Even during the colonial years in what is now North Carolina, there were concerns with what we now describe as “weapons of mass destruction (WDM). The concerns were very much a real thing because of the new war implement that could inflict comparatively massive injuries on anyone who had a serious disagreement with us. These concerns were serious enough that every male colonist was required by law to own one of these early WDMs and keep a ready supply of ammunition on hand at all times. Not only were these WDMs used for fighting anyone that we didn’t agree with, but they were also used to harvest wild game for our tables.

In this day of calls for more gun control, it might be good to think about the fact that our early American forefathers were required to keep what was, at that time, a very modern gun in their homes for protection and as a food producing piece of machinery. This was well before any of the colonists even thought about a Second Amendment to a constitution that had not yet been written.

It’s important to note that before the revolutionary war, both the colonists and the British were armed with similar weapons that were produced in England and obtained by the new settlers in the new land. The new guns were for gathering food and for protection from the Indians.

This “weapon of mass destruction” went by the nickname “Brown Bess” and was developed in England as a fearsome weapon of war. What was this fearsome new weapon anyway?

According to various historians, this war implement called “Brown Bess” was a nickname (Re: Queen Elizabeth) of uncertain beginnings for the English army’s muzzle-loading smoothbore Land Pattern Musket and its many derivatives. This gun was used in the era of the expansion of England and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical importance. It was in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. One could compare the development of this smoothbore, black powder musket to the development of the AR-15 or the Soviet AK-47 and their evolution into modern day army rifles. In its day, the “Brown Bess” was state of the art weaponry.

As the American colonies had progressed from using bows and arrows, swords and battle-axes for solving ideological differences with enemies, the black powder musket was a huge leap forward. It may seem primitive to us modernists with our high-powered hunting rifles and our military’s fast firing assault weapons, but the “Brown Bess” ushered the entire world into a new era of weaponry.

The new “Brown Bess” was loaded through the muzzle — front loaded. The metal ball, 2/4-inches in diameter, weighed about 1 ounce, and was contained in a paper cartridge. The powder was stored in a horn shaped object. When the ball struck the human body at a relatively high velocity, it tore a large hole in the victim.

The “Brown Bess” was replacing the matchlock that would misfire in half of its shots. The flintlock was no great improvement in accuracy, but its newer technology considerably reduced the misfires. Loading speed could determine life or death. The Brown Bess musket could be loaded in 30 seconds and fired by scraping flint against steel. The flint was imbedded in the hammer, and when depressed, created the spark that set off the gunpowder that ejected the ball — somewhat like the discharge of the modern bullet. The older, matchlock alternative required lighting a match to ignite the priming powder. This took two minutes. If the gun was used in wet weather, it might never fire at all.

Even though the “Brown Bess” was modern when compared to the matchlock, the accuracy produced by the smoothbore barrel made good accuracy impossible. If the colonists were shooting at targets fifty yards away, it was rare to hit the target at all. On the other hand, if luck should cause the half-inch metal ball weighing about one ounce to strike an enemy soldier about anywhere in his body, the wound was substantial.

Many gun collectors still find a good number of original “Brown Bess” muskets floating around at gun shows and auctions. The Internet carries reproductions and attachments for that weapon. They aren’t cheap, though.

In order for modern day hunters to experience a challenge in killing wild game such as the whitetail deer, black bear or coyotes, many sportsmen have reverted to hunting with black powder rifles. These new/old “primitive weapons” that fire just one shot at a time have been improved on over the years. Probably the most notable improvement over the “Brown Bess” musket was the addition of rifled barrels to muzzleloaders. Today’s well trained and equipped primitive weapon hunter can easily hit his target at distances up to 300 yards.

Revolutionary War re-enactors prize original “Brown Bess” muskets, but use replicas during ceremonies honoring local Revolutionary War heroes.