THE BLUNDERBUSS AND ITS HISTORY

From the musket to the present day: follow the evolution of this fascinating weapon with us.

The harquebus derives from the elaboration and evolution of the musket, in use with the perfection of gunpowder, work of the Benedictine monk Bertoledo Schwarz in 1354. Its name comes from the German word “Hakenbuschse” (hook canon): because of the weight of the long bronze barrel, there was a supporting bracket to allow for ease of aim. The Blunderbuss originated from this, differing in the length of the barrel, which is shorter and widens towards the mouth, resembling a trumpet. This opening meant the gun could be easily loaded even at night without wasting gunpowder.
The weapon was used tactically to defend the moats of the fortresses.

Depending on the region, the blunderbuss was also called “Pistone”, because of the way of charging (“pestare”, to pound), or “Spazzacampagna” (landsweeper) or “Spazzafossa” (fossesweeper) for its effect. The Pistone (as it is called in Cava) has an average weight of 12kg; the charge is made of black powder (saltpetre 75% - sulphur 12.5% - charcoal 12.5%). When the blunderbuss is discharged, a cylindrical rod known a “spolvera” (ramrod), usually wooden with a bronze handle, is inserted into the barrel. It is used to press the powder and the paper during reloading.
It was fired by a trigger mechanism of fulminate of mercury activated by a cock. Over the eras the weapon was refined considerably, especially the trigger mechanism. It started with a fuse and was perfected along the way, first the wheellock (elaborated in Nuremberg in 1517) and then the flintlock (which used a piece of flint), and then the percussion cap that soon superseded all the others. This was possible because of the discovery in 1808 of a chemist in London, Abbot Forsyth, who marketed the fulminate and new mechanism it used. On firing, a push forward is needed to compensate for the strong recoil of the shot.