Flintlock Musket: Napoleonic tap loading - fiction and fact

2/95th Regt (Australia) reenactors research and test tap or spit loading as shown in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of books, especially Sharpe's Eagle. We tested safety, speed, accuracy and penetration, all with period correct ammunition. Black powder was 2F. Ball was .67, bore of muskets was .75 inches. Notably, we did not have bayonets fitted. But we tried it and the bayonet does not prevent spitting the ball down the barrel. Anyone who locates a contemporary reference to spit or tap loading, please add the reference to the comments log.

CAUTION: not all safety procedures used in this demonstration are evident in the video.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• 95th
• rifle
• baker
• 2/95th
• history
• re-enactment
• flintlock
• shooting
• sharpe
• napoleonic
• army
• muzzleload
• brown
• bess
• cdsadler
• musket
• bernard
• cornwell
• peninsular
• war

[AUG351]

So the tapping gets the bullet down the muzzle? Also wouldn't they also have to place a patch on the end of the barrel before placing the bullet?

[cdsadler]

@AUG351 You need to read up on muzzle loaders - suggest Wikipedia as a start point.

[GSpeedEmotion]

This was used by line or light infantry?

[cdsadler]

@GSpeedEmotion Both

[GSpeedEmotion]

@cdsadler What about the musket itself? This shown in the vid in particular.

[cdsadler]

@GSpeedEmotion The Sharpe video shows the Brown Bess infantry smoothbore musket, if that is what you mean.

[higuma75]

I'm pretty sure I'd take the possible safety risk with spitloading if I had a couple of angry Frenchmen coming right at me with their bayonets pointed at me.

[andresrojas22]

BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP!  BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP! BITE!POUR!SPIT!TAP!

[MrDannysuzy]

@blaketheawesomedude first of all he had paper. second dynomite beats rock and rock beats windows and small children

[mandowarrior123]

@enoughraptor6 the point wasn't where, its the fact you STAB them not SHOOT them. SHOOT > STAB in VOLUME.

[enoughraptor6]

@mandowarrior123 i have watched many videos of men being beheaded with a knife and they make a lot of noise. Also you never slit a sentries throat you grab their mouth and stab the kidney. i learned this from learning to take out enemy sentries in the Marines.

[mandowarrior123]

@45bloo it was certainly used in the civil war.

[mandowarrior123]

@higuma75 I'm sure as he said instead of getting another shot off your could do 6 shots in two minutes and one cleaning, a healthy compromise.

[mandowarrior123]

@enoughraptor6 have you ever heard even a silenced gun fire? they are leagues apart. stop watching movies.there is a reason the commandos use a knife to slit their enemies throats! might I ask where you have heard such a thing? apart from films? I have heard animals killed by blades, and heard a suppressed pistol fire (still bloody well loud). blade sound barely carries from a room. gunshots go for miles. zombies do not screams in death! even breaking a neck is loud. suggest another method?

[blaketheawesomedude]

I'm confused. how does scissors beat rock?

[45bloo]

Noticed the comments about the coming Zombie  Apocalypse. All good tounge in cheek fun I am sure. But as one who has been confronted in a dark parking lot by an individual suffering the effects of long term meth use I can say that I no longer feel that it is so very far fetched. :) just say-n

[45bloo]

Have read accounts from the civil war (US) that spoke of the of the soldier's blackened teeth and face in the aftermath of the battle. I know they used percussion caps then but would they have used this method? When he approached the table after the rapid fire I noticed his teeth blackened and he spent some time spitting up the powder

[enoughraptor6]

@mandowarrior123 have you ever head someone killed by a blade. Its not quiet by any means. just saying