I introduced you to my 94 year old father the other day , He sat there and watched the whole video . Today he ask if you had any more videos to watch . The ultimate compliment . Thanks for all you do .
***** Dad fought in the Bulge and when he came home he became a machinist and (master) woodcrafter . At 90 We had to quit driving and now at 94 he is struggling for things he can do .He seemed to really enjoy watching you do what he can no longer do . SCORES ,Thanks Again
+mrbakerskatz my pops was 94 when he passed, he used to ask a lot questions about our work filming and always seemed to take a genuine interest in things we did. Chad's grandpa also lived to be 94 as well I believe.
***** So what you are saying is: These old fellers(Barry included) are all going to be setting around in Gods Media room watchin Iraqveteran8888 vidjas. Works for me !!
+mrbakerskatz I plan to be home with female nurses trained in the art of loading my mags, properly stacking my machine gun news magazine collection. and my children (one done , two to go) will have a personally made, heavily improved ,ect gun done by yours truelly. it is my goal to hand off something that every time they handle it , it will be a bench mark for their parenthood. with it I'm handing down every shred off history from WW2 to current. I feel like I'm in a losing raise against time and opposing forces.the great generation passing is ripping my heart out. For what it's worth my family , a while back, lost B.H. Mccoy , OSS. I can not begin to pay tribute to this man, I'm still lost without him.
Okay this is ridiculous, I've been hunting watermelon for three years, and never have I seen them grouped up in fives. A buddy of mine once told me he saw 3 of them together, but I found that hard to believe.
18:10 Damn, Erik is pretty damned lucky to be alive... My family has a long and rich history of watermelon hunting and taming. For one, watermelons are often only found to be in singles or doubles. To find a group of three either means you've run into a mating triplet or a pack of aggressive males who are on the hunt. Second, the skin on those watermelons is a little bit lighter than your average Americanized melon, I'd wager that those were either Eastern or Africanized watermelons, both of which are extremely aggressive and deadly. Erik really should have seen the tell tale signs of an impending attack. First sign being that those watermelons took the high ground which always means it's over for anyone named Anakin... Second, they were in a triplet, signifying heightened aggressive behavior and intent to kill. All in all, I'd say Erik is lucky that the watermelon only did a false-charge and didn't commit to a full attack.
Great clip, Eric and Kevin! Great bit of history. Those watermelons didn't stand a chance... Although that one did make a bit of a move on you after seeing his buddy go down....
Sickshooter0 Thank you and glad you think so. Eric's videos reach so many people and it's great to see older stuff like this getting a moment of exposure right next to the meltdown videos and modern gun reviews. Eric, Chad and co are true enthusiasts.
+britishmuzzleloaders I appreciate the vote of support. I've watched several of your videos and your level of detail in your presentation is appreciated. A lot of people don't realize how much money it costs to buy correct uniforms and gear.
This certainly isn't the kind of thing you see on other gun channels, thanks for bringing these neat old weapons to show us. I have always wanted a Whitworth as my black powder gun.
A good friend of mine who is about 47 years old (I'm 51) started of shooting muzzleloaders at about age 4 or 5. His dad had him shooting muzzleloaders competitively by age 7, and he shot his last competition at age 14. No military or law enforcement training/experience, and actually shot very little for about 15 - 20 years until I bought my property and we built a shooting range. That said, from day one on my range he has consistently been one of the most accurate rifle and pistol shooters on my range ( I have about 25 regulars and have had hundreds of different people shooting on my range) especially with iron sights, standing unsupported at 100 yds. One of my other good friends is a 5 deployment veteran, aerial platform gunner ( M240H and M21 DMR ) has taken every small arms course the Army has except Special Forces Sniper, was his Brigade small arms training NCO, has family that teach defensive and Long Range Precision Shooting (he occasionally helps when classes are filled) and but at least to 100 yds shooting iron sights from a standing unsupported position he is at best tied with my buddy who learned on muzzleloaders.
Interesting to see the round ball impacts. It really demonstrates why things like lever actions are still very valid for hunting. They do their thing differently from a spitzer hollow point, a lot less subtle, but it works!
going from 1 maybe 2 shots every 2 minutes, to 2 or 3 shots in 1 minute must have been like the first gatling gun: everyone was blown away but not many knew what to do with it
@@Dogirot The wheellock was very expensive and finicky. They weren't issued in large numbers like the matchlock. They were mainly an evolutionary dead end, but the did allow you to have a loaded gun ready in an instant, without needing to fuss around with a match constantly.
That is why the Spanish utilized a tactical formation known as a Tercio. A combination of armored pikemen to deal with calvary charges and arquebusiers to weaken enemy pike formations.
I finally got my own matchlock last year. I'm loving it! My percussion muzzleloaders don't get shot so much anymore because of the scarcity AND PRICE of caps. Still playing with making my own caps. So I went to flintlock. Seems like everyone else had the same idea.😅 Bought some chert and trying to learn how to knap flints...uh-huh. But I found container ships full of hemp and cotton diamond braid rope! I have finally got the recipe down for home made slow match. I've been making my own BP for years so I am set!
You guys rock for doing this, and major props for including the history of this... Because of your blackpowder videos over the years.... I have become a flintlock lover myself :) Keep these videos up guys and Kevin your knowledge is incredible of blackpowder... hope to continue to see you in every future black powder video :)
Well... during WW II fighter planes were using .50 cal so does anti AA so it's not entirely false. We're talking about propeller here not jet although early jet also used .50-30mm rounds.
I love blackpowder firearms. My personal favourites are always wheellocks, the windup time before the shot is pretty satisfying and makes reloading more of an anticipation before shooting again, rather than being a chore.
Thank you guys for making this! I remember last year in school I had a presentation on the evolution of weapons through the Victorian era and trying to find good information on matchlock rifles was really challenging. Could have used this video back then.
Awesome video! Just a little thing with the history though. A lot of armor was actually bullet proof and not that heavy. It wasn't until the late 17th early 18th century when armor fell out of favor due to the introduction of rifling, and new improvements that increased the velocity of the rifle. Many breast plates from the 16th century to the early to mid 17th century had a ball deliberately shot and left a dent as the makers way to "prove" the armor could withstand a bullet. The main downfall of armor was it's easier to just give a lot of peasants a gun and take a month to train as opposed to spending thousands on equipping horseman like knights and cuirassiers and training them for years. The idea of fire superiority was a large factor since you could do more damage with superior fire power to the opposing army then with older weapons of war. Either way, fantastic video and a beautiful rifle!
TY for covering all the history around the Matchlock & taking into account all the real life problems a musketeer would encounter. You guys did a great job shooting & I was supprised how accurate you both were able to be with it . Keep up the good work
Now in my late adult years, I finally figured out the origin of the term ( Fire In The Hole ) at the beginning of this video....when the burning Match entered the Black Powder Hole...and yes the Conquistadores would have been the First people in the Americas with Match lock Rifles.
cartridge's were invented for matchlocks to eliminate the danger of the apostles catching fire . Some balls were cast with an extension on the rear so a powder cartridge could be attached . I enjoyed the presentation
I live in australia so i dont get the luxury like you americans. But watching this video gives me a big appriciation for firearms and how far we've come! Great video as always.
@@L3THALXFOX It's the same principle as a flintlock -- friction applied to a chip of flint makes the spark and discharges the gun. If they wanted they could get into the miquelet lock, snaphaunce, and a half-dozen other variations, but there's no real point.
Of all the awesome stuff you get to do with guns, this was the most enjoyable video I have watched from your channel, I love shooting black powder and building flintlocks, I'll have to have a shot at building one of these. Musketry is most certainly something we should keep alive.
Yes, shooting those is an art, and contrary to popular beliefs they are very accurate for smooth bore guns and the ignition delay is less than with a flintlock. If you are good your delay is the same as a percussion gun. I saw Hanspeter Rufenacht shoot at the MLAIC swiss championships and european championships, in both Tanegashima and Hizadai there was one big hole in the target in the end, all 10's with the 13 shots, it's like 2" at 50 yards. So yeah, even the first arquebuse, the first matchlocks and all the "old stuff" is generaly more precise than the shooter. Those who say otherwise generaly have either a bad rifle, a bad prep (different powder charges, different bullet weights) or are just bad shooters (most of the time it's that one).
+VxNemesis Exactly! If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say you cant hit the broad side of a barn with a musket... I'd have a couple bucks, but you get the point lol ;)
I'll still stick to flint and caps. I don't play with snakes either. Flint may be slower on the accual fire, but consider the reloading. I'm betting on the flint. And of course cap is much better for many reason.
Mad my heart jump when you blew on the match at around 18:20 after you opened your flash pan that sure seems like a good way to set off the pan in your face. Anyway thanks for sharing I love old stuff like this and look forward to maybe some ballistics gel tests with some of these big bore muzzle loading rifles.
During the Civil Wars in Britain, guards for the artillery were amongst the first to be issued with dog locks after one or two rather unpleasant incidents with burning match and open powder barrels. I enjoy all of your videos immensely and I sit and watch them with my twin 11 year old daughters who will be joining me at my shooting club when they can join at 12. Thank you very much.
+SUPERBOWLXLVIICHAMPS i would expect it not to penetrate. big, slow-moving projectiles are generally not good (compared to smaller high velocity rounds) at defeating armor. however, within 50 yards the .72 cal musket would put a massive hurtin on any living target, armored or not. muzzle energy is comparable to a .338 Lapua Magnum.
.72 caliber fun to the max!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for a vid on a fun hand cannon. Love the look at older weapons, they were a part of history, and the forerunner of modern guns and so important to all guns to follow.
Blackpowder hunting is extremely fun, it is harder but it really makes you appreciate what people had to do to get food on the table. Plus shooting a 1970's Thompson Center Hawkins is some of the most fun you can have with a firearm.
+André Silva It's illegal yet everyone has them.? I call bs lol. I see video's everyday on liveleak of thugs with guns or civilians shooting thugs in Brazil.
What a great vid. I'm only 16, but I'm really hyped on collecting and shooting old muzzleloaders in the future. Flintlocks and matchlocks are my 2 favorite firearms. Very interesting and entertaining video!
If I remember correctly, if you want to make a historically accurate slow match you'd need to soak it lye and wash the excess out, then treat it with saltpeter made from the urine of the local clergy (bishop's urine is the best quality).
Was there no way to partially waterproof the match with tallow or pigs' fat or some such? Otherwise the guns would be useless in anything but clear and dry weather. In Britain, Western- and Central Europe, such weather is rather rare.
Fun fact: it wasn’t til the invention of rifling that muskets could reliably pierce plate armor. Most suits of armor from the 1500’s to the early 1700’s have a dent over the heart where the smith fired a live round at it. This was called a proofing mark, hence the phrase bulletproof.
The maximum rate of fire for a matchlock musket was only...two shots per minute. Surprised? You should be. The matchlock musket was inherently dangerous because it utilized a lit match cord, usually a length of fiber cord soaked in potassium nitrate solution. The opposite end of the cord was often kept lit in case the main end burned out or extinguished. As a result, extra steps had to be taken during the reloading process to ensure the safety of the lit, burning match cord so the matchlock gunner did not blow himself up. This took up extra seconds. Modern day replications of the matchlock reloading process, conducted in the U.K. and the U.S., confirm this. No matter how well-trained and experienced, a matchlock gunner could only manage two shots off in under one minute. He might be close to readying a third shot at the end of sixty seconds, but that doesn't count. Conversely, an inexperienced matchlock gunner would only get off one shot per minute. He might be close to his second shot by the end of sixty seconds but that doesn't count. The two-shots per minute rate for the matchlock musket was confirmed by U.S. Marines as late as 1877 during the Korean Incident. A U.S. gunboat sailed up a Korean estuary in southern Korea to a fortress. The cause of the incident originated from reports of Korean authorities apprehending, imprisoning, and mistreating American shipwrecked sailors. The U.S. Marines possessed, single shot, breech-loading cartridge rifles, which could fire between 8 (slow) to as many as 15 (very fast) times per minute. The practical rate of battlefield fire was probably between 6 and 12 times a minute which allowed more time for realistic sighting and aiming. The U.S. Marines faced Korean soldiers and/or militia armed with old matchlock muskets. The Marines remarked the Korean soldiers could only fire two shots per minute and worse, had to stand to reload and expose themselves. The Marines inflicted many casualties on the Koreans and won the small battle but quickly evacuated the site thereafter.
+minicoopertn 1632 by Eric Flint got plenty of scenes like that, book I highly recommend. West Virginian hillbilly town gets teleported to Germany right as the 30 Years War is about to begin.
I have a reproduction Swedish 1590 .75 matchlock musket as well as a .69 matchlock horse pistol and they are fun to shoot. I crumple up scraps of paper from old targets for wadding between the powder charge and the bullet, often adding another wad of paper in front of the gigantic bullet to keep it from rolling down the barrel (traditionally done with a tuft of grass). As with all smoothbore muskets, the accuracy drops dramatically beyond 40 yards.
+jaf142 Madras arsenal did a good musket video on this subject and it really was informative, and changed my way of thinking about India imports. Let me know what you get because I'm saving up for one myself.
Outstanding video ....love the fact that you and your team make some very good blackpowder videos and are keeping the sport going :-) One comment you made that Blackpower shooting is somewhat of a dying art .... well I can say, that at our club, Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club, in Old Bridge NJ, it's going strong. I am happy to report that our club has the most Distinguished Expert Blackpowder Rifle shooters in the country - for the NRA Civilian Marksmanship program. Right now there are 12 rifle and 2 pistol distinguished experts, and two of the hold both tickets, my husband and our friend Dave - the only 2 people in the country that have them both :-) We work very hard to keep blackpowder type shooting alive. Both myself and my husband have our NRA Blackpowder instructors certs and we are teaching the sport all the time :-) Its a wonderful sport, teaches the concept of ballistics - how to work up a load for your firearm, and how to adjust those loads for weather and other range conditions. so, please keep the videos coming :-)
Even though the musket was more effective against armor, it still strikes me as odd sometimes that military engineers of the past saw so much potential in firearms. Keeping in mind that a trained archer could shoot 14 arrows per minute compared to the 1 shot per minute for a trained musketeer. That's 14 musketeers to replace one archer!
Sabastian Anugraha As a rule of thumb, if you want to train a good musketeer, you start him young. If you want to train a good archer, start with his grandfather.
Armor became too effective and cheap enough that archers proved to be useless. And crossbows, strong enough to pierce the armor did not have any advantage over a musket.
I would be sceptical with the 14 arrows per minute claim. Especially if were talking about a heavy warbow. As far as i know this number is not supported by any contemporary accounts, but is an estimate from the 19th century, that most probably doesn't take the heavy drawweights of warbows into account. Furthermore most claims of shots per minute are estimates from ideal conditions, not taking into account the stressfull situation of the battlefield.
They used them all over europe and Asia. Furthermore at the Point where the Matchlock came around handgonnes had been in use for about 200 years. They where used side by side with crossbows, made from horn and/or steel. So a shortage of wood doesn't explain it.
Harquebuses, calivers and muskets were differentiated by size. Harquebuses shot bullets of 20-24 gauge, calivers of 16-18 gauge and muskets 10-12 gauge. At .72 caliber, the weapon in the video would have been considered a proper musket. Muskets were considered the most effective and displaced calivers and harquebuses so thoroughly that by about the 1630s or 40's all infantry long arms were being called muskets.
What a great bit of education, Eric. You really brought up some great points about the dangers of having the twelve apostles full of black powder hanging around a musketeer's body, shooting in the heat of battle with a piece of burning rope in his hand while reloading. We really take our modern firearms for granted. btw...great to see that your channel is about to cross the 1M subscriber mark, and now you have a newsletter. You've come far, Eric. A war veteran comes back, gets a job that he really likes, gets to shoot all manner of guns and make videos about it, and sees the subs steadily flood in. Way to go, Eric.
I find it awesome that you guys know your history, but the ones that actually made history with the matchlock were the SPANISH and their amazing tercios de infanteria, not the english necessarily. The pilgrims also used this to a brave effect, fighting the indians with musketeers and sowordsman with bucklers to protect the slow reload... Think about it those guys must have seen a rain of arrows flying while they fire...
Armin Cal it wasn't that big of a deal fighting the native Americans because they didn't have any armor or nothing close to what they had. Soon enough they did trade for it. But it got hard when the Spanish started fighting each other and the British because they had similar armor and weapons
The French also embraced matchlocks for the hundred years war against England, could penetrate full plate armor impervious to swords and most bows/crossbows for up to 40m of distance, the very first guns didn't even have a trigger and you would manually activate the powder but they were still powerful enough to win the war.
I have owned and shot both styles. My serpentine was more a carbine in 50 cal and my 2nd was just like yours though in .69 cal. The looks I would get at the range were priceless
You're right for the most part. North America started to be heavily settled in the 1720's but there were earlier English settlements dating from around 1600 and those people would have been armed with matchlocks.
First English colonies in the Americas are the first half of the 17th century, high point of the matchlock. Second half of the 17th century is the transition point from match and wheellock to flint and steel locks.
Thanks for video Eric. I'm shooting matchlock musket myself as historic reenactor of military unit from 17th century :) With little bit practice I was able to shoot 2 round in minute, but you have to practice it often otherwise you will struggle :)
That was very cool, man. I never saw one of those before. I've only shot a muzzle loader a few times. My dad has a .50 cal Hawkin rifle and a 1858 Remington Army that I've shot (both reproductions). We also have an 1862 U.S. Bridesburg that's been in the family since the Civil War. It was issued to my great, great, great grand dad. Bridesburg Machine Works was a subcontractor of Springfield Armory, so it's based on the M1861 Springfield design. I haven't talked my dad into blowing the dust off it and taking it out yet.. lol Keep up the muzzle-loader vids. I for one think they're very interesting, and I agree, they are kind of a dying art.
the assault weapon of its day but the anti gunners don't want you to know that because they see it as a vintage gun while these modern guns look scary to them
I just wanted to say that I love this video on the old Match lock. They are a beautiful gun in their own right and gives you an appriciation for what our ancestors had to use and hardships they delt with.
+Siesta Time actually accidental discharges certainly are possible. A discharge can be a mechanical failure. In such case, the shooter did nothing wrong and the firearm simply failed in some way. firearms are a mechanical device and while they certainly need a good bit of human interaction to work, they are certainly capable of breaking. Sometimes when something goes wrong, they fire. Not every unintended discharge is operator headspace. I've seen a lot of crazy stuff over the years.
I know this is an old video but cap and ball has a video testing these against period correct armor. And the armor was actually pretty effective. Any one with any interest in black powder should check him out. By far the best most accurate channel on black powder. Nobody else I'm aware of comes close to his knowledge
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
I introduced you to my 94 year old father the other day , He sat there and watched the whole video . Today he ask if you had any more videos to watch . The ultimate compliment . Thanks for all you do .
+mrbakerskatz most important comment I've read in a week!
***** Dad fought in the Bulge and when he came home he became a machinist and (master) woodcrafter . At 90 We had to quit driving and now at 94 he is struggling for things he can do .He seemed to really enjoy watching you do what he can no longer do . SCORES ,Thanks Again
+mrbakerskatz my pops was 94 when he passed, he used to ask a lot questions about our work filming and always seemed to take a genuine interest in things we did. Chad's grandpa also lived to be 94 as well I believe.
***** So what you are saying is: These old fellers(Barry included) are all going to be setting around in Gods Media room watchin Iraqveteran8888 vidjas. Works for me !!
+mrbakerskatz I plan to be home with female nurses trained in the art of loading my mags, properly stacking my machine gun news magazine collection. and my children (one done , two to go) will have a personally made, heavily improved ,ect gun done by yours truelly. it is my goal to hand off something that every time they handle it , it will be a bench mark for their parenthood. with it I'm handing down every shred off history from WW2 to current. I feel like I'm in a losing raise against time and opposing forces.the great generation passing is ripping my heart out. For what it's worth my family , a while back, lost B.H. Mccoy , OSS. I can not begin to pay tribute to this man, I'm still lost without him.
Now let's see the meltdown
4 weeks later: half of the footage done...
:P
One year and the wood starts to smoke
One and a half year later: The barrel started to go red
Oh. Ohhhh. We got a cook off
That matchlock has a hell of a cyclic rate of 2 rounds a minute.
Okay this is ridiculous, I've been hunting watermelon for three years, and never have I seen them grouped up in fives. A buddy of mine once told me he saw 3 of them together, but I found that hard to believe.
Man what a dad joke lol
Those are tame watermelons. They multiply much faster in captivity.
CountArtha if they are tamed, hunting for them is unacceptable! :-)
ceiling fan I know. I thought it would have been obvious since the joke is everywhere these days.
Oh, where are you hunting them? They can be found pretty easily in and around the Great Plains. I’ve personally seen them in groups of 7 there.
Sees ".72 Caliber Matchlock Musket" in sub-box.
OH SNAP.
haha
With me it's more like DAYYYUMMMMM!!!!!
can you guys try some of the black powder guns against balistics gel?
^
+Wes -. Murphysmuskets and I have something like that in the works for April.
***** these guys should do it
No offense, but large channels don't have a monopoly on content.
+mark3smle Too true, I dig your videos man. Keep posting and i'll keep watching ;)
Still waiting for the Bullpup version.
burning powder in your ear
that vid gonna be lit af
Michael Medley and the tactical synthetic stock with bipod mount
I guess that's what a breech loader is lol.
We've been waiting, like, 550 years for the bullpup version.
When you make the firearms throughout time episodes don't forget about the needle fire guns. Everyone forgets about the needle fire guns.
And how about wheelock? Is that just considered another type of flintlock (b/c friction on flint provides the spark)?
@@roberthaworth8991 wheellocks don't use flint, they use pyrite.
18:10
Damn, Erik is pretty damned lucky to be alive... My family has a long and rich history of watermelon hunting and taming. For one, watermelons are often only found to be in singles or doubles. To find a group of three either means you've run into a mating triplet or a pack of aggressive males who are on the hunt. Second, the skin on those watermelons is a little bit lighter than your average Americanized melon, I'd wager that those were either Eastern or Africanized watermelons, both of which are extremely aggressive and deadly. Erik really should have seen the tell tale signs of an impending attack. First sign being that those watermelons took the high ground which always means it's over for anyone named Anakin... Second, they were in a triplet, signifying heightened aggressive behavior and intent to kill. All in all, I'd say Erik is lucky that the watermelon only did a false-charge and didn't commit to a full attack.
Underrate as hell
Farken funny
Crap this is funny!
.72 Matchlock Musket Meltdown! It would probably take a week to film but it'd be so awesome lol
Steve Jean or just fill the barrel full with blackpowder.
Chroma In some cultures, we call that a bomb.
Nah. It's like the old days, you carry more than one. Can't reload that 6-gun fast enough? Carry another.
Kevin is awesome. You should do a lot more blackpowder videos with him.
bfgguns Grüß dich
I really agree with that more videos with black powder please
@@antiquedmodernarms3476 ikr. Look how safe companies made percussion guns. If these were perfected they'd be great guns to have fun with.
I've got a lot in common with matchlocks. Both of us have been known to have premature discharges. ;_;
Why? Just why😐
why doesn't this have 100x the likes
I'm sorry man, tis our cross to bare.
Baha
ShortGuy1792 😂
Great clip, Eric and Kevin! Great bit of history. Those watermelons didn't stand a chance... Although that one did make a bit of a move on you after seeing his buddy go down....
+britishmuzzleloaders gravity didn't help him too much though! Lol.
+Zetty House he from GA
+britishmuzzleloaders Your videos are also very well done!
Sickshooter0 Thank you and glad you think so. Eric's videos reach so many people and it's great to see older stuff like this getting a moment of exposure right next to the meltdown videos and modern gun reviews. Eric, Chad and co are true enthusiasts.
+britishmuzzleloaders I appreciate the vote of support. I've watched several of your videos and your level of detail in your presentation is appreciated. A lot of people don't realize how much money it costs to buy correct uniforms and gear.
This certainly isn't the kind of thing you see on other gun channels, thanks for bringing these neat old weapons to show us. I have always wanted a Whitworth as my black powder gun.
Never thought I would see a review of one of these types of muskets. Thank you guys for making it happen.
I can imagine a benefit to one's shooting fundamentals with firearms like this, particularly stopping the flinch.
+bbroogs My fiance started with flintlocks; apparently the delayed ignition is fantastic for fundamentals.
A good friend of mine who is about 47 years old (I'm 51) started of shooting muzzleloaders at about age 4 or 5. His dad had him shooting muzzleloaders competitively by age 7, and he shot his last competition at age 14. No military or law enforcement training/experience, and actually shot very little for about 15 - 20 years until I bought my property and we built a shooting range. That said, from day one on my range he has consistently been one of the most accurate rifle and pistol shooters on my range ( I have about 25 regulars and have had hundreds of different people shooting on my range) especially with iron sights, standing unsupported at 100 yds. One of my other good friends is a 5 deployment veteran, aerial platform gunner ( M240H and M21 DMR ) has taken every small arms course the Army has except Special Forces Sniper, was his Brigade small arms training NCO, has family that teach defensive and Long Range Precision Shooting (he occasionally helps when classes are filled) and but at least to 100 yds shooting iron sights from a standing unsupported position he is at best tied with my buddy who learned on muzzleloaders.
Interesting to see the round ball impacts. It really demonstrates why things like lever actions are still very valid for hunting. They do their thing differently from a spitzer hollow point, a lot less subtle, but it works!
That slo-mo of the ball leaving the barrel was AMAZING!
I thought about Matchlock, and then I thought about Flintlock, and I thought, "Man, Flintlock must have been a miracle back then."
going from 1 maybe 2 shots every 2 minutes, to 2 or 3 shots in 1 minute must have been like the first gatling gun: everyone was blown away but not many knew what to do with it
Don’t forget about wheellock
@@wishuhadmyname "Blown away" 😂 I see what you did there lol
@@Dogirot The wheellock was very expensive and finicky. They weren't issued in large numbers like the matchlock. They were mainly an evolutionary dead end, but the did allow you to have a loaded gun ready in an instant, without needing to fuss around with a match constantly.
Imagine having to reload that thing while you see hussars charging at full gallop towards you!
That's what the lances and pikes were for
That is why the Spanish utilized a tactical formation known as a Tercio. A combination of armored pikemen to deal with calvary charges and arquebusiers to weaken enemy pike formations.
I finally got my own matchlock last year.
I'm loving it! My percussion muzzleloaders don't get shot so much anymore because of the scarcity AND PRICE of caps. Still playing with making my own caps. So I went to flintlock.
Seems like everyone else had the same idea.😅
Bought some chert and trying to learn how to knap flints...uh-huh.
But I found container ships full of hemp and cotton diamond braid rope! I have finally got the recipe down for home made slow match. I've been making my own BP for years so I am set!
You should bring Kevin on more.. He is very knowledgeable.
You guys rock for doing this, and major props for including the history of this... Because of your blackpowder videos over the years.... I have become a flintlock lover myself :) Keep these videos up guys and Kevin your knowledge is incredible of blackpowder... hope to continue to see you in every future black powder video :)
I've never actually seen one of these shot before, so this is an awesome video. You guys are certainly a unique corner of the internet. Keep it up!
This is one of my favorite videos of IV8888. Kevin is great and seems really comfortable around the camera.
If anti gun people believe a .50 cal can bring down a plane, then that .72 cal must be able to blow up a tank.
Stonewall Jackson I mean it could do that to a propane tank
Oberstruhmfuhrer Schrodinger hahahahahah
Tbf a M2 Browning can bring down planes in low altitudes so not a %100 incorrect ??
Well... during WW II fighter planes were using .50 cal so does anti AA so it's not entirely false. We're talking about propeller here not jet although early jet also used
.50-30mm rounds.
A .50 cal machine gun can definitely bring down a plane though. They were used for that purpose during WW2
I love blackpowder firearms.
My personal favourites are always wheellocks, the windup time before the shot is pretty satisfying and makes reloading more of an anticipation before shooting again, rather than being a chore.
I don't mind when videos buffer.
But when the ads buffer, i suffer.
+Omer Rasul I feel your pain brah
Especially that ad with the gym douche 🙄
Thank you guys for making this! I remember last year in school I had a presentation on the evolution of weapons through the Victorian era and trying to find good information on matchlock rifles was really challenging. Could have used this video back then.
Definitely bring Kevin in for some more videos, I like seeing you two do these old school guns.
Some of the coolest slow motion footage I have ever seen. Good job.
Awesome video! Just a little thing with the history though. A lot of armor was actually bullet proof and not that heavy. It wasn't until the late 17th early 18th century when armor fell out of favor due to the introduction of rifling, and new improvements that increased the velocity of the rifle. Many breast plates from the 16th century to the early to mid 17th century had a ball deliberately shot and left a dent as the makers way to "prove" the armor could withstand a bullet. The main downfall of armor was it's easier to just give a lot of peasants a gun and take a month to train as opposed to spending thousands on equipping horseman like knights and cuirassiers and training them for years. The idea of fire superiority was a large factor since you could do more damage with superior fire power to the opposing army then with older weapons of war. Either way, fantastic video and a beautiful rifle!
Terrific video! I love the historical stuff. I was amazed to hear anyone still made these. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks for the video guys. I appreciate the effort you put into these black powder videos. They are highly entertaining.
The lock time seems very quick. The flintlocks seem slow from flash to bang.
TY for covering all the history around the Matchlock & taking into account all the real life problems a musketeer would encounter. You guys did a great job shooting & I was supprised how accurate you both were able to be with it . Keep up the good work
Now in my late adult years, I finally figured out the origin of the term ( Fire In The Hole ) at the beginning of this video....when the burning Match entered the Black Powder Hole...and yes the Conquistadores would have been the First people in the Americas with Match lock Rifles.
cartridge's were invented for matchlocks to eliminate the danger of the apostles catching fire . Some balls were cast with an extension on the rear so a powder cartridge could be attached . I enjoyed the presentation
I live in australia so i dont get the luxury like you americans. But watching this video gives me a big appriciation for firearms and how far we've come! Great video as always.
So are we gonna see a wheel lock?
Hopefully
Wheel locks were around at this time but they were very expensive and more of a elite/luxury item
@@L3THALXFOX It's the same principle as a flintlock -- friction applied to a chip of flint makes the spark and discharges the gun. If they wanted they could get into the miquelet lock, snaphaunce, and a half-dozen other variations, but there's no real point.
I love these black powder videos, they're right behind the meltdown videos as one of my favorites that you guys do
these types of videos with black powder are the best
Of all the awesome stuff you get to do with guns, this was the most enjoyable video I have watched from your channel, I love shooting black powder and building flintlocks, I'll have to have a shot at building one of these. Musketry is most certainly something we should keep alive.
Yes, shooting those is an art, and contrary to popular beliefs they are very accurate for smooth bore guns and the ignition delay is less than with a flintlock. If you are good your delay is the same as a percussion gun.
I saw Hanspeter Rufenacht shoot at the MLAIC swiss championships and european championships, in both Tanegashima and Hizadai there was one big hole in the target in the end, all 10's with the 13 shots, it's like 2" at 50 yards.
So yeah, even the first arquebuse, the first matchlocks and all the "old stuff" is generaly more precise than the shooter. Those who say otherwise generaly have either a bad rifle, a bad prep (different powder charges, different bullet weights) or are just bad shooters (most of the time it's that one).
+VxNemesis
Exactly! If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say you cant hit the broad side of a barn with a musket... I'd have a couple bucks, but you get the point lol ;)
I'll still stick to flint and caps.
I don't play with snakes either.
Flint may be slower on the accual fire, but consider the reloading. I'm betting on the flint.
And of course cap is much better for many reason.
Mad my heart jump when you blew on the match at around 18:20 after you opened your flash pan that sure seems like a good way to set off the pan in your face. Anyway thanks for sharing I love old stuff like this and look forward to maybe some ballistics gel tests with some of these big bore muzzle loading rifles.
11:21 "now your ready to fire, pretty easy."
Yea. "Pretty easy". That's how I'd describe that process as well.
this is one reason I subbed to your channel. I love old guns. sure, the tacticool stuff is great, but that's not where my heart is. .. thanks Eric.
One old training manual listed 47 steps to safely reload a matchlock musket!!
Emperor Constantine 1. First warm the teapot.
Lastly, chant the holy words and give fireh.
During the Civil Wars in Britain, guards for the artillery were amongst the first to be issued with dog locks after one or two rather unpleasant incidents with burning match and open powder barrels. I enjoy all of your videos immensely and I sit and watch them with my twin 11 year old daughters who will be joining me at my shooting club when they can join at 12. Thank you very much.
Test this against ar-500 steel or body armor.
It wouldn't penetrate. You defeat body armor with high velocity, this is a huge projectile but not going especially fast.
+SUPERBOWLXLVIICHAMPS i would expect it not to penetrate. big, slow-moving projectiles are generally not good (compared to smaller high velocity rounds) at defeating armor. however, within 50 yards the .72 cal musket would put a massive hurtin on any living target, armored or not. muzzle energy is comparable to a .338 Lapua Magnum.
+Logan Fehr balistic gel test , anyone?
SUPERBOWLXLVIICHAMPS why? it wouldnt go through...
SUPERBOWLXLVIICHAMPS while it wouldn’t penetrate, it would dump tons of energy into your body, probably breaking your ribs and causing shallow trauma.
.72 caliber fun to the max!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for a vid on a fun hand cannon. Love the look at older weapons, they were a part of history, and the forerunner of modern guns and so important to all guns to follow.
I've been eagerly awaiting this one! Looking to build my own matchlock soon.
Black powder weapons have always fascinated me about how primitive these worked but were the basis for modern firearms.
Glad to see Kevin again
Seeing that musket in action one can apreciate the changes in warfare that took place from archery to riflemen
Does that mean you can adjust your trigger pull by changing the length of rope?
if a longer rope is used, then a shorter pull of the trigger is needed to contact it with the pan.
Not only do you handload every shot you fire, in many cases you cast your own boolits.
I wouldn't recommend it. The longer the match the more chance the match will miss the pan.
Blackpowder hunting is extremely fun, it is harder but it really makes you appreciate what people had to do to get food on the table. Plus shooting a 1970's Thompson Center Hawkins is some of the most fun you can have with a firearm.
Awesome video, glad to see Kevin again.
Not a black powder fan, but love watching these videos Eric! Keep up the good work!
your so amazing man
iam br
here we dont have guns
only airsofts
😣😣
Lol u better move and gain some well deserved rights.
+André Silva É foda, não só no Brasil, é difícil curtir armas na maior parte do mundo
+André Silva eh tenso
+André Silva It's illegal yet everyone has them.? I call bs lol. I see video's everyday on liveleak of thugs with guns or civilians shooting thugs in Brazil.
What a great vid. I'm only 16, but I'm really hyped on collecting and shooting old muzzleloaders in the future. Flintlocks and matchlocks are my 2 favorite firearms. Very interesting and entertaining video!
If I remember correctly, if you want to make a historically accurate slow match you'd need to soak it lye and wash the excess out, then treat it with saltpeter made from the urine of the local clergy (bishop's urine is the best quality).
yes. and that urine also makes the best powder.... apperantly.
Was there no way to partially waterproof the match with tallow or pigs' fat or some such? Otherwise the guns would be useless in anything but clear and dry weather. In Britain, Western- and Central Europe, such weather is rather rare.
Fun fact: it wasn’t til the invention of rifling that muskets could reliably pierce plate armor. Most suits of armor from the 1500’s to the early 1700’s have a dent over the heart where the smith fired a live round at it. This was called a proofing mark, hence the phrase bulletproof.
I'm really looking foreward to the history video!
The maximum rate of fire for a matchlock musket was only...two shots per minute. Surprised? You should be. The matchlock musket was inherently dangerous because it utilized a lit match cord, usually a length of fiber cord soaked in potassium nitrate solution. The opposite end of the cord was often kept lit in case the main end burned out or extinguished. As a result, extra steps had to be taken during the reloading process to ensure the safety of the lit, burning match cord so the matchlock gunner did not blow himself up. This took up extra seconds. Modern day replications of the matchlock reloading process, conducted in the U.K. and the U.S., confirm this. No matter how well-trained and experienced, a matchlock gunner could only manage two shots off in under one minute. He might be close to readying a third shot at the end of sixty seconds, but that doesn't count. Conversely, an inexperienced matchlock gunner would only get off one shot per minute. He might be close to his second shot by the end of sixty seconds but that doesn't count. The two-shots per minute rate for the matchlock musket was confirmed by U.S. Marines as late as 1877 during the Korean Incident. A U.S. gunboat sailed up a Korean estuary in southern Korea to a fortress. The cause of the incident originated from reports of Korean authorities apprehending, imprisoning, and mistreating American shipwrecked sailors. The U.S. Marines possessed, single shot, breech-loading cartridge rifles, which could fire between 8 (slow) to as many as 15 (very fast) times per minute. The practical rate of battlefield fire was probably between 6 and 12 times a minute which allowed more time for realistic sighting and aiming. The U.S. Marines faced Korean soldiers and/or militia armed with old matchlock muskets. The Marines remarked the Korean soldiers could only fire two shots per minute and worse, had to stand to reload and expose themselves. The Marines inflicted many casualties on the Koreans and won the small battle but quickly evacuated the site thereafter.
I always thought it would be neat to go back in time and hand them a pump action shotgun just to see their reaction.
+minicoopertn 1632 by Eric Flint got plenty of scenes like that, book I highly recommend. West Virginian hillbilly town gets teleported to Germany right as the 30 Years War is about to begin.
That would be funny, not to mention an automatic weapon!
Army of Darkness reference?
"THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK"
Black powder is so much fun to shoot. Definitely gives you an appreciation for the firearms we have today.
Did you happen to chronograph this .72 ball? I'd imagine its a bit over an ounce of lead, but i'm curious if its got more energy than a shotgun slug.
I have a reproduction Swedish 1590 .75 matchlock musket as well as a .69 matchlock horse pistol and they are fun to shoot. I crumple up scraps of paper from old targets for wadding between the powder charge and the bullet, often adding another wad of paper in front of the gigantic bullet to keep it from rolling down the barrel (traditionally done with a tuft of grass). As with all smoothbore muskets, the accuracy drops dramatically beyond 40 yards.
Great video!!! :)
+Gungeek thanks Scotty. Hope all is well up there in Canada
+jaf142 Madras arsenal did a good musket video on this subject and it really was informative, and changed my way of thinking about India imports. Let me know what you get because I'm saving up for one myself.
Rewatching some old videos! Almost at 2 million! Been around since 50k! Congrats on all the success
Does it take AK mags??
Eric seems like a chill dude
LOOKS like it kicks like a M.F. 😯
Thanks!
ey! you've lost some weight! looking good, mate! (nohomo)
Outstanding video ....love the fact that you and your team make some very good blackpowder videos and are keeping the sport going :-)
One comment you made that Blackpower shooting is somewhat of a dying art .... well I can say, that at our club, Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club, in Old Bridge NJ, it's going strong.
I am happy to report that our club has the most Distinguished Expert Blackpowder Rifle shooters in the country - for the NRA Civilian Marksmanship program. Right now there are 12 rifle and 2 pistol distinguished experts, and two of the hold both tickets, my husband and our friend Dave - the only 2 people in the country that have them both :-)
We work very hard to keep blackpowder type shooting alive. Both myself and my husband have our NRA Blackpowder instructors certs and we are teaching the sport all the time :-)
Its a wonderful sport, teaches the concept of ballistics - how to work up a load for your firearm, and how to adjust those loads for weather and other range conditions.
so, please keep the videos coming :-)
Even though the musket was more effective against armor, it still strikes me as odd sometimes that military engineers of the past saw so much potential in firearms. Keeping in mind that a trained archer could shoot 14 arrows per minute compared to the 1 shot per minute for a trained musketeer. That's 14 musketeers to replace one archer!
probably it's easier to train people to use musket that bow&arrow, you need a strong arms to make bow&arrow effective.
Sabastian Anugraha
As a rule of thumb, if you want to train a good musketeer, you start him young. If you want to train a good archer, start with his grandfather.
Armor became too effective and cheap enough that archers proved to be useless. And crossbows, strong enough to pierce the armor did not have any advantage over a musket.
I would be sceptical with the 14 arrows per minute claim. Especially if were talking about a heavy warbow.
As far as i know this number is not supported by any contemporary accounts, but is an estimate from the 19th century, that most probably doesn't take the heavy drawweights of warbows into account.
Furthermore most claims of shots per minute are estimates from ideal conditions, not taking into account the stressfull situation of the battlefield.
They used them all over europe and Asia.
Furthermore at the Point where the Matchlock came around handgonnes had been in use for about 200 years.
They where used side by side with crossbows, made from horn and/or steel.
So a shortage of wood doesn't explain it.
this is why iv8888 is a great channel. Full spectrum in firearms. hope they have a Black Powder pistol video coming up
+JourneyOfFire We have one on Caplocks
Shouldn't that be classified as an arquebus?
No, those were different
Harquebuses, calivers and muskets were differentiated by size. Harquebuses shot bullets of 20-24 gauge, calivers of 16-18 gauge and muskets 10-12 gauge. At .72 caliber, the weapon in the video would have been considered a proper musket. Muskets were considered the most effective and displaced calivers and harquebuses so thoroughly that by about the 1630s or 40's all infantry long arms were being called muskets.
I'm guessing a 12gauge slug carries more devastation in comparison, but the .72 round ball is not recommended to stand downrange with a catcher's mit.
what about the wheel lock?
It wasn't widely used in military as it was too expensive
kragguth bag-braggle oh ok
What a great bit of education, Eric.
You really brought up some great points about the dangers of having the twelve apostles full of black powder hanging around a musketeer's body, shooting in the heat of battle with a piece of burning rope in his hand while reloading.
We really take our modern firearms for granted.
btw...great to see that your channel is about to cross the 1M subscriber mark, and now you have a newsletter.
You've come far, Eric.
A war veteran comes back, gets a job that he really likes, gets to shoot all manner of guns and make videos about it, and sees the subs steadily flood in.
Way to go, Eric.
I find it awesome that you guys know your history, but the ones that actually made history with the matchlock were the SPANISH and their amazing tercios de infanteria, not the english necessarily. The pilgrims also used this to a brave effect, fighting the indians with musketeers and sowordsman with bucklers to protect the slow reload... Think about it those guys must have seen a rain of arrows flying while they fire...
Armin Cal it wasn't that big of a deal fighting the native Americans because they didn't have any armor or nothing close to what they had. Soon enough they did trade for it. But it got hard when the Spanish started fighting each other and the British because they had similar armor and weapons
The French also embraced matchlocks for the hundred years war against England, could penetrate full plate armor impervious to swords and most bows/crossbows for up to 40m of distance, the very first guns didn't even have a trigger and you would manually activate the powder but they were still powerful enough to win the war.
I have owned and shot both styles. My serpentine was more a carbine in 50 cal and my 2nd was just like yours though in .69 cal. The looks I would get at the range were priceless
By the time America was being settled they were using flintlock and matchlocks were considered antiques
You're right for the most part. North America started to be heavily settled in the 1720's but there were earlier English settlements dating from around 1600 and those people would have been armed with matchlocks.
I think he's talking about the american continent in general. So you would have to take the spanish conquistadores in the 1520s and 30s into account.
And not long after, percussion became the way to play.
First English colonies in the Americas are the first half of the 17th century, high point of the matchlock. Second half of the 17th century is the transition point from match and wheellock to flint and steel locks.
Thanks for video Eric. I'm shooting matchlock musket myself as historic reenactor of military unit from 17th century :) With little bit practice I was able to shoot 2 round in minute, but you have to practice it often otherwise you will struggle :)
The "assault rifle" of the 1400's!
Michael Smith *1600's
Glad to see the oldies but goodies back on the channel
Are you aware that youtube is putting all pro hillary Clinton ads before all your channels videos? Lol crazy
wait, youtube has ads? oh wait... lol
That was very cool, man. I never saw one of those before. I've only shot a muzzle loader a few times. My dad has a .50 cal Hawkin rifle and a 1858 Remington Army that I've shot (both reproductions). We also have an 1862 U.S. Bridesburg that's been in the family since the Civil War. It was issued to my great, great, great grand dad. Bridesburg Machine Works was a subcontractor of Springfield Armory, so it's based on the M1861 Springfield design. I haven't talked my dad into blowing the dust off it and taking it out yet.. lol
Keep up the muzzle-loader vids. I for one think they're very interesting, and I agree, they are kind of a dying art.
the assault weapon of its day but the anti gunners don't want you to know that because they see it as a vintage gun while these modern guns look scary to them
Sorta stupid to compare the too platforms and label them the same. Just saying.
I just wanted to say that I love this video on the old Match lock. They are a beautiful gun in their own right and gives you an appriciation for what our ancestors had to use and hardships they delt with.
There is no such thing as an "accidental discharge", only "negligent discharges". But cool video.
Thanks, I love black powder.
+Siesta Time actually accidental discharges certainly are possible. A discharge can be a mechanical failure. In such case, the shooter did nothing wrong and the firearm simply failed in some way. firearms are a mechanical device and while they certainly need a good bit of human interaction to work, they are certainly capable of breaking. Sometimes when something goes wrong, they fire. Not every unintended discharge is operator headspace. I've seen a lot of crazy stuff over the years.
There's a video of a japanese nambu going off by its self to no fault of the shooter on youtube.
You probably don't know Taurus :P
+dreyrugr care to post it?
iota-09 IT's on TFB TV, just search for nambu on their channel.
This is the most classic musket ever made.
English civil war? what?
+chirs weber yep! Around 1642 I believe
***** my mistake, thanks
+chirs weber You know, the 'actual' civil war... of course you have to call it "english" now :P
+Leo Livings its not that Americans don't care its that we were not taught anything about the rest of the world.
+chirs weber I hope you mean "Which one?" there.
I know this is an old video but cap and ball has a video testing these against period correct armor. And the armor was actually pretty effective. Any one with any interest in black powder should check him out. By far the best most accurate channel on black powder. Nobody else I'm aware of comes close to his knowledge
Thank you for starting the video by actually firing the weapon! Youve earned a subscriber for that!
Awesome. Very informative, historically educational and very interesting. Thank you !
I love it soo much when you guys show and talk about old unique guns.
Digging the black powder stuff guys! Nice seeing Kevin in the videos as well.