Voltigeur_de_la_Garde
32 Cal
After conversion of flintlock muskets to percussion had begun one year earlier, the model of 1845 was the first purpose-built percussion firearm adopted by the Imperial Russian army. It was essentially a copy of the french musket mle.1842 with brass fittings.
Curiously, with the conversion of the old flintlocks to percussion their barrels were bored out, from .70 to .71 cal.
Apparently, I have found no official sources confirming this, because the old barrels were in a terrible state and instead of replacing them, the rusty and pitted barrels were simply bored out. This might explain why Russian muskets in Crimea had an uncanny tendency to blow up. But I digress.
The new muskets were built from the outset with .71 cal. barrels.
According to V.E. Markevic's "Handbook of Ammunition and Weapons" the musket fired a .625 round ball over a 138 grain powdercharge. It weighs 4,15kg without and 4,6kg with the bayonet.
Tsar Nicolas I. and his son Alexander personally participated in the trials of the new musket.
They each fired 30 rounds after wich the Tsar announced that: "While shooting, both of us have noticed neither strong recoil nor a tiring of the shoulder."
Test shooting with trained soldiers at targets 1 Arshin 14 Wershoks (4.36 feet) wide and 2 Arshins 12 Wershoks (6.39 feet) high have shown the following hit rates:
At 150 paces: 60%
At 200 paces: 50%
At 250 paces: 40%
At 300 paces: 30%
My Musket was built in 1849 as clearly marked on the lock plate. The letters above the year stand for
"mу́льский оруже́йный заво́д" or "Tula Arms Factory".
Curiously, with the conversion of the old flintlocks to percussion their barrels were bored out, from .70 to .71 cal.
Apparently, I have found no official sources confirming this, because the old barrels were in a terrible state and instead of replacing them, the rusty and pitted barrels were simply bored out. This might explain why Russian muskets in Crimea had an uncanny tendency to blow up. But I digress.
The new muskets were built from the outset with .71 cal. barrels.
According to V.E. Markevic's "Handbook of Ammunition and Weapons" the musket fired a .625 round ball over a 138 grain powdercharge. It weighs 4,15kg without and 4,6kg with the bayonet.
Tsar Nicolas I. and his son Alexander personally participated in the trials of the new musket.
They each fired 30 rounds after wich the Tsar announced that: "While shooting, both of us have noticed neither strong recoil nor a tiring of the shoulder."
Test shooting with trained soldiers at targets 1 Arshin 14 Wershoks (4.36 feet) wide and 2 Arshins 12 Wershoks (6.39 feet) high have shown the following hit rates:
At 150 paces: 60%
At 200 paces: 50%
At 250 paces: 40%
At 300 paces: 30%
My Musket was built in 1849 as clearly marked on the lock plate. The letters above the year stand for
"mу́льский оруже́йный заво́д" or "Tula Arms Factory".
Attachments
Last edited:
