Charleville Musket

History of Charleville Musket

The Charleville rifle, which takes its name from the place where it was made, the main French arsenal in Charleville (Champagne-Ardenne), the standard flintlock rifle of the French Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries . The original rifle was delivered in 1717. It was further developed into a revised 1728 model. This weapon features the use of three barrel straps when attaching the barrel to the wooden case. A steel putter was released in 1740 to replace the original wooden form. In 1746, a further modification removed the pantile reins from the design.

More subtle changes continued over the next few decades until an entirely new model was introduced in 1763. The 1763 production form was reinforced in the midst of severe combat, but these additions proved excessive and added weight to the already bulky and long gun.

A revised, lighter version soon appeared in 1766. More modifications were made over the next decade to produce a more powerful rifle. It is estimated that tens of thousands of Charleville rifles were made.

[p. Half-cock" to prevent accidental firing of the weapon while loading. The operator then begins muzzle loading, holding the gun vertically and placing the stock on the ground. A certain amount of black powder is fed into the barrel, then is the "bullet" (or spherical lead) used as a bullet.

The bullet is usually wrapped in a piece of cloth or paper to provide a tighter fit in the barrel. The operator then uses a "push rod" to push the contents of the barrel Bump further down to bring it closer to the critical firing action. When the gun is now held horizontally, a small amount of fine powder has settled in the brazier.

The fondue lid (also known as "frizzen") is then closed and the gun is officially ready to fire .then set the hammer to "full spin" and now it's up to the operator's trigger to fire or not.

Basic verbal orders to prepare and fire dominated the battlefield of the day, starting with "Load Arms!". It was followed by "Open Pans", then "Handle Cartridge" and "Tear Cartridge".

Next came "Prime," then "Shut Pans." Next comes "Loading", then "Loading the Cartridge into the Barrel", then "The Lever", and finally "Bumping the Cartridge". "Return to putter" puts the putter back into position under the barrel, and commands "shoulder weapon", followed by "ready", "now" and "fire!" - all in French, of course. Repeat this process over and over with daily practice so that a piece of solder can fire two or three bullets in a minute.

Of course, the entire operation depends on many factors, including the operator's own level of training. In addition, the moving working parts of the cannon needed to be properly maintained, while the flint used to generate the required sparks needed to be in working order. The gunpowder used needs to be as dry as possible and the correct amount of gunpowder needs to be added to the barrel and flash disk.

The pusher action itself should also bring the barrel contents as close to the spark action as possible.

Charleville's designs were traditional at the time. This is a long gun system where the firing action is set in a wooden frame close to the trigger group behind the receiver (or frame). The barrel sits within the frame and is strapped at several key points to hold it in place.

The pushrod is usually mounted on the underside of the barrel near the muzzle and is an integral part of the operating procedure. The wooden frame was thicker near the firing action, and the flintlock mechanism fell to the right of the receiver. The trigger is held in an elongated ring, and the stock is integrated into a wood frame design that features pseudo-ergonomic grips for the shooter and shoulder.

Weapons are usually fired with two hands, with one hand on the trigger to activate the firing action and the other hand in front of the trigger group to raise the barrel up towards the intended target area. The entire weapon system weighs 10 pounds and has a barrel length of up to 46.75 inches.

It is muzzle fed, making it a "muzzle loaded" weapon. Conversely, later firearms in firearms history can be breech-loading, making them "breech-loading" firearms. The shoulder strap loops are located on the top of the stock and under the center strap on the front edge.

Charleville was designed to fire .69 lead musket balls. This was conventional ammunition at the time, although sizes varied from country to country in terms of bullet caliber. For example, the British Army uses .75 rounds with their fabled Brown Bass rifle. However, given that Charlieville uses a "smooth" barrel - meaning the inside of the barrel is smooth, rather than "rifled" like later guns - the lead rounds can rattle and roll out of the barrel , causing severe repercussions with its ballistics and velocity once it exits the muzzle. Therefore, a smoothbore rifle generally has an effective range of up to 50 yards, if that's the case.

This usually means that 18th and 19th century gunfights were relatively close affairs, usually (and eventually) resolved by close-quarters bayonet combat. It wasn't until later that the threaded barrel interior became the standard for firearms, giving rise to the "rifle" class designation and dramatically increasing the rifle's range and accuracy to over 200 yards (some sources say up to 500 yards). ). Rifles Rifles are aptly classified as "Rifle Rifles" and over time they became the norm for modern firearms on the battlefield.

Rifled rifles were used even during the American Civil War, although bolt-action rifled firearms such as the Henry series were introduced.

In response to the general inaccuracy of the first generation of muskets, the army usually gathered musketeers in groups and the infantry fired in predetermined, organized lines. The first row will kneel down, aim and shoot with the second row, place their guns directly above them, aim and fire their own "volley".

After these teams ran out of ammunition, they returned to the rear of the formation to reload, while "fresh", ready-to-fire lines of infantry took up forward positions and repeated the firing. This provides a consistent fire field for a target group of similar organizations within a certain distance.

Of course, flanking maneuvers (attacking the enemy from the flank) are still in play and can be disastrous for an ill-prepared and ill-equipped enemy formation.

The Charleville musket was in service from 1717 to 1816. During this period, it was used in various operations in France, including those during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) and the French Revolution (1789-1799). ), the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), and the French and Indian Wars in present-day Canada (1754-1763). France was actively involved in anti-British operations in both the American Revolution (1776) and the War of 1812 (1812-1815), supporting the American colonies and funding their use of French-made weapons (like Charleville) against all things British Movement - of course, by a fake company set up by the French with fake ship logs.

The French Charleville rifle later became the basis for the American-made 1795 Springfield rifle, made by the legendary Armory in Springfield and Harpers Ferry. The first Springfield rifles of 1795 were actually indistinguishable copies of the 1766 Charleville model.

Charleville Musket Specification

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