Category

Muskets

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thumb|right|Muskets and bayonets aboard the [[frigate Grand Turk]]

A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare from the mid 15th to mid 19th centuries, particularly in Europe, where they normally comprised the majority of their infantry after 1600. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifleman. Muskets were replaced by breech loading rifles as the almost universal firearm for modern armies during the period 1850 to 1870. The traditional designation of "musketeer" for an infantry private survived in the Imperial German Army until World War I.

thumb|upright=1.4|A flintlock blunderbuss, built for [[Tipu Sultan]] The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle to help aid in the loading of shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun, with similar military usage. It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances. A blunderbuss in handgun form was called a dragon, and it is from this that the term dragoon evolved.

thumb|Early German musket with [[serpentine lock.]] A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. This firing mechanism was an improvement over the hand cannon, which lacked a trigger and required the musketeer or an assistant to apply a match directly to the gunpowder by hand. The matchlock mechanism allowed the musketeer to apply the match himself without losing his concen

thumb|15th century culveriners

British flintlock musket

Japanese firearm

The jezail (or jezzail), also spelled juzail (or juzzail), is a long-barrelled weapon used in Central Asia, British India, and parts of Middle East. A person operating it is called jazailchi.

Charleville musket poto

thumb|upright=1.3|Various muzzle loading arms, to scale; number 10,11 is identified as a musketoon (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910) The musketoon is a shorter-barrelled version of the musket and served in the roles of a shotgun or carbine. Musketoons could be of the same caliber as the issue musket or of a much larger caliber, 1.0–2.5 inches (25–63 mm). The musketoon is most commonly associated with naval use, and pirates in particular, though they also served in a carbine role with cavalry. Musketoon barrels were often flared at the muzzle, resembling a cannon or blunderbuss.

Potzdam Musket 1723

Model 1795 Musket

The Moukahla () or moukalla was a type of musket widely used in North Africa, produced by many tribes, clans and nations.

a type of Chinese matchlock musket

Musket Model 1777

musket during the Napoleonic Era

Muzzle loaded firearm used by the Spanish Army 1752-1850s

Military of Afsharid Iran

army of the Afsharid Empire

high-caliber, smoothbore firearm of the 16th to 18th centuries

Springfield Model 1842

Model 1816 Musket

Springfield Model 1840 flintlock musket

thumb|480px|right|This toradar is probably used for hunting. The decoration on the stock shows various animal figures e.g. buffaloes, panthers, etc. A toradar (, , ) is a South Asian matchlock primarily found in the Mughal Empire, dating from the 16th century. It was a preferred firearm in India well until the mid-19th century because of its economical and simple design.

Springfield Model 1812 Musket

Model 1822 Musket