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To keep the ball in place once the weapon was loaded, it would be partially wrapped in a small piece of cloth. [61] However, the smaller ball could move within the barrel as the musket was fired, decreasing the accuracy of musket fire [62] (it was complained that it took a man's weight in lead musket balls to kill him). [63]
Buck and ball was a common load for muzzle-loading muskets, and was frequently used in the American Revolutionary War and into the early days of the American Civil War. The load usually consisted of a .50 to .75 caliber round lead musket ball that was combined with three to six buckshot pellets.
A smaller caliber Minié ball could be used to provide as much mass on target as the larger .69 caliber round ball. For these reasons, the Model 1842 was the last .69 caliber musket. The Army later standardized on the .58 caliber Minié Ball, as used in the Springfield Model 1855 and Springfield Model 1861.
The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield rifle-musket) was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifled musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867; after which many were replaced in service by the cartridge-loaded Snider–Enfield rifle.
The smoothbore barrel and inaccurate round ball were also being replaced by rifled barrels and the newly invented Minié ball. While older muskets had an effective range of about 50 to 100 yards (46–91 m), the Model 1855 had an effective range of 400 yards (370 m) and was deadly to over 1,000 yards (910 m).
The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié for muzzle-loaded, rifled muskets. Invented in 1846 shortly followed by the Minié rifle , the Minié ball came to prominence during the Crimean War [ 1 ] and the American Civil War where it was found to inflict significantly more serious wounds ...
Springfield Model 1861 "Colt Special" rifled musket Colt Model 1861 Special Musket Lamson, Goodnow & Yale (L.G & Y.), Springfield Model 1861, built 1864. The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket used by the United States Army during the American Civil War.
Paper cartridge, buck and ball/musket ball undersized (.65/16.510 mm) to reduce the effects of powder fouling: Caliber.69 in (17.526 mm) Action: Flintlock/percussion lock (conversion) Rate of fire: User dependent; usually 2 to 3 rounds per minute: Muzzle velocity: 1,000 ft/s (300 m/s) to 1,200 ft/s (370 m/s) Effective firing range