The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun, with similar military and defensive use. The American Revolution was fought—and won—with guns, and the weapons have become ingrained in U.S. culture, but the invention of firearms started long before Lets see, there shot, and gun, so, yes, I got it! This step was limited as a big bore firearm, which is usually heavier and cumbersome, requires more propellant and takes longer to load. A simpler idea was use a normal sized barrel but with the internal diameter or bore gradually widening as it neared the muzzle. Overall blunderbusses were inaccurate and unwieldy weapons, it was best not to fire one when your allies were within sight. Since the introduction of the flintlock musket in the 17th century, military small arms have gone through a series of significant changes. Some maintain that “blunder” replaced donder because the device was so simple to fire that even a “blundering fool” could use it effectively, though there is little in the way of evidence supporting this story as part of the actual etymology of the word.
A simpler idea was use a normal sized barrel but with the internal diameter or bore gradually widening as it neared the muzzle. The flare also makes it easier to load powder and pellets into the firearm. [2] It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances.

It was used by army and naval forces, with various versions of the weapon being manufactured all the way through to the 1840s. When fired the bunch of shot was less confined and gradually expanded outwards as it moved along the barrel and would leave the muzzle covering a larger area. From the early 18th century some blunderbuss barrels often have only a slight flare at the muzzle whereas earlier versions have a bell shaped barrel.

Here in the United States, most of the organizations we could loosely associate with this particular weapon, are black powder clubs, or shotgun events.

Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint striking ignition mechanism.

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Hence, they were often carried into action by boarding personnel. [8], Blunderbusses were typically short, with barrels under 2 feet (61 cm) in length, at a time when a typical musket barrel was over 3 feet (91 cm) long. Since a blunderbuss is designed to fire several pellets at the same time, the flare was thought to increase the spread of pellets. Often blunderbusses would not even be packed with musket balls.

The first repeating revolver type weapons and predecessors of modern revolvers are called pepper-box revolvers.

In the naval versions of the gun, the steel barrels were japanned, or blackened, in order to avoid the inevitable corrosive damage caused by the salt air. So, in literal terms, the device was something of a pipe that made a stunningly loud report, causing confusion in the minds of the folks at the receiving end of the weapon.

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. I hope this all makes sense now because it’s a long walk to get to “gun” but you have to understand, gun was a pretty new concept at the time. The blunderbuss, and especially the dragon, was typically issued to troops such as cavalry, who needed a lightweight, easily handled firearm. The mythical dragon’s head was on the barrel, and the muzzle blast would give the distinct impression of a fire-breathing dragon.