Arquebus - The Firearms Forum

Palmetto · 10-19-2010, 07:55 AM

Does anyone know what kind of muzzle velocity a 17th Century gun like an Arquebus had? I wonder if it was as high as 1000 fps like a Brown bess.

The Spanish explorers and the Pilgrims carried these guns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arquebus

Jim K · 10-19-2010, 06:20 PM

With those old guns it depends mostly on what they called "windage" which then meant the difference in size between the ball and the internal diameter of the barrel. Or, to put it another way, the amount of room for gas to escape around the ball.

And that, in turn, reflected back on the care taken in making the barrel and the bullet mould. Most Brown Bess muskets were pretty sloppy, and I would think that the 1000 fps figure would probably hold for the older guns as well.

That doesn't sound like high velocity, or even very lethal, but a 3/4" lead ball can be pretty dangerous even if thrown hard, let alone propelled at 1000 fps.

Jim

old semperfi · 10-19-2010, 08:16 PM

i am curious as to where you got your figure of 1000fps for the brown bess.that seems very high to me considering the projectile and the powder at that time. old semperfi

ofitg · 10-19-2010, 08:31 PM

The good ol' Dixie Gun Works catalog indicates that the "standard" load for a Brown Bess was 80 gr FFg. According to the Lyman BP Handbook, that should provide 879 fps.

However, the Lyman BP Handbook goes on to list powder charges up to 150 gr FFg, with velocities reaching 1200 fps.

Old Steve · 11-02-2010, 04:10 AM

Pegler put the effective range of the arquebus at about 20 yards, the difference wasn't so much the difference in capability as the powder. The "corning" process for making desirable grain size was developed much later. Before that powder was ground very fine to get adequate mixing and the very fine powder (like talc) caked and burned very slowly. Mixing it in water and drying into a solid, which could then be groung into larger grains so that flame could pass through it made the musket practical with effective range to 80 yds or so.

jack404 · 11-02-2010, 04:44 AM

Oldsemperfi ,

i've a toy i drag out and tinker with and with the dexi powder mixes i'm playimg with

i want to be able to shoot from a vice mount ( immovable ) 1 mile with 0.5 moa

its more machine than rifle with screw gimbals and all ..

i'm no where near it yet but i can put a slug ( not ball) through a rifle barrel and get 1090 fps here with my home made powders, honest .. i aint played with it over winter but will when it warms up and i get clear days , i'll drag it out and test my latest ideas and mixes ...

when the frame was just staked into the ground i was able to punch 10/10 rounds though a car door at 700 meters, about a 2 1/2 foot spread (after 5 or 6 ranging shots..)

i'll try to find the site , but i read they had up to 1/2 ounce charges in them

they had these little bottles each with a single charge , and they had a horn for charging the pan

but the bottles held a standard 1/4 OZ charge

but un cormed BP is much denser and produces much less bang .. so they'd load more to do anything

i'll try to find the site .. i dont bookmark enough stuff

10-19-2010, 07:55 AM	#1
Palmetto V.I.P. Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Carolina Posts: 188	Arquebus Does anyone know what kind of muzzle velocity a 17th Century gun like an Arquebus had? I wonder if it was as high as 1000 fps like a Brown bess. The Spanish explorers and the Pilgrims carried these guns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arquebus -->

10-19-2010, 06:20 PM	#2
Jim K Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 6,408	Re: Arquebus With those old guns it depends mostly on what they called "windage" which then meant the difference in size between the ball and the internal diameter of the barrel. Or, to put it another way, the amount of room for gas to escape around the ball. And that, in turn, reflected back on the care taken in making the barrel and the bullet mould. Most Brown Bess muskets were pretty sloppy, and I would think that the 1000 fps figure would probably hold for the older guns as well. That doesn't sound like high velocity, or even very lethal, but a 3/4" lead ball can be pretty dangerous even if thrown hard, let alone propelled at 1000 fps. Jim

10-19-2010, 08:16 PM	#3
old semperfi Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: i live in southern indiana,old country boy at heart Posts: 1,506	Re: Arquebus i am curious as to where you got your figure of 1000fps for the brown bess.that seems very high to me considering the projectile and the powder at that time. old semperfi

10-19-2010, 08:31 PM	#4
ofitg Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Contributor Posts: 1,447	Re: Arquebus The good ol' Dixie Gun Works catalog indicates that the "standard" load for a Brown Bess was 80 gr FFg. According to the Lyman BP Handbook, that should provide 879 fps. However, the Lyman BP Handbook goes on to list powder charges up to 150 gr FFg, with velocities reaching 1200 fps.

11-02-2010, 04:10 AM	#5
Old Steve V.I.P. Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 57	Re: Arquebus Pegler put the effective range of the arquebus at about 20 yards, the difference wasn't so much the difference in capability as the powder. The "corning" process for making desirable grain size was developed much later. Before that powder was ground very fine to get adequate mixing and the very fine powder (like talc) caked and burned very slowly. Mixing it in water and drying into a solid, which could then be groung into larger grains so that flame could pass through it made the musket practical with effective range to 80 yds or so.

11-02-2010, 04:44 AM	#6
jack404 Former Guest Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Australia Contributor Posts: 17,622	Re: Arquebus Oldsemperfi , i've a toy i drag out and tinker with and with the dexi powder mixes i'm playimg with i want to be able to shoot from a vice mount ( immovable ) 1 mile with 0.5 moa its more machine than rifle with screw gimbals and all .. i'm no where near it yet but i can put a slug ( not ball) through a rifle barrel and get 1090 fps here with my home made powders, honest .. i aint played with it over winter but will when it warms up and i get clear days , i'll drag it out and test my latest ideas and mixes ... when the frame was just staked into the ground i was able to punch 10/10 rounds though a car door at 700 meters, about a 2 1/2 foot spread (after 5 or 6 ranging shots..) i'll try to find the site , but i read they had up to 1/2 ounce charges in them they had these little bottles each with a single charge , and they had a horn for charging the pan but the bottles held a standard 1/4 OZ charge but un cormed BP is much denser and produces much less bang .. so they'd load more to do anything i'll try to find the site .. i dont bookmark enough stuff Last edited by jack404; 11-02-2010 at 05:01 AM..