Editing Musket (section)

==Ammunition==
[[File:Gussform verso.JPG|thumb|Iron ball mould]]
[[File:Bandelier met kruitmaatjes en kogelzakje, NG-1149.jpg|thumb|upright|left|17th-century bandolier]]
Sixteenth- and 17th-century musketeers used [[bandolier]]s which held their pre-measured charges and lead balls.

The [[Minié ball]], which despite its name was actually bullet-shaped and not ball-shaped, was developed in the 1840s.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 April 2011 |title=Minie Ball |url=http://www.historynet.com/weaponry-the-rifle-musket-and-the-mini-ball.htm |access-date=4 September 2016 |website=HistoryNet.com}}</ref> The Minié ball had an expanding skirt which was intended to be used with rifled barrels, leading to what was called the [[rifled musket]], which came into widespread use in the mid-19th century. The Minié ball was small enough in diameter that it could be loaded as quickly as a round ball, even with a barrel that had been fouled with black powder residue after firing many shots, and the expanding skirt of the Minié ball meant that it would still form a tight fit with the barrel and impart a good spin into the round when fired. This gave the rifled musket an effective range of several hundred yards, which was a significant improvement over the smooth bore musket. For example, combat ranges of {{cvt|300|yd}} were achievable using the rifled muskets during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |date=26 August 2013 |title=How far is "musket-shot"? Farther than you think. – Journal of the American Revolution |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/08/how-far-is-musket-shot-farther-than-you-think/#_edn2 |access-date=4 September 2016 |website=Allthingsliberty.com}}</ref>

Musketeers often used paper cartridges, which served a purpose similar to that of modern [[metallic cartridge]]s in combining bullet and powder charge. A musket cartridge consisted of a pre-measured amount of black powder and ammunition such as a round ball, [[Nessler ball]] or Minié ball all wrapped up in paper. Cartridges would then be placed in a cartridge box, which would typically be worn on the musketeer's belt during a battle. Unlike a modern cartridge, this paper cartridge was not simply loaded into the weapon and fired. Instead, the musketeer would tear open the paper (usually with his teeth), pour some of the powder into the pan and the rest into the barrel, follow it with the ammunition (and the paper as wadding if not using a Minié ball), then use the ramrod as normal to push it all into the barrel. While not as fast as loading a modern cartridge, this method did significantly speed up the loading process since the pre-measured charges meant that the musketeer did not have to carefully measure out the black powder with every shot.<ref name="Pritchard2003">"Civil War Weapons and Equipment" By Russ A. Pritchard, Jr., Russ A. Pritchard Jr., William Davis, Published by Globe Pequot, 2003</ref>