Flintlock English lock musket, 1660 (c)

This musket is a flintlock. When the trigger was pulled, a piece of flint was brought down sharply onto a metal pan loaded with gunpowder. This produced sparks which ignited the powder to fire the weapon. Muskets like this were very inaccurate, and had a maximum range of about 50 metres. Musketeers had to fire a volley of shots at an enemy to be sure of hitting someone. Muskets were impossible to reload quickly, so musketeers had to be protected from enemy cavalry by pikemen.