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If we mean a gun that one person can carry around, then probably the Tannenburg Hand Gun found in well sealed in 1399 is earliest we have in a museum, proof they were around in the late 1300's.
I just bought a Kings Forge handgonne which is the same style of weapon. they were $375, now on sale. With a lathe to make the barrel it could be homemade. In old days a blacksmith made the barrel, the farmer supplied his own broom or hoe handle, no gunsmith necessary.
Easy to describe: Like a modern pistol barrel with a broomhandle shoved in one end and shoots out the other.
Reason for short barrels: Guns were held in one hand (because the linstock holding the match was held in the other). A short barrel is reduces weight.
Gun is pictured below, high quality workmanship and nice primitive finish on the tiller (gunstock).
Under it is the linstick, hemp or cotton (natural fiber) cord (match) is threaded through the eyelets. Soaked in gunpowder, the match will not go out. Hard to relight in the old days because making a fire took awhile.
Easiest muzzle loader to clean: a revolver or lever winchester can get gunk in recesses, this gun cleans faster than any modern gun!
Reason gun is rotated until touchole is on top the barrel: A dimple around the touchole holds a few grains of powder. This does not interfere with sighting because nobody sighted down the barrel anyway. The tiller would have to be held against the face because it is inline with the bore. So they didn't!
The idea was to save weight. Strong iron bands holding a barrel onto a stock weighs too much, impractical. But this lightweight tiller does not loosen when firing because the force is straight back. The tiller is directly in line with the bore so the barrel does not tend to fly off the stock when fired.
To shoot: (right handed person): tiller runs through between arm and sid, left hand grips tiller. Right hand holds the firing linstick.
A very few years later the serpentine allowed using two hands on the gun (which meant longer heavier barrels possible). And then the arquebus allowed sighting down the barrel.
serpentine: Iron shaped into an s or backwards z and attached permanently on the tiller with a screw through its middle. It holds the match. The gun is now one piece instead of two (gonne and linstock).
arquebus: gunstock shaped sort of like a modern gunstock. A hooked breach was the lightweight barrel attachment which made this possible. Arque = hook bus = gun. Now shooter can sight down the barrel with stock against shoulder. Sights were added on top and the touchole moved to the side to get it out the line of sight. A pan held the few grains of powder instead of a simple dimple (about 1450).
The Kingsforge gonne is really fun to shoot! Especially offhand instead of lying the barrel along top a shooting bench. On the bench you could sight down the barrel. Benches are not there in the hunting or battle field.
.36 caliber. Kingsforge also made a .50 caliber which is more like the originals, but in brass the .36 is very safe as forces are lower. .35 caliber ball is a standard size. Hornady and Speer make swaged in that size, easy to find.
Kingsforge:
handgonne:
serpentine:
arquebus:
I just bought a Kings Forge handgonne which is the same style of weapon. they were $375, now on sale. With a lathe to make the barrel it could be homemade. In old days a blacksmith made the barrel, the farmer supplied his own broom or hoe handle, no gunsmith necessary.
Easy to describe: Like a modern pistol barrel with a broomhandle shoved in one end and shoots out the other.
Reason for short barrels: Guns were held in one hand (because the linstock holding the match was held in the other). A short barrel is reduces weight.
Gun is pictured below, high quality workmanship and nice primitive finish on the tiller (gunstock).
Under it is the linstick, hemp or cotton (natural fiber) cord (match) is threaded through the eyelets. Soaked in gunpowder, the match will not go out. Hard to relight in the old days because making a fire took awhile.
Easiest muzzle loader to clean: a revolver or lever winchester can get gunk in recesses, this gun cleans faster than any modern gun!
Reason gun is rotated until touchole is on top the barrel: A dimple around the touchole holds a few grains of powder. This does not interfere with sighting because nobody sighted down the barrel anyway. The tiller would have to be held against the face because it is inline with the bore. So they didn't!
The idea was to save weight. Strong iron bands holding a barrel onto a stock weighs too much, impractical. But this lightweight tiller does not loosen when firing because the force is straight back. The tiller is directly in line with the bore so the barrel does not tend to fly off the stock when fired.
To shoot: (right handed person): tiller runs through between arm and sid, left hand grips tiller. Right hand holds the firing linstick.
A very few years later the serpentine allowed using two hands on the gun (which meant longer heavier barrels possible). And then the arquebus allowed sighting down the barrel.
serpentine: Iron shaped into an s or backwards z and attached permanently on the tiller with a screw through its middle. It holds the match. The gun is now one piece instead of two (gonne and linstock).
arquebus: gunstock shaped sort of like a modern gunstock. A hooked breach was the lightweight barrel attachment which made this possible. Arque = hook bus = gun. Now shooter can sight down the barrel with stock against shoulder. Sights were added on top and the touchole moved to the side to get it out the line of sight. A pan held the few grains of powder instead of a simple dimple (about 1450).
The Kingsforge gonne is really fun to shoot! Especially offhand instead of lying the barrel along top a shooting bench. On the bench you could sight down the barrel. Benches are not there in the hunting or battle field.
.36 caliber. Kingsforge also made a .50 caliber which is more like the originals, but in brass the .36 is very safe as forces are lower. .35 caliber ball is a standard size. Hornady and Speer make swaged in that size, easy to find.
Kingsforge:
handgonne:
serpentine:
arquebus:
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