MUSKETS vs. WIDOWMAKERS

The most common firearm was a smooth bore musket called the British Brown Bess. Firing lines were only 50-80 yards apart, but since these weapons were notoriously inaccurate, firing speed became the critical factor at 3-5 rounds per minute. Frontiersmen brought hunting rifles such as Pennsylvania or Kentucky flintlock rifles with spiraled grooves cut into the inner surface that permitted accurate fire from 250-300 yards. Backcountry sharpshooters were feared as the "greatest widowmakers" in North America! However, a rifle barrel could not hold a bayonet, which became the ultimate weapon because it changed an inaccurate musket into a deadly spear.