microgroove rifled barrel , mid-19th century The origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest European experiments seem to have been carried out during the 15th century.
Archers had long realized that a twist added to the tail feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. Early
muskets produced large quantities of smoke and soot, which had to be cleaned from the action and bore of the musket frequently, either through the action of repeated bore scrubbing, or a deliberate attempt to create "soot grooves" that would allow for more shots to be fired from the firearm. Some of the earliest examples of European grooved gun barrels were reportedly manufactured during 1440, and further developed by
Gaspard Kollner of Vienna , although other scholars allege they were a joint effort between Kollner and Augustus Kotter of
Nuremberg . Military commanders preferred smoothbore weapons for
infantry use because rifles were much more prone to problems due to powder fouling the barrel and because they took longer to reload and fire than muskets. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smoothbore muskets. In the early 18th century,
Benjamin Robins, an English mathematician, realized that an elongated bullet would retain the momentum and kinetic energy of a musket ball, but would slice through the air with greater ease. The performance of early muskets defined the style of warfare at the time. Due to the lack of accuracy, soldiers were deployed in long lines (thus
line infantry) to fire at the opposing forces. Precise aim was thus not necessary to hit an opponent. Muskets were used for comparatively rapid, imprecisely aimed volley fire, and the average soldier could be easily trained to use them. In the
Province of Pennsylvania,
British America, one of the most successful early rifles, the
long rifle, was developed over the course of the 18th century. Compared to the more common
Brown Bess, these Pennsylvania and Kentucky rifles had a tighter bore with no space between bullet and barrel, and still used balls instead of conical bullets. The balls the long rifle used were smaller, allowing the production of more rounds for a given amount of lead. These rifles also had longer barrels, allowing more accuracy, which were rifled with a
helical groove. These first started appearing sometime before 1740, one early example being made by Jacob Dickert, a German immigrant. By 1750 there were a number of such manufacturers in the area. The longer barrel was a departure by local gunsmiths from their German roots, allowing bullets to achieve a higher speed (as the burning gunpowder was contained longer) before emerging from the barrel. During the 1700s (18th century), colonial settlers, particularly those immigrating from Germany and Switzerland, adapted and improved upon their European rifles. During the American Revolution, the colonist troops favoured these more accurate rifles while their use was resisted by the British and Hessian troops. , the first successful
lever action repeating rifle By the time of the
American Revolutionary War, these rifles were commonly used by frontiersmen, and Congress authorized the establishment of ten companies of riflemen. One of the most critical units was
Morgan's Riflemen, led by
Daniel Morgan. This sharpshooting unit eventually proved itself integral to the
Battle of Saratoga, and in the southern states where General Morgan commanded as well. Taking advantage of the rifle's improved accuracy, Morgan's sharpshooters picked off cannoneers and officers, reducing the impact of enemy artillery. This kind of advantage was considered pivotal in many battles, such as
the battles of Cowpens, Saratoga, and
King's Mountain. Later during the
Napoleonic Wars, the British
95th Regiment (Green Jackets) and
60th Regiment, (Royal American), as well as sharpshooters and riflemen during the
War of 1812, used the rifle to great effect during skirmishing. Because of a slower loading time than a musket, they were not adopted by the whole army. Since rifles were used by sharpshooters who did not routinely fire over other men's shoulders, long length was not required to avoid the forward line. A shorter length made a handier weapon in which tight-fitting balls did not have to be rammed so far down the barrel. The invention of the
Minié ball in the 1840s solved the slow loading problem, and in the 1850s and 1860s rifles quickly replaced muskets on the battlefield. Many rifles, often referred to as
rifled muskets, were very similar to the muskets they replaced, but the military also experimented with other designs.
Breech-loading weapons proved to have a much faster rate of fire than muzzleloaders, causing military forces to abandon muzzle loaders in favor of breech-loading designs in the late 1860s. In the later part of the 19th century, rifles were generally single-shot, breech-loading guns, designed for aimed, discretionary fire by individual soldiers. Then, as now, rifles had a stock, either fixed or folding, to be braced against the shoulder when firing. The adoption of
cartridges and breech-loading in the 19th century was concurrent with the general adoption of rifles. In the early part of the 20th century, soldiers were trained to shoot accurately over long ranges with high-powered cartridges. World War I
Lee–Enfield rifles (among others) were equipped with long-range 'volley sights' for massed firing at ranges of up to . Individual shots were unlikely to hit, but a platoon firing repeatedly could produce a 'beaten ground' effect similar to light artillery or machine guns. Currently, rifles are the most common firearm in general use for
hunting (with the exception of bird hunting, where
shotguns are favored). Rifles derived from military designs have long been popular with civilian shooters. ==19th century==