muzzle loader
Sign in to savethumb|right|upright=1.5|A "Brown Bess" muzzle-loading musket, used by the [[British Army from 1722 to 1838]] A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the breech end of the barrel. 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. The
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Loading
- Projectile types and history
- Modern usage
- Muzzleloading
- Modern use
- Reversed chamber firearms
- See also
- Related to muzzle-loading small arms
- Related to muzzle-loading artillery
- References
- External links
thumb|right|upright=1.5|A "Brown Bess" muzzle-loading musket, used by the [[British Army from 1722 to 1838]] A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the breech end of the barrel. 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. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from cannons to small-caliber palm guns).
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.