Posted by Gary/Mich
on 10/2/2009, 8:48 pm
24.247.188.42
A program on the History International channel called "Warrior Empire,The Mughals" showed a original matchlock being cut up with a hacksaw. The chamber(something like a patentbreech) was bottle shaped which narrowed at the point were the round ball butted up to a shoulder. The powder charge didn't fill the chamber so it would have oxygen for the powder to burn.( I thought black powder didn't need oxygen to burn!!!) I would think that this void of air would cause excessive pressure.Something like not putting the ball all the way to the powder charge. The shoulder would be a anvil that would upset the ball and fill it into the rifling if it had rifling.
At one time in history there was a breech plug that had a post used to upset the ball to fill it into the rifling. This was before the hollow-based conicals. Did any body see this program??
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