Here's a beautiful, custom-built mid 16th Century "Target Matchlock" copied from one of the guns recovered from the famous shipwreck Mary Rose.
The Mary Rose was a ship in the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. Launched in 1511, she served for 34 years, engaging in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany.
She was one of the largest ships in the English navy throughout more than three decades of intermittent conflict and stands as one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built sailing warship. The Mary Rose was armed with state-of-the-art heavy guns that could fire through the recently invented gun-ports. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she became one of the earliest ships capable of firing a broadside, though the line of battle tactics that utilized this innovation had not yet been developed.
The ship saw her last action on July 19, 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, she sank off Spithead in the Solent, the strait north of the Isle of Wight.
The wreck of the Mary Rose was located in 1971 and was subsequently raised October 11, 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history. Thousands of artifacts were recovered along with a large section of the ship's hull, providing a valuable glimpse at mid 16th Century Naval life. The hull remains have been on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard since the mid-1980s while undergoing restoration. Currently, an extensive collection of well-preserved artefacts is showcased at the Mary Rose Museum, which was purpose-built to display the remains of the ship and her treasures
Among the artifacts recovered from the Mary Rose were a number of early matchlock guns. These guns were of varying styles, but the most commonly encountered style was the "Gardonne" style musket. These long-barreled guns featured a long barrel, full stock with an unusual curved butt, a mechanical "snapping" lock, and a traditional trigger and trigger guard (a very unusual feature for a mid 16th Century gun, as most muskets from this period utilized a tiller or a button, rather than a modern trigger). These guns are believed to be the last surviving examples of more than 4,000 that were ordered by the English from Italy in 1540, and were being transported by the Mary Rose when she sank.
The "Snapping Matchlock" was Europe's first attempt at what might be considered a "modern firearm" by today's standards. That is to say, these crude muskets were the first guns that could be fired at the push of a trigger (or button), rather than having to be lit by a separate lever or "linstock" held separately in the shooter's other hand. These guns featured spring loaded serpents that could be locked into a "cocked" position; ready to fire the musket with the simple twitch of the shooter's finger, without ever having to remove oneself from the weapon's sights. This allowed for more accurate shooting and the beginning of the concept of "marksmanship" as we know it today.
Early snapping matchlocks are were crude and did not utilize a lock plate. Instead, the lock parts are all attached directly to the wood stock with nails or pins. Later examples, like the "Gardonne" gun offered here represented a major leap forward in terms of design, and adopted many features that would be utilized well into the 19th Century, like traditional removable lock plates and simple lever triggers.
This particular matchlock is a newly-built custom reproduction copied closely from surviving examples of "Gardonne" Matchlocks from the mid 16th Century. The stock is made from straight-graned walnut and features faceted flat sides with some simple decorative moldings. A piece of solid Ebony has been affixed to the back of the stock and serves as a butt plate - a feature that is seen on several original examples from the period.
The 42" barrel is .45 caliber; While most guns from this time period were smoothbored, this handsome reproduction features a fully-rifled barrel. Rifling was first invented by the Germans in 1490, and the mid 16th Century, mulitiple countries around Europe were making target and hunting rifles for wealthy customers. With its perfect bore and traditional sights, this rifle is a good representative of what a sharpshooter's weapon may have looked like in 1540.
The firing mechanism features a simple "serpent" with a ferruled match holder. The serpent is set up to hold a 1/4" match cord securely in place. The match cord is pressed into the serpent and held in place with simple tension (screw tensioned serpents would not show up until the end middle of the 16th Century). Spring tension against the serpent is provided by an internal main spring. In order to fire the gun, the serpent is pulled back to its "cocked" position. A spring-loaded sear is located inside the lock plate, which smartly snaps into place when the serpent is drawn to full cock. Then, the pan cover is opened to expose the priming powder before the trigger is pulled.
This gun is brand new, and has been extensively test-fired by its builder; Steve Krolick. Steve found optimum target loads were achieved with 35-40 grains of FFg black powder under either a .440 patched round ball.
