Musket

Musket (マスケット Masuketto)

A musket was typically a military version of a flintlock. It was a smooth bore weapon into the early 19th century. Like all muzzle-loaders, it required a tedious reload, however cartridges (a paper tube pre-filled with powder and ball) sped up the process. A trained soldier could fire from 3 to 5 times a minute and carried several dozen cartridges in specially designed containers slung over the shoulder or on a belt about the waist. The flintlock musket was in use from colonial times into the first half of the 19th century. A rifled musket was a later military firearm that had spiral grooves in the barrel. The percussion cap rifled musket was the standard issue military firearm by the mid 19th century.