have been much different; Custer and his contingent would still have all died that day, but a few more Indians would have also.