History of the Gun - Part 2: The Matchlock

[gamebro100]

Not this type of Matchlock of course.

[gamebro100]

The first matchlock were made with a bamboo tube.

[theirlivesagain]

is this the same as an arquebus?

[supersmash43]

Actually matchlocks were developed in the 15th century and not the 16th century as this video stated.

[snakeeyes119]

I kinda find it hard to believe bows were THAT hard to learn to use effectively. The basic priciple of the bow is far easier to grasp than the crude old guns and while they were difficult to make and use properly, I still feel life it would be easier to fight with a bow in actual combat

[cvuser11]

@snakeeyes119 Being able to shoot an arrow with a bow and using it effectively are completely different. You don't just want the arrow to touch your target, but to actually inflict damage. For this you need both strength and skill, and even in that case it's stopped by shields and is hard to pierce late medieval and early modern armors. First firearms were more closer to crossbows than bows, as they were slower but deadlier. 

[cvuser11]

@snakeeyes119 By the way, the matchlock did not completely replace bows and crossbows, because it was used in a completely different role: instead of long range sniping like with the crossbow, the matchlock arquebuses were used as a close range support for pike formations (see tercio), and at those ranges accuracy was not an issue against tightly packed formations.

[USMarineRifleman0311]

Garry James is the man

[Katharer45]

Thank you! It is very intersting!

[digvoldon]

During the thirty years war was it still Matchlocks being used or had flintlocks been adopted in some armies?

[MrBagginsEsq]

Matchlocks I've noticed are common among people trying to make "homemade" guns. I may give it a try myself!

[jandatv27]

Does anyone know where i can find the picture at 1:08 ???

[SuperEpicWin]

Won't the bullet fall out in you tilt the gun downwards?

[surrealpillow]

Garry James I'm a big fan! That matchlock is beautiful. Who made it??

[flyinjoethebest]

one day im gonna make a matchlock gun cause i think they are so cool

[tsafa1]

Very good video. I wish replicas of these early guns where more commonly sold at places like Cabela's for low prices.

[bearsbugs]

@tsafa1 Cabela's is a business like any other, if enough people contact them and make a request that they carry a line of matchlocks, I'm sure they will, start calling and writing. ;)

[CoolKillerClan]

o i whent to a old french fort in canada and they fired does but i still prefer the shots

than all the use this then take a bullet thant that thing

[XxXTommo69]

so to clear things up....?

This was around in the 1500's and was basically the first 'rifle', followed by the flintlock in the 1600's? Can anybody confirm/correct me???

[CommanderCooper]

@XxXTommo69 Well, the term "rifle" indicates a gun with riflings, and firearms of the time didn't have riflings. But in all other respects, yes, this was basically the first "rifle."

[ernadmahmic]

@XxXTommo69 no, technically these were still smoothbore barrels, I believe a rifle has a rifled barrels that spin the bullet

[Primitiveamoeba]

@XxXTommo69 it's not a rifle, its a musket.

[LutzDerLurch]

@XxXTommo69 from what I know the 16th and most of the 17th C. was the Time of the Matchlock. The Flintlock and Wheellock were invented at some points, but the matchlock was still a weapon for the majority of soldiers

[mwmwmwmwmmdw]

@XxXTommo69

1500-1650 was the match lock heyday. and while the flint lock was made in the late 1600's they weren't used in mass until the 1700's

[surrealpillow]

@XxXTommo69 You are correct except that most matchlocks were not rifles, they were smooth-bored muskets. And the matchlock was the primary form of musket for most of the 1600's as well. Flintlocks weren't used in mass numbers until the last 15-20 years of the 1600's.

[MrQuantaK]

@XxXTommo69 Matchlock until the 1660's, then Flintlock.

[MrBagginsEsq]

@XxXTommo69 Actually it was a musket. A rifle has a rifled barrel.

[TACTICALboom]

@XxXTommo69 Its a musket, it lacks a rifled barrel, therefore not a "rifle"

[dekool88]

@XxXTommo69 No this would be the first smooth-bore musket, and the rifle was invented in the mid 1500's when they gave the musket rifled barrels, hence calling them rifles

The flintlock was in the 1600's then the percussion cap in 1700's, continuing to the metallic all-in-one (because it had primer, charge and bullet) cartridge in the late 1800's

[ERASER1091988]

@XxXTommo69 There was wheelock after matchlock

[jethro035181]

...where do you get a custom trigger for it...does it come in .338 lapua

[rafsmith1993]

I see that you do not use patches and the lead ball enters easily into the muzzle. How do you keep the ball from rolling out and stay seated on the charge if the gun is lowered prior to firing?

[TheTitto]

Wow, that thing is bulky.

[loveryoda]

there is one thing i don't get it. everyone say matchlock took 45-30 seconds to reload. however, i saw people do it in 15 seconds in japanese arquebus festival. why?

[Melthornal]

@loveryoda

There is a difference between reloading during a drill and reloading with bullets flying all around you. Also, I do not believe the majority of soldiers were highly trained, at least not in the early days of firearms. The veterans and elite, perhaps others who had been trained before joining a military (hunters and the like) would probably reload quickly. Your average dude, well, I doubt it.

[loveryoda]

@Melthornal not an average dude. it is a man with a lot of dedication or too much time (i am not him. how should i know).  it is impressive to load a brown bess in 15 seconds. he uses same amount of time to load an arquebus. that most be a lot of pratice. check out "3 shots with a matchlock in 37 seconds" on u-tube.

ps. thanks for your information.

[LutzDerLurch]

@Melthornal i depends on the Army-System. Usually the Musketeer recieved extensive Training. The Military simply could not afford to have dumb blokes reducing the whole Troops Firepower.

[Melthornal]

@LutzDerLurch Regulars in the army, yes. But not always those who were just brought in as militia or whatnot.

[LutzDerLurch]

@Melthornal Yeah, but then you have to make a distinction between "some armed Guys" and "Some armed guy who know what they do". And this distinction has to be made with all branches of any fighting force. However, with the dawn of Muskets, you also had a revolution in army-structures. Rather then calling Peasants to arms, giving them a Pike and let them learn how to fight on the battlefield itself, with Musketeer they recruited men, and trained them before actually sending them to the fight.

[95thFoot]

Good vid, but the term "apostle" for the powder containers is a 19th century term. In period documents, the containers are called "chargers". I shoot matchlocks. They're fun!

[6U4RD1AN]

@95thFoot No, the term is correct for 15th or 16th centuries, they were refered as such at the time, they were carried in a number of twelve, hence the name.

[robloxace]

this helped me

[lewisgunner1]

they should have made the matchlock a flint lock then percussion cap because it just looks cool the desigh looks outstanding the stock and everything just perfect it my favorite out of all the muskets

[Norguy77]

The ottomans used matchlocks from 1440 to around 1700.

[alwaysbehumble]

Hahahahaha

wowowowo

hohohohoho

[lewisgunner1]

this guy was on lock n load with r lee emrey in a rifle episdoe wow cool he has his own show

[gmodrules123456789]

what about arqebuses



[pieman7771]

@gmodrules123456789 back then i learned they didnt call a matchloack a musket they called it a arqebuse

[k1lkenny]

@pieman7771

Theres a difference between a Musket and a Arquebus, the latter had a smaller calibre for instance. The first muskets were so big that they had to be used by two gunners and was mainly used for fort defence.

[lewisgunner1]

did'nt the arquebus have the same trigger like the crossbow

[k1lkenny]

@lewisgunner1

It's not relevant to the model, muskets had that kind of trigger in the beginning too, it was just a simple way of making a trigger. Whats seperating the two (Musket and arquebus) Is mainly the calibre, a arqebus was a single manned gun which had a calibre around 35, while the musket had one around 75, however the design of the musket would become smaller by time but keep the bigger calibre, hence they kept the name.

[Diabokid12]

I prefer to read a book about this stuff, because there it is detailed and more historicly acurate because it is based on ancient books :)

[Lovesgoats]

matchlocks were invented in the middle of the 15th century not 16th

[HDROSpieler123]

lol the stock looks like plastic

I really like matchlocks , I bought 5m of match and I built a simple matchlock-breechloader

[lewisgunner1]

cool u should make a video about it and show us 

[thegangvault2]

Great stuff! Sad that we have reached a time when history is told mainly through TV.....lol call me a bookworm. But here we have some accurate and entertaining TV that is historical in nature!

[surrealpillow]

@thegangvault2 Love your comment I totally agree. And the majority of history taught on TV and even in schools is misleading when not completely FALSE. We are all so historically ignorant. The notion that people before Columbus thought the Earth was flat (flat-earth fallacy) comes to mind.

With these guns there is a much more intimate relationship between the shooter and the firearm. Thats what shooting is to me at least. I'll call you a bookworm and you can call me old-fashioned.

[thegangvault2]

@surrealpillow Haha yeah I'll stick with my 5.56 but I do love the old lever guns. Never fired a black powder of any type though.... sounds like fun.