For the matchlock fans...

[Canute Rex]

WOW!! the JAPANESE are masters of burning hemp!! just masters . how can they shoot them so fast?

Bamboo speed loaders. Just as 16th-17th century Europeans had bandoliers of wooden powder bottles, the Japanese had boxes of bamboo tubes with pre-measured powder in them.

I compete in primitive biathlon with a matchlock smoothbore. It's a timed course, so I have to load quickly. I have a bandolier of powder bottles, which work fine. I am more picky than your average 17th century shooter, firing tight patched ball, but I can still load in about thirty seconds.

 

[rickystl]

One thing I've noticed with these Japanese matchlocks is the very short travel of the serpentine to the pan. You might want to be aiming down range before sliding the pan cover. Otherwise, there is a chance a lit coal from the match cord could drop off into the pan and the gun go off unexpectedly. (Don't ask how I know this LOL). But they are really fun to shoot.

Rick

 

[Rudyard]

Nice example & nice to get the flask . Most snap locks are short throw and getting one going unplanned is part of the fun ?. I had a common lock piece in a competition. It just stubbed into the prime as I aimed . So I stood there like you do hoping it would go .It seemed not to want to so I brought it down releasing the trigger When apon it fires & flew off behind me. So I just picked it up to reload as you would if rather to the astonishment of a bystander and someone declared Ide "Shot a rabbit " meaning the ball strook the grass on Short Siberia range. It was a 12 bore piece not ideal better to go small bores like 40 & 36 cal getting more velocity for less recoiling factor. And use snuff like priming more readily ingnites I find .
Regards Rudyard

 

[Darto]

Slightly off topic but Kunstler painted this....

 

[Darto]

Kunstler

 

[Darto]

English Civil War , not sure who this artist is...

 

[Rudyard]

Dear Darto . Ide say there on topic, nice paintings not sure why the rest as the guns seem fairly light .but then I supplied a rest to the Golden Hinde's gunner & it didn't need a rest either .
Rudyard

 

[Pukka Bundook]

My thinking exactly, Rudyard. (Guns too short and light to require a rest)
Last painting I recognise the faces/artist, but name won't come...

Van Dyck??

 

[LawrenceA]

Some sort of early hand gun I presume. Handle wrapped with ray skin as was done with katana.

That resembles the Japanese version of a police baton. Septon its a gun

Sorry, now I see the replies.

They also have a wooden cannon at the Ina Ueno Ninja Museum

 

[Carbon 6]

Slightly off topic but Kunstler painted this....View attachment 37791

I love that painting

 

[toot]

Darto, the photos' that you have shown are spot on, the detail is superb. it is as you are rite there with them. I for one like / enjoy them. find any more of them please include them. TOOT jmho.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

English Civil War , not sure who this artist is...

[/QUOTE]
Interesting right hand hold with two fingers on the trigger. Possibly a hold over from using a longbow?

 

[RAEDWALD]

English Civil War , not sure who this artist is...

Interesting right hand hold with two fingers on the trigger. Possibly a hold over from using a longbow?
[/QUOTE]
When I mocked up a trial set up for my late 17th century matchlock I found more control with a heavier spring and two fingers than lowering the serpentine with a light spring and a single finger. The extra feed back gave me a greater certainty of where the end of the cord was. I may even add a second spring to make it a two stage effect. So I can understand why the Watch chappie is using a two fingered hold.

 

[Heelerau]

Rembrants, Night Watch shews the loading of a matchlock.

 

[Jay Templin]

Why on earth is he wearing his gorget outside his breast-and-back?!?
Jay

 

[Zonie]

I found more of the drawing above but so far I haven't been able to identify the artist or the name of the picture. It may be English?
It does show the apostle's nicely.

 

[Darto]

I found it!
Is not English Civil War like the lithograph seller on amazon said it was.
Since the people are identified, I wonder if Bart painted by memory or got them all to pose together?? 24 feet long painting.
wikipedia... 1639 A.D.
List of paintings by Bartholomeus van der Helst - Wikipedia

 

[RAEDWALD]

The Watchmen paid to be in the painting. The more senior were expected to pay more and got prominent positions. Otherwise you got the exposure you paid for. Chappie wielding the musket must have been wealthy or socially ambitious (or desperately insecure) to get such a poseur position. van der Helst was in the painting business for the money. Portraits pay well if you can churn them out fast and good and a wall of well off punters was the ultimate dream.

 

[RAEDWALD]

A couple of bandolier close ups from van der Helst

Note the ball bags at the lower apices of the bandoliers.

 

[Darto]

I bought a bandolier off of eBay because the seller described his trip to the Tower of London to carefully measure and photograph the originals in detail. I wanted to see the dimensions of the boxes. My conclusion was that the powder back then had more volume to produce the same power. Or maybe the muskets were a whole lot bigger than I imagined.

Then later I sort of rethought that, about how the powder was not homogeneous and therefore no doubt had to be remixed by shaking it up from time to time. So they probably half filled each box so it could be shaken every day or so. As they were marching along to the next county or shire to a possible confrontation of an enemy somewhere in the region.