breech-loaders
Guns loaded behind
Breech-loaders are firearms loaded from the rear of the barrel rather than the muzzle.
Before their widespread adoption in the mid-19th century, most guns were muzzle-loaders requiring powder and ball to be rammed down the barrel—a slow process.
Breech-loading allows faster reloading and firing from prone or protected positions: The infantry's breech-loaders gave them a decisive advantage.
Long-barreled shoulder firearms
- shotgunsWide-bore pellet firearms
- carbinesShort-barreled long guns
- musketsEarly shoulder-fired guns
- cartridgesEncased charges for firing
ammunition · chamber · bolt-action · lever-action · Ferguson · barrel · breechblock · extractor
Flint-sparked firearm mechanism
- SpringfieldCommon American placename
- EnfieldBritish military rifle
- conversionAct of changing states
- innovationCreating something original
nineteenth-century · industrialization · patent · inventor · transition · obsolescence · antique · collector
Ground combat troops
- cavalryMounted military force
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
- regimentColonel-led military unit
volley · rapid-fire · battlefield · Prussian · Franco-Prussian · colonial · campaigns · armament
Honorably accepting risk
- gameOrganized play or sport
- fowlingHunting wild birds
- safariWildlife observation journey
- double-barrelTwo-chambered gun design
over-under · side-by-side · pheasant · grouse · deer · waterfowl · field · stalking
rifles
Long-barreled shoulder firearms
cartridges · ammunition · chamber · bolt-action · lever-action · Ferguson · barrel · breechblock · extractor · ejector
flintlock
Flint-sparked firearm mechanism
- SpringfieldCommon American placename
- EnfieldBritish military rifle
- conversionAct of changing states
innovation · nineteenth-century · industrialization · patent · inventor · transition · obsolescence · antique · collector · museum
infantry
Ground combat troops
- cavalryMounted military force
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
regiment · volley · rapid-fire · battlefield · Prussian · Franco-Prussian · colonial · campaigns · armament · ordnance
sporting
Honorably accepting risk
double-barrel · over-under · side-by-side · pheasant · grouse · deer · waterfowl · field · stalking · gamekeeper
breech-loadersmuzzle-loaders
Firearms charged via barrel
muzzleloaders · Brown Bess · flintlocks · matchlocks · smoothbores
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