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Early German musket with serpentine lock. A matchlock or firelock [1] is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with their finger.
Japanese ashigaru firing hinawajū.Night-shooting practice, using ropes to maintain proper firing elevation. Tanegashima (), most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English hinawajū (火縄銃, "matchlock gun"), was a type of matchlock-configured [1] arquebus [2] firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. [3]
The Swedish infantry musket, or the Swedish Land Pattern Musket, was a muzzle-loaded 0.63 (16.002 mm) to 0.81 (20.7mm) [7]-inch calibre smoothbored long gun.These weapons were in service within the Royal Swedish Army from the mid-16th century until the mid-19th century.
The firing mechanism was typically either a matchlock or a flintlock. Since flintlock mechanisms were complex and difficult to manufacture, many jezails used the lock mechanism from captured or broken Brown Bess muskets. The stocks were handmade and ornately decorated, featuring a distinctive curve which is not seen in the stocks of other muskets.
Antique firearms can be divided into two basic types: muzzle-loading and cartridge firing. Muzzleloading antique firearms are not generally owned with the intent of firing them (although original muzzleloaders can be safely fired, after having them thoroughly inspected), but instead are usually owned as display pieces or for their historic value.
Muskets of the 16th to 19th centuries were accurate enough to hit a target of 50 cm (20 in) in diameter at a distance of 100 m (330 ft). At the same distance, musket bullets could penetrate a steel bib about 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, or a wooden shield about 130 mm (5.1 in) thick. The maximum range of the bullet was 1,100 m (1,200 yd).
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The M1752 Musket was a muzzle-loading firearm invented in 1752 and used by the Spanish Army from then until it was widely replaced by the much more effective Minié ...