Re: Re: Kick and shots per minute
Yeah, some specific weapons were certainly less capable of absorbing recoil. I've used .58cal weapons (19th century standard) and the recoil is nothing to be afraid of. I can see the larger guns causing trouble. I'll search my ECW resources for the 17thC guns the original poster was looking for and see what I can find. One should further note that guns during those times had stands due to weight that helped keep up the accuracy and minimize the effects of recoil. The stand was basically a pole that was about 4' tall that dropped below the gun and allowed the gun to be fired from what was essencially a braced position.
In addition to the musket, many men would carry a secondary weapon, such as a sword or axe for close-quarters fighting. They did not get involved in fencing duels like you might see in some movies.
The musketeers wore twelve wooden cases, often refered to as the "twelve apostles", worn on a belt over the shoulder. These would each contain enough powder to charge the musket. In addition to these, a primer with powder for the pan would be attached to this belt. Typical problems were tangling of the belt whilst on the move. The sound as the boxes banged together made hearing orders as a regiment more difficult. A later innovation was paper wrapped charges which eliminated these problems, and sped up the rate of fire.
Ugh, no doubt. "Son, looks like you need to bleed a little in order to get better! Here, let me apply these giant river leaches..." Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!