BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Jacques Cousteau Odyssey posted! CAFB OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW!

Bruce in Bangkok[_5_]

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:31:17 GMT, (Richard
Casady) wrote:

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:25:22 +0700, Bruce in Bangkok
wrote:

Being a nit picker I should point out that muskets varied in caliber.
.75, .72, .69 and .58 were all common bores at various times.

The Brits made millions of the .75's and both sides in the war between
the states had rifled muskets, so called, in 58. .72 is 12 gauge,
which may not be a coincidence. The smoothbore muskets, unlike rifles,
could use birdshot, of concern to a farmer, if not a soldier. Shorten
the barrel so you can swing it, not just point it, and you have a
shotgun.

Casady

Again you are correct. the standard British musket was .75 cal flint
lock from about 1722 until 1838 when they were replaced with a
percussion lock weapon of the same caliber.

The so called "rifled muskets" were a totally different weapon and was
actually a large bore, .58 cal as you say, rifled weapon firing a
conical hollow base bullet that was small enough to be loaded easily
in a fouled weapon but expanded to fit the bore when fired.

Although not very accurate by modern standards the rifled musket was
astonishingly accurate when compared to a smooth bore musket with its
undersize ball. One of the reasons for the extremely high loss of life
during the War between the States was the early use of "musket"
tactics against weapons that were accurate at a distance.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct email address for reply)