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The difference between the two muskets lies inside the barrel.

A smooth-bore barrel is (as the name suggests) smooth inside. As the ball that the gun fires is slightly smaller than the barrel it bounces from side to side as it travels down its length. This causes the possibility that the ball will not exit the barrel traveling straight leading to inaccuracy.

A rifled barrel has a groove carved around the inside in a spiral. This catches hold of the ball as it travels down the barrel, holding it on a straight course, and causing it to spin. As it exits the barrel, it is traveling straight and the spin helps to keep it so.

In short, a rifled musket is more accurate than a smooth-bore musket and has a longer range.

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Q: What is the difference between a smooth-bore musket and a rifled musket?
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Continue Learning about General History

When was the rifle first used in warfare?

Rifles were first used in warfare on a significant scale in the American Revolutionary War, when the Ferguson rifle was issued to a special corps of riflemen raised in 1777 from light infantry companies of the British army in the colonies. By the Napoleonic wars (1803 to 1815), the rifle became more widespread, with the British Army raising special regiments of riflemen and issuing riles to the light companies of regular infantry regiments. Other armies adopted the rifle as well, either in similar specialized units or issued to chosen marksmen in regular infantry units. By the 1850s, the rifle (specifically the muzzle-loading "rifled musket") displaced the smoothbore musket as the standard infantry weapon. This was the standard weapon on both sides of the American Civil War.


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