Not Too OT. Gunpowder.

[Gun Smith]

Since gunpowder is used in leverguns as well as all others, here's some trivia for your enjoyment. Amaze your friends!

We think of gunpowder, cartridges, rifled barrels and other inventions as relatively modern discoveries. Not so.

A.D. 846, Black powder formula. 6p. Saltpeter, 2p. Sulphur, and 2p. Charcoal. Almost todays formula.
1498 Straight GROOVED barrels used in Leipsic for target practice.
1520 Rifled barrels made by Augustin Kutter.
1550 Paper cartridges for Matchlock firearms.
1794 Fulminate of Mercury discovered by E.C. Howard.
1812 Swiss M. Pauli makes a breach loading gun chambering a self-igniting centerfire cartridge.
1829 French patent issued for a centerfire cartridge with a removal base.
1831 English patent for a centerfire cartridge with a cap in the base.
1854 Smith and Wesson creates the first sucessful metallic, and reasonably moisture proof, self contained cartridge.

More later.

[Doc Hudson]

metalic "cartridges" (after a fashion) are even older.

henry VIII ordered 50 shields fitted with breechloading pistols for use by the Yeoman Guard. Each pistol was loaded via a removable metal "chamber' with an attached flash channel. The breech was opened, the loaded chamber inserte and the breech closed. The priming pan, with the "cartridge's" flash channel in place, was primed and fired via slow match. With lots of spare cartridges those pistols could keep up a pretty fair rate of fire for the era.

Breech-loading cannon are also nothing new. many early naval guns, especially, were breech loaders. These too were loaded with removable chambers, and the chambers were sealed by driving a wedge between the end of the chamber and a breech piece on the gun carriage or the barrel itself.

A bit of entertaining trivia: The removable chambers for cannon became known as "Thunder Mugs," due to their handles and similariy to large drinking mugs. Don't ask me whether these chambers or chamber pots were the first to be labeled "Thunder Mugs." In any event, shooting "Thunder Mugs" became a popular part of celebrations similar to shooting anvils. In fact Dixie Gun Works used to sell Thunder Mugs for that use..

OH! I remember reading that a 1580-something shooting match in Switzerland, which featured 600 and 800 yard matches, specifically forbade use of firearms with grooves cut into the barrels.

And we mustn't forget the Reverend Alexander Forsyth who invented the first percussion ignition system back in 1807. Bonaparte offered him several million pounds sterling for his invention but he patriotically gave his "Scent-Bottle Lock" to the British Government in return for a very modest sum and an annual pension.

[AJMD429]

Great information and history lesson, Doc...!

[Doc Hudson]

Great information and history lesson, Doc...!

Don't forget GunSmith!

He's dirty dog that got this chase started, I just joined the pack.

[AJMD429]

Great information and history lesson, Doc...!

Don't forget GunSmith!

He's dirty dog that got this chase started, I just joined the pack.

Yep. GunSmith deserves equal time...! Sorry 'bout that.