In smooth bore muskets and most rifles used prior to cartridges being introduced in the mid-to late nineteenth century, wadding was used primarily to hold the powder in place. In shotguns, a card wad or other secure wadding is used between the powder and the shot charge to prevent pellets from dropping into the powder charge and on top of the shot charge to hold it in place in the barrel. Wadding is made from felt, paper, cloth or card and has several different uses. This was particularly the case with earlier muzzleloaders like matchlocks but appear to have been less common with flintlocks and was irrelevant with percussion locks since they used percussion caps rather than priming powder. Sometimes two types of gunpowder (and two flasks) were used consisting of finer priming powder for the flash pan and coarser powder for the main charge behind the ball. The gunpowder used is typically black powder or black powder substitutes like Pyrodex. In general, the sequence of loading is to put in first gunpowder, by pouring in a measured amount of loose powder, historically mostly by using a powder flask (or powder horn), or by inserting a pre-measured bag or paper packet of gunpowder (called a cartridge) or by inserting solid propellant pellets. Wadding recovered from the wreck of the packet ship Hanover and was found inside a loaded cannon, National Maritime Museum Cornwall (2014) It usually, but not always, involves the use of a loose propellant (i.e., gunpowder) and projectile, as well as a separate method of ignition or priming. Muzzleloading can apply to anything from cannons to pistols but in modern parlance the term most commonly applies to black powder small arms. However, the fact that the mortar is not loaded in separate steps may make its definition as a muzzleloader a matter of opinion. Both the modern mortar and the older mortar were used for high angle fire. Unlike older muzzleloading mortars, which were loaded the same way as muzzleloading cannon, the modern mortar is fired by dropping the shell down the barrel where a pin fires the primer, igniting the main propelling charge. Modern mortars use a shell with the propelling charge and primer attached at the base. Modern muzzleloading firearms range from reproductions of sidelock, flintlock and percussion long guns, to in-line rifles that use modern inventions such as a closed breech, sealed primer and fast rifling to allow for considerable accuracy at long ranges. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from cannons to small-caliber palm guns). The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) designs of breech-loading firearms. Class of gun which is loaded from the muzzleĪ muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |