Early matchlock guns are extremely rare. The matchlock shown here was made around 1640, and is typical of the muskets used by militia in Colonial America. 1498 - Rifling principle is discovered.

The National Park Service said early analysis of the 18th-century musket balls shows they were fired by colonial militia members at British forces during the North Bridge fight. Historians say the ...

Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into ...