Patty Fergusen's Pistols

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Rick

I couldn't lift those images either, Jim. I certainly hope that one of our wizards can lift them for fair use here.
Ferguson's rifle was a weapon that allowed for a much quicker reload time than the Brown Bess, a great advantage in those days. I understand there was one drawback to the design. Black powder is quite dirty and leaves residue after use. The loading mechanism tended to get fouled after a certain number of rounds were fired causing the system to jam.

Good points, it seems issues with powder caused a lot more problems than many realize, another of those dynamics seldom touched on in military history. The fouling of gun barrels by powder was a real problem, not to mention overcharging. There were probably more men killed by explosions of their own guns than we might imagine. It seems I once read that the guns often were more of a threat to the shooter than those being shot at.