Due to my sheltered existence relative to guns, I shot a matchlock yesterday for the first time. I can only say what a strange sensation. All other guns that I have shot, you squeeze the trigger and at some point the hammer or #### snaps down and the gun fires. With this gun when you squeeze the trigger, the serpent swings down in proportion to your squeeze and it never "snaps down" I found that hard to get used to. Also found that the placement of the slow match is quite fussy or it won't strike and ignite the powder. In addition to that, I think that I need to use a thicker slow match because even after soaking in saltpeter and drying, the chord seemed to burn out after a short time, when I lay it on the shooting bench while reloading. That may in part have been due to the chord having a thin nylon core but a braided cotton outer portion. I think that the small cord plus a fussy positioning of the cord in the serpent meant that I usually had to tap the cord several times into the powder to get the pan to fire. Also discovered that you have to be careful not to use too much priming powder because when you swing the cover plate over the pan, while clamping the slow match in place, too much pan powder means loose powder on top of the pan cover.
Loading was easy and not different than loading a flintlock, up until the point where you replace the burning slow match in order to shoot. That process is quite awkward and forced me to lay the gun on the shooting bench to put the cord in the serpent. I had hoped that I could just press the cord into the jaws of the serpent but at least with the small cord that I was using, the jaws had to be loosened and tightened each time
On a positive side, the gun was remarkably accurate or I was remarkably lucky when I shot the gun; it hit the gongs I was shooting at 4 time our to 5
I don't know what company made the gun and the only indication is trademark on the lock. Some features of the gun look to be too good for an indian import and there are no proof marks on the barrel. I can't remove the barrel to check underneath it because it appears to be held in by screws rather than cross pins, and one screw is riveted over to secure the nosecap. Overall I like the gun and suspect I will like it even better once I learn some of its idiosyncracies. Guess I have to make some apostles now to hold the powder charges :>)
cheers mooncoon


Loading was easy and not different than loading a flintlock, up until the point where you replace the burning slow match in order to shoot. That process is quite awkward and forced me to lay the gun on the shooting bench to put the cord in the serpent. I had hoped that I could just press the cord into the jaws of the serpent but at least with the small cord that I was using, the jaws had to be loosened and tightened each time
On a positive side, the gun was remarkably accurate or I was remarkably lucky when I shot the gun; it hit the gongs I was shooting at 4 time our to 5
I don't know what company made the gun and the only indication is trademark on the lock. Some features of the gun look to be too good for an indian import and there are no proof marks on the barrel. I can't remove the barrel to check underneath it because it appears to be held in by screws rather than cross pins, and one screw is riveted over to secure the nosecap. Overall I like the gun and suspect I will like it even better once I learn some of its idiosyncracies. Guess I have to make some apostles now to hold the powder charges :>)
cheers mooncoon

