A writer researching a blunderbuss

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CrankyBeach

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Greetings, folks. I'm a writer and I know very little about firearms of any kind, so be kind, please. :D

I'm trying to work out a scene where the bad guy threatens the good guy with an antique blunderbuss, and I need to know what is and is not plausible.

For instance... if the bad guy is basically waving the weapon around, gesturing with it for example, is there any possibility that the ammunition load could just fall out of the barrel? Especially if he was not particularly well-versed in how to properly load the thing?

And if the ammo does fall out, is the weapon now essentially harmless? Short of clonking somebody over the head with it?

Another thought. Can I assume that a firearm without a firing pin will not fire? Does a blunderbuss have a firing pin? If so, how visible might it be, i.e. the bad guy is waving the thing around and the good guy notices that it doesn't have a firing pin and thus it won't be able to be fired?

Lastly... if this is the wrong forum for a question like this, please let me know, and direct me to the proper place. Thanks!
 
Interesting question, and welcome! A blunderbuss was a flintlock designed for maximum spread of shot at short distances in the 15th'-16th century, probably earlier. No firing pins then. A spark was created by a flint to a combustible frizzen (combustible) material, and carried down the "touch hole" to the powder charge under the load of pellets.
I would suspect the pellets would be held in the barrel by some type of wad. but now I'm way past my pay grade.
Give a bit of time, and others will give much more exact info.
Good luck with the book, and keep us posted when finished!
 
Thanks so much for your reply and your kind words. :)

Which bring up another possibility. If you have to send a spark through a hole to the ammo load in order to fire the thing, is there some quick and easy way to accomplish that with modern methods? Because if the bad guy has to strike a spark with flint and steel, all while still aiming the weapon... well, wouldn't he need 3 hands to do that? In other words, plenty of opportunity for the good guy to escape, although I still haven't quite choreographed the scene as to who is where and what else might be going on.

Again thanks, and I will await further enlightenment from those who know about these things. :)
 
As described the blunderbuss was a short range muzzle loading shotgun of sorts. Powder charge, usually 60 grains of 2f black powder was dumped down the muzzle of the weapon. A paper or fiber wad was then pushed down the bore into the fire chamber on top of the powder charge holding it in place in the fire chamber. In the blunderbuss there was no telling what might be loaded down it. Nails, scraps of iron, pellets, ball, even rocks have been recorded. All this was pushed again, down the barrel and onto the fiber wad over the powder. Then the over the shot wad was shoved down it. That could have been old cloth, bees nest, anything that would cover the shot and hold it in the barrel.

On the side of the blunderbuss is a lock. In the jaws of the lock, a flint. When the lock hammer is cocked, the trigger pulled causes the lock to fall forward. This lock would have a flint set in the jaws. That flint would hit a steel frizzen which caused a spark to form. That spark would fall down into the primer pan of the lock where it would set off a small amount of black powder again. This was the primer pan not to be confused with the main charge. This small pan of powder then throws sparks every where. Some of the spark made it through the vent hole or touch hole liner as they were called. Once the spark made it though there into the fire chamber, the spark would ignite the 60 grains of black powder in the fire chamber and that explosion of that powder would push the over the powder wad, the load of lets say nails, and the over the shot wadding out the barrel.

Once all that leaves the barrel (in a large ball of flame) the over the shot card falls away. The nails in this case, since there is no rifling in the blunderbuss, like a shotgun, spread into a large pattern. And the shot or nails in this case kill anything it hits. This was a shoulder mount weapon but could have been fired with one hand. Cock the hammer. Pull the trigger. Flint strikes the frizzen. Frizzen strike causes a spark. Spark ignites main charge. Main charge sends the shot out the barrel.
 
This is fantastic information. Thank you!

In other words... the blunderbuss is not exactly the most efficient firearm in existence.... :D

Would it be safe to say that learning how to load and fire this type of weapon might take a bit of practice? And that there might be plenty of opportunities for a more "casual" user, for instance somebody who found the thing in Granddad's attic and thought it might look cool hanging on the wall, to perhaps not get it quite right and make mistakes? Are there typical beginner mistakes that one might make? What might be the consequences of one of those mistakes? Everything from the gun not going "boom" when it's supposed to all the way up to--is it possible that the thing might actually blow up because they put in too hefty a dose of powder or something?

In what ways might the weapon fail to function? How plausible might it be if either the steel or the flint was broken or missing, such that it could not reliably strike a spark?

Is the primer pan something that's open to the air, such that the powder could actually fall out of it or blow away? What about wet powder? We're all familiar with the term "keep your powder dry." How dry is dry? If the perpetrator was trying to do his nefarious deeds in a heavy fog or drizzle, would that be wet enough to keep it from lighting? In what way might one improperly store powder such that it would be too wet to use? How long might it need to be improperly stored? And what would happen if somebody tried to light not-dry powder? Does it go pfft or just sit there like mud and do nothing?

Does anyone know at what distance the blunderbuss becomes inaccurate enough that the intended target might not get hit? Also, any thoughts on its actual range? Ballpark?

I'm just trying to come up with something that starts with the bad guy threatening the good guy with a blunderbuss, and ends with the good guy not getting killed. If anyone with knowledge of this sort of weapon has a reasonable scenario come to mind, I'd love to hear it. Thanks again. :)
 
You are answering your own questions. Wet powder will not burn. It is possible to blow up a muzzleloading weapon. Any old weapon like a blunderbuss should be inspected by a competent gun smith that understands the weapon. A number of scenarios. Wet powder. Forgetting to load the powder. No overwad allowing projectile(s) to fall out of barrel. I personally like the last one.
 
A blunderbuss flared muzzle at end of barrel was designed as an aid in fast reloading, especially since it was probably used by guard on a coach, wagon or in some form of protection or defense position. The flare aided in getting the powder, wadding, shot and overshot wad down the barrel quickly and without looking. A close range defensive weapon. In the blunderbuss age lead was cheaper than iron and much preferred as the projectile in shot or pellet form. W
 
Regarding typical beginner mistakes, one of the most dire would be attempting to shoot a double charge, which is still one of the biggest dangers, even with "modern" muzzleloaders.

In your scenario, imagine finding a blunderbuss in grand-pappy's attic and hanging it on your wall because it looks cool. Then one day (you're drunk) thinking it might be fun to try out, you get some black powder and load it up. You know enough to put the powder in first, then the nails and rocks. A little powder in the frizzen 'cause you saw that on Last of the Mohicans and you pull the finger. Now you have no fingers because there was already powder and nails in the gun (it was put up in the attic and stored loaded - not uncommon) and you essentially made a pipe bomb. This does happen.

A mistake with less dire results would be to forget to add powder, or to load the projectiles first, then the powder. Click and nothing happens.
 
Thank you all so much. I really appreciate all this great information!

A further question about the "pipe bomb" scenario outlined above. How likely is it (or not) that if the shooter blows his own fingers off, any shrapnel could still hit his intended target?

Any thoughts on actual range of a properly-functioning blunderbuss? Just so I know where to arrange the characters in the scene...

I'm considering both the incorrectly-loaded-so-nothing-bad-happens scenario versus pipe bomb. The bad guy is, among other things, a child pornographer, so I might just blow his fingers off.

Again, thanks so much to all of you! This is very helpful!

Edited to add ... what are the chances that the pipe bomb scenario might do some, um, far more appropriate and deserved damage to a perp who disgustingly exploits children?
 
Edited to add ... what are the chances that the pipe bomb scenario might do some, um, far more appropriate and deserved damage to a perp who disgustingly exploits children?

If it Blows up, parts of the gun could act like shrapnel and tear into different parts like face, arms, legs, body and yes his.....
Anything standing real close could stand a chance of getting a piece of it too.
 
You could have a scenario where the perp was holding the gun in front of him and kinda low when the gun discharged accidentally and blew up.:lol:
 
rangerod said:
You could have a scenario where the perp was holding the gun in front of him and kinda low when the gun discharged accidentally. :lol:
Was thinking that very thing...... :lol:

What factors might cause it to go off "accidentally"? Any ideas on that?
 
CrankyBeach said:
rangerod said:
You could have a scenario where the perp was holding the gun in front of him and kinda low when the gun discharged accidentally. :lol:
Was thinking that very thing...... :lol:

What factors might cause it to go off "accidentally"? Any ideas on that?

Someone not real familiar with a gun might put finger on trigger before it is on target, or gun has a light/hair trigger and person using it don't know it. Seen both happen a few times.
 
Google "muzzleloader accidents," click on "images" and get an idea of what an exploded muzzleloader looks like. Of the pictures I saw, my guess is most of the gruesome ones were the result of either a double load, or putting smokeless powder (much more powerful than blackpowder or blackpowder substitutes) in a blackpowder gun.
 
CrankyBeach
You'd be best to contact the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and ask the office if there is a Field Rep in your area - might be best..
 
Thank you, that's a great idea. There appears to be a chapter less than an hour's drive from me. I'll see if I can contact the person.

And a huge thank you to all of you who have so kindly and patiently answered my questions. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of your input.

:applause:
 
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