black powder and the British weather...

[anevilgiraffe]

have been reading up on stuff for my Folk Horror project and of the 'recognised' forms of magic, a potentially useful one that doesn't include making cows stop milking is causing storms...

so would rain/wind/gales effect powder weapons? I assume battles happened in rain, so that shouldn't be a factor in itself, but as ships sinking would be blamed, we're talking severe... visiblity would be down obviously, but would pistols/muskets be completely useless?

[Lowtardog]

I would think so, especially in the period you are talking about. Damp Squib and all that. Reloading would be hard to keep powder dry after first shot in barrel.

I think it would also apply to a lesser extent to bow strings as they get wet they would stretch making shots less effective/powerful.

Winds would reduce accuracy, including visibility but also the velocity may be impacted too

[joroas]

Take Waterloo, for instance, rain overnight meant that battle on the day was held up as troops, esp artillery and wagons, could not move so fast. Gunpowder weapons would not be able to fire in heavy rain or snow. Hence the saying: Keep your powder dry..................

Mud, snow, ec is always an issue even in the 21st Century.

[Plynkes]

Entirely depends on what Black Powder weapon we are talking about. Martini Henry and Lee Metford rifles were black powder weapons (the latter was the last black powder rifle used by the British Army). Bad weather wouldn't stop them firing.


The match of a matchlock could be difficult to light in a rainy gale, and hard to keep dry. A wheellock or a flintlock will fire in wet conditions, but with any musket you have to keep your powder dry or she ain't gonna work.

[OSHIROmodels]

As Karl mentioned, keeping you powder dry is of paramount importance. The more experienced musketeers would know tricks on how to do this so a gaming factor could be based on the experience of the unit/character in question. The less experienced, the bigger chance of not being able to fire.

cheers

James

[anevilgiraffe]

so perhaps the shot in the barrel should be ok, but the storm would pretty much rule out reloading - could be interesting...

another part of the storm side is lightning strikes which should be fun... I just wish I could work out a game useful way of using the ability to remove mens genitals by magical means    maybe failing a moral check


EDIT: aha... experience... hmmm....

[Lowtardog]

Perhaps for lightening you could force a moral test for those standing under trees

Troops in armour a increase in the risk of being struck, lance tips etc

dont bare thinking about those wearing metal cod pieces

[DerekTHTB]

I have had experience of firing black powder weapons, matchlocks and flintlocks in…adverse weather conditions!
If you can get the barrel hot (and keep it hot by regular firing) you don’t get too many problems with wet powder. The biggest problem is your slow match absorbing moisture which puts it out!

The trick is to use a match holder (a wooden tube with holes you stick your match into) which protects your spare match from the elements. This means you have to potentially handle two bits of match, swapping between the two! If it’s really raining you can have your pan fill up (this happened to me, rain off the brim of the hat  ) and then your gun is just a club!

Flintlock weapons tend to get wet and greasy on the frizzen which cuts down on your sparks, so you have to keep it clean between shots.

Damp conditions really slow your rate of fire down; you have to be a lot more careful keeping pans clear etc. experience does count for a lot.

Windy conditions can also cause a problem…I’ve seen sparks from a slow match blow across about 6 feet and set off a set of bandoliers like a firework…very spectacular! 

[fastolfrus]

Hot weather can be a hazard too - and probably more unusual for an English setting.
Apart from the straightforward issues of heatstroke and dehydration, armour can get painfully hot, gun barrels can get too hot to load, your vision is impaired by sweat and heathaze, and for anyone using paper cartridges to reload a musket you get very thirsty...could even get too thirsty to bite the end off the cartridge.
And you can get sudden thunderstorms in the hot weather too.....

[Patrice]

I am a re-enactor and I have fired c.1700 flintlocks in historical displays and battle shows.
Light rain is not a problem if you take care of your powder.
I experienced heavy rain it was very difficult. The first shots were OK, but after a few minutes most of our guys could not fire.

[Hobbit]

I'd endorse everything the Derek says an dhave had similar experiences. And as he says experience counts for a lot. An oily rag stuffed into the muzzle and another wrapped around the pan can provide a lot of protection. Probably the worst thing that can happen is to get your pan wet as that can be very dififcult to clean out without getting under cover. Wind can also be a major problem as a good gust can blow the powder out out your pan.

[katie]

"Hot weather can be a hazard too - and probably more unusual for an English setting."

I'd imagine loosing off black powder weapons in the height of even an English summer could quite easily start a lot of grass fires.

[Hobbit]

About 20 years ago the Sealed Knot set fire to a stubble field in Whitney, Oxfordshire when wadding from a cannon failed to completely combust - the smouldering embers caused a major grass fire that swept across the field in minutes and destroyed a number of parked cars. One newspaper carried the headline "Roundheads set fire to Cavalier" 

[Patrice]

One newspaper carried the headline "Roundheads set fire to Cavalier"  

Yes I remember that one ! I've seen this newspaper, or a copy of it.  

(explanation for others: a "Cavalier" is a car (from Chevrolet I think?) and was also the nickname of the enemies of the Roundheads)

[Steve F]

a "Cavalier" is a car (from Chevrolet I think?)

Sweet Vauxhall