Gun Encyclopedia

Types

Military Guns

Long Gun

Not to be confused with long riffle,

A long gun is a classification of firearms characterized by their long barrels. Typically designed to be held with both hands and braced against the shoulder, long guns differ from handguns, which can be fired with a single hand. In the realm of small arms, long guns include rifles, carbines, submachine guns, and shotguns. In the context of cannons and mounted firearms, a long gun in artillery is distinguished from a field gun or howitzer.

Arquebus

An arquebus is a type of long gun that emerged in Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. The term "arquebusier" refers to an infantryman armed with an arquebus. It's worth noting that "arquebusier" should not be confused with the term for a type of cavalry, which is "harquebusier."

Blunderbuss

A blunderbuss is a firearm dating from the 17th to the mid-19th century, featuring a short, large-caliber barrel typically flared at the muzzle. This design aids in loading shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is often seen as an early precursor to the modern shotgun, with similar military applications. Its effectiveness was limited to short ranges, lacking accuracy over longer distances. In its handgun form, the blunderbuss was referred to as a dragon, contributing to the evolution of the term "dragoon."

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that emerged in the early 16th century as a smoothbore weapon. Initially, it served as a heavier version of the arquebus, designed to penetrate plate armor. By the mid-16th century, as the use of heavy armor declined, the original type of musket faded away. However, the term "musket" continued to refer to smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century.

In the 19th century, rifled muskets, commonly known as rifles in modern terminology, became prevalent. These rifles used the Minié ball, invented by Claude-Étienne Minié in 1849. The retirement of the traditional musket was further accelerated by the development of breech-loading firearms utilizing self-contained cartridges, introduced by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835. The production of the first reliable repeating rifles by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 marked another step toward the decline of muskets.

As repeating rifles became widespread, the term "rifle" replaced "musket," signifying the end of the musket era.

Musketoon

The musketoon is a shorter-barreled variant of the musket, often serving in roles akin to a shotgun or carbine. It could have the same caliber as the standard musket or a much larger one, ranging from 1.0 to 2.5 inches (25–63 mm). This firearm is commonly linked with naval use, especially among pirates. However, musketoons also served as carbines with cavalry units. The barrels of musketoons were frequently flared at the muzzle, resembling the shape of a cannon or blunderbuss.