Handling a hot musket

[vmi2009]

I was wondering the other night, as I flipped through my copy of EoG, how did the soldiers back then deal with the heat coming off of the barrel of their muskets after firing 10 or more rounds in rapid succession? At some reenactments, I have seen a piece of leather place over the barrel near the top band, as that is where that person usually gripped the rifle when reloading it. Would these soldiers have done something very similar? I welcome any and all thoughts to this.


Very Respectfully,

Joel Barnes
VMI Class of 2009

[Michael Comer]

Re: Handling a hot musket

The musket can still be handled by holding the wood stock and not grabbing the barrel. It takes a bit more care but is doable without getting burned.

I have read accounts where men told about the barrels becoming so hot from firing that they were hard to handle but I've never come across any documentation of carrying a piece of leather to put around it for protection. If something like that was done, it would probably be a handkercheif or strip of cloth. Don't base what you see at reenactments as what was actually done - there are so many reenactorisms in the hobby it can get confusing sometimes.

[CompanyWag]

Re: Handling a hot musket

If this was a major concern for safety or comfort during the period, it would have been addressed in the period manuals. The stock extends nearly the full length to afford some protection, and if the position of "Load" is done correctly, the stock (and ramrod) faces towards the soldier and the hot barrel faces forward away from his body. The fingers need not come in direct contact with a hot barrel.

Oftentimes, practices observed being done at reenactments is not a good guide as to what was actually done during the war.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Hallo!

That is what forestocks were for. On an M, or RM, or R, one can judiciously avoid the hot barrel by staying to the forestock.

It does get a bit more interesting when it comes to carbines such as Maynard, Gwyn & Campbell/Cosmopolitan, Gallagher, and the Burnside Type I, and II.

Burnside is interesting because they reacted to it, and added a forestock to the Type III's and IV's.

Having fired the Maynard, and Gallagher for upwards of five minutes on hot Southern days, the barrel can get "uncomfortably" hot. However a breech loading carbine can be fudged a bit and fired one handed in a pinch.

I do not recall ever (yet) reading Period accounts where they talk about compensating for a hot musket or carbine.
(Not that it relates to much of anything historical, but I have seen modern shooters break out a handkerchief at times.)

A bit later, in 1879, whether part of the story or factrual.. the British at Rorke's Drift were said to have been burned on the hands by their Martini-Henry rifles, AND and that they could see the barrels actually starting to glow red hot in the dark of night.

Curt

[erik]

Re: Handling a hot musket

You are correct, after 10 rounds the barrel can become quite hot. The proper drills, as mentioned, preclude handling the barrel.
Good drill will prevent this problem.
Later rifles were prone to this, in particular the Martini Henry.
During my time in reenacting 1860 drill for British Rifle Regiments this problem was noticed when reloading on the march. The solution was to twist the sling around the barrel and all was good. The same applied when loading at the halt.
Of course Rifle Regiments always wore a loose sling.

Erik Simundson

[Cumpston1862]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Joel- I will have to check my sources back home because I was just reading an account recently of a soldier saying he put water down his rifle barrel to clean it and make it possible to touch "during" a battle. As a matter of fact the way I remember it he and his squad did this a couple of times during the battle. I was a little surprised they were doing this during the battle because he did not mention how or what they used to run through the barrel to clean/dry it. Not to mention water is qite the commidity during a battle too.

On a side note. While I have live fired my musket a fair amount of times I do not consider myself an expert. Some of the guys I shoot with are quite experienced and they always remind us newer guys to be careful on how we load our muskets especially after 8-10 shots as the black powder on rare occasions will get "cooked-off" by a hot barrel.

[Alexander Vasquez]

Re: Handling a hot musket

I wonder about a few things here.

--Rates of fire; I sometimes suspect "we" shoot "too fast" at demonstrations/reenactments/what have you, and that could make the barrels hotter.

--Metallurgy; I do not remember my M1854 Lorenz getting as hot as my replica Enfield way back when, and the few times I have fired my original rifled 1842 she does not seem to get as hot as my replica '61 does. This is, of course, personal subjective observation though and to be sure my Lorenz burned my fingers a few times and the '42 is not as cool as a cucumber by any means.

--Physical toughness. When I compare my hands (teacher) to my father in law's hands (sheetmetal worker) his hands are tougher, more scarred, and have less feeling in them. After years of hard labor, and I would think that even the most physical jobs today are not as physical as their 19th century equivalents and even a younger soldier probably had tougher hands than most of us do today. I have no data or evidence for this statement, though, and just offer it as something to think on.

Alexander Vasquez
Late of Company C, 15 IA

[Secesh]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Leather = Farb.

[Silas]

Re: Handling a hot musket

I second that, Mingo.

[dixieflyer]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Alexander,
I know it's not conclusive, but when I was working on a living history farm everyday for a couple of years, my hands were covered in calluses, and yes they were much tougher, etc.

[john.vansickle]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Something else that we tend to forget is that evidence suggests that there was less concern for soldier's safety and welfare than there is today. There are scores of accounts discussing deaths due to heat injury, illness, and accidents that were accepted as a matter of course and could have easily been prevented. I also think Alexander is on the right track. We're taking a vicarious look at the CW era and sometimes forget that the lives of the people then, are very different than the lives we today. This effects what we find acceptable or tolerable. If accepting a burned hand might increase the rate of fire or otherwise dissuade the enemy from continuing the battle, thereby reducing possible risk of more serious injuries or death, a burned hand might have been an acceptable compromise to a soldier.

John Van Sickle

[GarrettG1993]

Re: Handling a hot musket

From my personal esperience rifled muskets tend to heat up less quickly than large bore smoothbore muskets. My original P1853 is still quite handlable after 10 to 15 rounds while my M1815 (M1812 type III) and Prussian M1809 are extreemly hot after 10 rounds. I attribute this to barrel thickness. Also, although I do not have slings on any of my muskets, I have in the past. When loading you can grip the musket at the top sling swivel and sling to keep your hands off the barrel. When returning to the ready or fire positions I just handle the musket gingerly to keep my fingers off the barrel.

Regards,
Garrett Glover

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Joel,

Long time no talk...give me a buzz sometime.

Paul B.

[Cyclesmith]

Re: Handling a hot musket

I can personally attest to the fact that one can get very narrow minded and intensely focused on the situation during a firefight... you would be amazed what pain and discomfort don't even register in your mind. But where I served everything was hot!

[J.Whitley]

Re: Handling a hot musket

Warren,

I hear you buddy. We keep horses and therefore have to do a fair bit of work with shovels and pitchforks on a daily basis, as well as a few times a year putting up hay and the like. I've got a line of calluses running across both palms just behind the fingers. And that's from an hour a day of modern hobby farming.