Demonstration of a 1611 Matchlock Musket

[Metaldude1945]

Must of been nervewrecking to fight with such slow loading weapons against Native American tribes. I always wondered how they managed to actually win. Did they have certain tactics? Outnumbering?

[JFuzzman]

@Metaldude1945 Well they did have canons back then, next you have to realize that they had great dragoons even then, .. so most of the time it would be enough to scare the native tribals.

[MrQuantaK]

@Metaldude1945 Why would you need to outnumber anything when you have such superior weaponry?

[oldstock1607]

@Metaldude1945 Most of the killing was done with swords, daggers, pikes and crossbows.. The Matchlock, when it did reliably fire, was devastating, but the boom it made truly scared the natives shitless.

[lordalastor99]

@Metaldude1945: They probably fired in turns with one group firing while another reloaded.

[theend1011]

sorry, but 200 yards my A**. A P1853 Rifle Musket (w/ Mine ball) a trained soldier could only hit up to 300 yards. Most matchlocks could only hit up to 60 yards

[leeknivek]

shouldn't that small light musket be a "carbine," not a "caliber."

[Soothfish]

And what if the match goes out...or it starts raining?

[SuperEpicWin]

@Soothfish exactly, thats why they upgraded to flintlock

[DNchap1417]

@Soothfish: You can reigniteit with a lighter or a pack of matchsticks which soldiers always had just in case.

[AlexPrestage]

@DNchap1417 Strickly speaking "matches" did not exist...you had sulphur splints to transfer fire not start it. Keeping your match dry is a knack and you can vary the heat it burns with and so how well it burns in adverse conditions.

[Thrawn6211]

wouldn't his "back and breast armor" be called a Cuirass, or am I mistaken. Honest question.

[AlexPrestage]

@Thrawn6211 I believe that the term Cuirass would refer to just the breast plate, however breastplate was the more widely accepted synonym as Cuir in French is leather you can see the word stem. (maybe it was associated with leather forms of protection or is an C18th term)

I do reenactment of 1645 and surrounding years and we call it a back and breast.

Hope that helps.

[Thrawn6211]

@AlexPrestage Ah, thanks, I've heard the 18th century cavalry armor called a cuirass, as well as Alexandrian-era breastplates, so I'm sure people use it in a more broadened spectrum than was intended.

[whowantsabighug]

Lol, 'raytions'.

[DNchap1417]

is the match cord a one-shot trigger mechanism or can it be be reused to fire subsequent rounds/musket balls?

[AlexPrestage]

@DNchap1417 You reload, you shoot one shot and then reload. Just the one shot to each loading.

[Tuckahoe1918]

So John... what is it, a musket or a caliver?

[thestarsandbars]

@blackcerberus999 it went wheellock, matchlock, and then flintlock. But i agree there were some crazy guns back then.

[AlexPrestage]

@thestarsandbars I'm pretty sure match-lock came first...just look at the aquebus and 'hand cannons'

Wheel locks were a later development after doglock/flintlock/firelock and required 'spanning' so were mainly used for pistol mechanisms, also fired better if tilted on its side...making wheel lock muskets a little more prone to mis-firing that pistols of the same mechanism.

[asmrbear]

@thestarsandbars wheellocks followed matchlocks. They used flint in their mechanism.

By the mid C17, wheellock pistols were seen alongside matchlock muskets, but were very rare as they were crazy expensive and a bit of a pain to make and maintain in combat (effectively like having a very sensitive watch mechanism on the side of your pistol). By the time wheel locks had been perfected,the dogjaw style flint lock was in use :)

[thestarsandbars]

@asmrbear Yes, I made mistake about that. thank you ^.^ ! Wheel locks are crazy! Having to be made by a master clock maker!

[k1lkenny]

@asmrbear

No, Wheel locks does not use flint, cause flint would shatter against the spinning wheel. A wheel lock mechanism uses pyrite.

[roopr]

Jacob De Gheyn ("G" is silent) had designed his drill as a Manual of Arms as oppose to a Close Order Drill Manual. Even today the two are seperated from one another when teaching military tactics. De Gheyn had broken the operation into about 36 steps; however, there is plenty of documentary evidence that the number of steps were often truncated consilerably especially during the 30 Years War and English Civil War.

[LutzDerLurch]

@roopr True...Idiot-Proof Step-by-Step Instructions for the Training, and simplified, more rapid procedures for the actual Fighting.

[roopr]

Slow match is made using either a Hemp or Jute cord varied in thickness from 3/8" to 5/8" and soaked with Potassium nitrate (KNO3), water, and some vinegar to keep the match burn at a consitant rate. The thing to remember is that the concoction should actually be completely soluble and the best way of doing this is to boil the solution. There is a catch to this, since it will become somwhat unstable and can explode.

[HomeMadeGunNut]

No1 Has Been Able To Answer Me This Yet, How Would They Make A Match?

Please Answer Thanks :)

[123elnat]

@HomeMadeGunNut ,

I believe they soaked a piece of rope in saltpeter and then let it dry.

[HomeMadeGunNut]

@123elnat Oh just like salt peter with a bit of water?

[GARS1632]

do you know Armin könig arms ?

[moreload]

Matchlock musket what a beast of a weapon

[runescape44411]

1607 was jamestown!! the first english colony!! ohh yea!!! I didn't even have to look that up!!

[17461771]

@runescape44411 The first English colony in North America was Roanoke Colony (also known as "The lost colony". Its location was in present day North Carolina and was established in 1585.

[1x93cm]

that thing had like 20 steps just to shoot it

[k1lkenny]

@1x93cm

I can tell you right away that a musketeer of that time had to learn well above a 100 different grips for his musket.

[citizenhal]

@1x93cm I think 32, but that might be the one used as standard in the English Civil War.

[freemansbunker]

that's nice...how old was that piece?..replica?

[runescape44411]

@freemansbunker replica I would say..

[ewbecht]

@freemansbunker no one fires originals, unless their a suicidal idiot

[LutzDerLurch]

@ewbecht Not True.