American forces in the Revolutionary War took in a bunch of different types of surplus small arms, and one of the interesting ones was the French Model 1717 Rampart gun. When the French created the first standardized military rifle pattern in 1717, they made two versions – an infantry musket and a rampart or wall gun. These wall guns were more heavily constructed and has larger bores, to allow them to fire a heavier powder charge for a longer effective range. Specifically, they were .78 caliber, weighting about 10.5 pounds with 46”+ barrels.
The French built about 40,000 of the 1717 pattern wall guns before moving on to a new 1728 pattern. They were quite obsolete by 1777 when Americans came looking for guns to buy, and many thousands were happily sold to the new American state (what better fate for obsolete French arms than to shoot at the British?). Some were used by Americans as-is, and some were refitted to use socket bayonets. The large bore also offered an option to load essentially buckshot instead of a single ball, which offered definitely benefits at close ranges.
wikipedia lists the weight of a Brown Bess musket as 10.5 pounds, so Ian’s numbers are accurate.
How do know that Ian McCollum, Wikipedia and the French aren’t all in it together to make you believe that both firearms are of the same weight?
Now here is a conspiracy theory that is blood-pressure friendly.
For more French guns of this era, check out the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska. The guns there were in the stock of the French fur traders and ended up being traded to the Indians. (https://www.furtrade.org/)
Continental Militiaman, hiding in a bush: (whispering) “Say hello to my big barking friend!” [BANG!]
British Regular, having seen his squad mates torn up by buckshot: “There ought to be rules against using rampart guns with hunting shot.”
This most certainly did NOT happen!
“(…)1717(…)1777(…)Some were(…)were refitted(…)”
This is interestingly, as in 1777 this design was 60 years old. Is this oldest fire-arm upgrade for military usage or there was some other design which was more than 60 years old and subject to upgrade?
Here are links to articles on old designs that are still in use.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a20777886/3-of-the-oldest-weapons-in-the-pentagons-inventory/
https://www.quora.com/What-old-pieces-of-military-equipment-vehicles-weapons-still-work-fine-on-a-modern-battlefield
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/01/12/killer-antiques-13-weapons-from-ww2-that-are-still-in-use-today/
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/01/12/killer-antiques-13-weapons-from-ww2-that-are-still-in-use-today/
And who knows what relics are being used in the Ukraine.
Average height of a French man around 1800 = 157.5cm.
Average height of an American man around 1800 = 173cm.
The purchase made sense.