peashooter85:The Ellis four shot repeating musket,In 1828 a gunsmith named Reuben Ellis modified a s
peashooter85:The Ellis four shot repeating musket,In 1828 a gunsmith named Reuben Ellis modified a standard M1817 flintlock military musket into this unusual repeating firearm. The strange Ellis had an expanded chamber to hold four superimposed loads. This means that the user would have loaded it four times with loose powder and bullets. The user would have first loaded a charge of powder, then a bullet, then repeated the process three more times. On the expanded chamber the lock was mounted on a movable rail, while the chamber had four touch holes rather than one. To fire the user simply locked the lock at the foremost hole, cocked the hammer and fired. The the user would move it to the next hole and repeat the process, firing each superimposed load one at a time. The user didn’t even have to prime the flash pan as a built in hopper distributed a bit of powder into the pan each time the frizzen was set. An interesting design, it had one flaw. When it was fired there was always the risk that the three other charges could discharge simultaneously, causing the gun to explode. Despite its flaws Reuben Ellis was able to secure a contract with the State of New York to supply his repeating muskets for the NY State Militia. 528 Ellis repeating muskets were produced at the Springfield Armory. -- source link