Matchlock Arquebus Musket

[Harry the Mole]

Here's something you don't see that often on military forums. I acquired this musket a couple of weeks ago, and although in the style of an English Civil War musket, it is probably Georgian or Victorian period. It's probably hard to believe, but even after these guns were replaced by doglocks and matchlocks, they still remained popular in civilian use - even as late as the early Victorian period. This was mainly down to cost, this type of weapon being much cheaper than a flintlock.

 

 

 

 

Overall length is 4ft 11inches, with a 43 inch barrel in .70 calibre, and a weight of 7.5 lbs. The crossbow type trigger lever is remarkably light to use, and the gun sits nicely in the shoulder. The fishtail butt is canted to the right and this helps sighting along the barrel. There are no proof marks or makers name on the barrel, and the lock is only marked with a couple of serial numbers, so it's impossible to date the gun with any accuracy. Aside from a small crack to the stock at the muzzle end, it is in remarkably good condition - and is in full working order.

 

Cheers,

            Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Farkas]

What an awesome looking thing Steve, well done mate. Nearly 5 foot, I bet that feels heavier than 7.5lbs after pointing it for a while.

 

I know nothing about such things but someone I know just sent me a lovely picture of his flintlock collection he’s parting with so I’m curious…
if it’s a musket not a flint lock, doglock or matchlock (2 I’ve not heard of 😊) do they all have different firing mechanisms? Is it all about evolution/different eras or just cost as you mentioned?

 

I just thought muskets were long guns and flint locks were the small versions but that both worked the same.

Now I see on yours and recall (from films) there is a smouldering string to ignite the powder and then there was flint on a flintlock but what about the other two you mention?

I guess match is a clue but can you teach me the differences 👍 

 

cheers

tony

 

[Harry the Mole]

Hi Tony,

 

Just to muddy the waters a bit more for you, it should really be referred to as a 'Caliver'. The Caliver was a shorter version of the Arquebus - although both were matchlock. The standard matchlock of the Civil War period came in a variety of bores, and this caused problems for the musketeers on the battlefields - who often found that they had to deform the shape of musket balls to make them fit the barrel. A shorter version of the Arquebus was introduced with a standard bore of barrel, and this was known as the Caliver . The word Caliver  was a corruption of the Italian word for internal measurement - which was Calibre. And that is basically how the word Calibre or Caliber came to mean the size of the bullet for any particular weapon.

 

The matchlock was replaced by the wheellock - a system of igniting the powder which had many advantages over the matchlock, but was rather complicated and expensive to make. The (VERY) basic principle of how it works is when the trigger is squeezed, a wheel spins and causes sparks, which in turn ignites the powder in the pan. After that came the Snaphaunce and Doglock. The Doglock had no internal half-cock position, so the hammer  was held back by a catch - the 'dog' - which engaged with the hammer as it was drawn to the rear. The gun could then be safely loaded and the hammer fully drawn to the rear and ready to fire.

 

The next stage in the evolution of these weapons was the Flintlock, with this variation having an internal half-cock position, As the hammer was drawn to the rear, it was held at half-cock and rendered safe to load. This next bit is off topic, but serves to illustrate the use of half-cock as a safety feature.

 

Even some relatively modern weapons used the half-cock as a safety device rather than a proper safety catch. The Maxim-type guns had no safety as such, and during WW1 the guns were kept at readiness by having them at half-cock. Maxim type guns had to be cocked twice to load them, the first pull of the crank merely placed the extractor over the base of the round in the belt when the action was cycled. This was the half-cock position.

 

On the second pull of the crank, the cartridge was withdrawn from the feed belt and taken to the rear. As the lock returned to battery, the round was fed into the breech, the extractors moved up and grabbed the base of the next round, and the gun was ready to fire. Unlike other machine guns, the Maxi guns - of which the Vickers gun was a modified Maxim - the gun fired from a closed bolt. In other words, there was ALWAYS a round in the breech unless the gun was at half-cock. This was why Maxim guns were water cooled - it was to stop the round cooking off in a hot barrel.

 

Cheers,

            Steve

 

 

[Farkas]

23 hours ago, Harry the Mole said:

Hi Tony,

 

Just to muddy the waters a bit more for you, it should really be referred to as a 'Caliver'. The Caliver was a shorter version of the Arquebus - although both were matchlock. The standard matchlock of the Civil War period came in a variety of bores, and this caused problems for the musketeers on the battlefields - who often found that they had to deform the shape of musket balls to make them fit the barrel. A shorter version of the Arquebus was introduced with a standard bore of barrel, and this was known as the Caliver . The word Caliver  was a corruption of the Italian word for internal measurement - which was Calibre. And that is basically how the word Calibre or Caliber came to mean the size of the bullet for any particular weapon.

 

The matchlock was replaced by the wheellock - a system of igniting the powder which had many advantages over the matchlock, but was rather complicated and expensive to make. The (VERY) basic principle of how it works is when the trigger is squeezed, a wheel spins and causes sparks, which in turn ignites the powder in the pan. After that came the Snaphaunce and Doglock. The Doglock had no internal half-cock position, so the hammer  was held back by a catch - the 'dog' - which engaged with the hammer as it was drawn to the rear. The gun could then be safely loaded and the hammer fully drawn to the rear and ready to fire.

 

The next stage in the evolution of these weapons was the Flintlock, with this variation having an internal half-cock position, As the hammer was drawn to the rear, it was held at half-cock and rendered safe to load. This next bit is off topic, but serves to illustrate the use of half-cock as a safety feature.

 

Even some relatively modern weapons used the half-cock as a safety device rather than a proper safety catch. The Maxim-type guns had no safety as such, and during WW1 the guns were kept at readiness by having them at half-cock. Maxim type guns had to be cocked twice to load them, the first pull of the crank merely placed the extractor over the base of the round in the belt when the action was cycled. This was the half-cock position.

 

On the second pull of the crank, the cartridge was withdrawn from the feed belt and taken to the rear. As the lock returned to battery, the round was fed into the breech, the extractors moved up and grabbed the base of the next round, and the gun was ready to fire. Unlike other machine guns, the Maxi guns - of which the Vickers gun was a modified Maxim - the gun fired from a closed bolt. In other words, there was ALWAYS a round in the breech unless the gun was at half-cock. This was why Maxim guns were water cooled - it was to stop the round cooking off in a hot barrel.

 

Cheers,

            Steve

 

 

Steve, thanks for taking the time to impart some knowledge… 

I now know the expression ‘going off half cocked’ was around long before I would have guessed.

& you got me googling Arquebus which was a first for me 😊 there is quite a history of evolution which isn’t surprising I know but not something I have considered before.

Between yours and these pictures my friend sent me of his flintlocks… he’s selling up and I was already tempted but now I really want one

 

 

 

Something fresh & interesting that I now want & need to buy a book about 👍 

cheers

tony 🍻

[Harry the Mole]

Some nice pistols there. Are you going to buy any?

[Farkas]

I haven’t a clue what they’re worth yet but I’m going to try and find some similar ones, hopefully, to get an idea.

 

He’s a retired MOD blacksmith and for years he picked them up whenever he saw one. He just enjoyed cleaning them up, there’s no work required on them… if I’m ever getting one now’s the time!

I’ve got first dibs but I suspect they are going to be worth a few quid. 

 

Any thoughts about them Steve?

 

 

 

 

PS… I like the third one from the left, the one below the one with the ring… 

[Farkas]

1 hour ago, Harry the Mole said:

Some nice pistols there. Are you going to buy any?

 

[Harry the Mole]

They all look OK, although I prefer the military pistols to the civilian one's. It's always nicer to see them in hand too. Maybe you would get 'mates rates?'

 

Cheers,

          Steve

[Farkas]

On 18/12/2023 at 13:52, Harry the Mole said:

They all look OK, although I prefer the military pistols to the civilian one's. It's always nicer to see them in hand too. Maybe you would get 'mates rates?'

 

Cheers,

          Steve

He’s a lovely fella and it’s not been about the money in our dealings so far, giving me extra bits & bobs and a gorgeous old book he knew I’d like.

He said he’s going to auction because that way the price is what it is. I’d get mates rates but as he’s not sure what they are worth nowadays… what would that be 🤷‍♂️

I told him which I fancied most &
he sent me this message yesterday…

 

“Hi tony, the gun with the loop on the handle is a customs percussion cap pistol and the very large Flintlock is an Austrian one. The ones in the middle with the English crown on and the ones next to it, probably used in the battle of Waterloo, has markings on the trigger guard which confirms the regiment were there, hope you’re doing well, Bob”

So I’ve asked for more pics & if he doesn’t mind me posting them I will.

 

fingers crossed

 

tony 🍻

 

[Harry the Mole]

Good luck.

[Farkas]

58 minutes ago, Harry the Mole said:

Good luck.

thanks Steve 🍻