Re: Early 16th century matchlock harquebuses and their historical documents

Matchlock · 17th September 2008, 08:08 PM

Hi Norman,

Yes, i did fire the third harquebus from top, dated 1539, twice some years ago.

No problem at all as the barrels of these 16th century guns have unusually thick walls but are of relatively small bore; eg., the outer diameter at the muzzle of that harquebus is about 3,8 cm, the bore is 'only' 16 mm.

You sometimes find such barrels, almost 500 years old, in later stocks and mounted with flintlocks or even percussion ignition. Not enough said, their re-users in the 17th to the 19th centuries often even drilled the original bores out to ca. 20 mm and more!

Although a caliber of ca. 20 mm should have resulted in a dangerously thin barrel wall in the middle section where these early Renaissance barrels were at their thinnest, I have never come across one that was burst. All of them seem to have survived 400 years of firing - and remember that the black powder of the 19th century was a lot stronger than that of the early 16th century used to be.

Of course, I kept that in mind when firing my piece and used a reduced load of modern black powder.

As those short, but thick barrels are comparatively heavy the recoil is not a hard as one might expect.

I have also fired various original matchlock and wheel-lock muskets from the 17th century and never occurred any problem.

Actually, the Graz armory in Styria/Austria made a sensational experiment in 1989. They had late 16th to late 17th century muskets and pistols from their collections officially state proofed with modern black powder and made various shooting tests over different firing ranges. None of those 400 year-old guns ever failed. Their piercing results on armor plates, wood and gelatine blocks were astounding.

The whole story is told and profusely illustrated in the catalog, Von alten Handfeuerwaffen: Entwicklung, Technik, Leistung. Landeszeughaus Graz, 1989 (no ISBN, but sometimes offered by antiquarian bookshops on the internet).

Never underestimate the crafts of barrel smiths of 500 years ago and the enduring quality of their products!

Matchlock

17th September 2008, 08:08 PM	#3
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Firing a 16th century harquebus? No problem! Hi Norman, Yes, i did fire the third harquebus from top, dated 1539, twice some years ago. No problem at all as the barrels of these 16th century guns have unusually thick walls but are of relatively small bore; eg., the outer diameter at the muzzle of that harquebus is about 3,8 cm, the bore is 'only' 16 mm. You sometimes find such barrels, almost 500 years old, in later stocks and mounted with flintlocks or even percussion ignition. Not enough said, their re-users in the 17th to the 19th centuries often even drilled the original bores out to ca. 20 mm and more! Although a caliber of ca. 20 mm should have resulted in a dangerously thin barrel wall in the middle section where these early Renaissance barrels were at their thinnest, I have never come across one that was burst. All of them seem to have survived 400 years of firing - and remember that the black powder of the 19th century was a lot stronger than that of the early 16th century used to be. Of course, I kept that in mind when firing my piece and used a reduced load of modern black powder. As those short, but thick barrels are comparatively heavy the recoil is not a hard as one might expect. I have also fired various original matchlock and wheel-lock muskets from the 17th century and never occurred any problem. Actually, the Graz armory in Styria/Austria made a sensational experiment in 1989. They had late 16th to late 17th century muskets and pistols from their collections officially state proofed with modern black powder and made various shooting tests over different firing ranges. None of those 400 year-old guns ever failed. Their piercing results on armor plates, wood and gelatine blocks were astounding. The whole story is told and profusely illustrated in the catalog, Von alten Handfeuerwaffen: Entwicklung, Technik, Leistung. Landeszeughaus Graz, 1989 (no ISBN, but sometimes offered by antiquarian bookshops on the internet). Never underestimate the crafts of barrel smiths of 500 years ago and the enduring quality of their products! Matchlock