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GLOSSARY Accouterment, Accoutrement — Any article, other than weapons, carried outside a soldier's clothing. Ammunition — In small arms it is a unit composed of the projectile, propellent or main charge, and priming . See also Cartridge. Armory — A place for the manufacture of arms. Sometimes erroneously used to describe a place for storing arms. In reference to modern armories , the term now denotes a storage and meeting facility for military reserve units. Arsenal — A place for storing arms, ammunition , and military stores. From the second decade of the 19th century , repairs and modifications of arms and the manufacture of ammunition were sometimes undertaken at American arsenals. Assembly — A collection ofmutually operating parts housed together to form a single unit. Astrical Arch — An arch that extends upward from squared corners or a rectangle. Found on old clocks and tombstones in the eastern United States and often used for the front profiles of American long rifles' lockplates of the Revolutionary War period. Barrel — The metal tube designed to contain the exploding charge and concentrate the force of the gases generated by the explosion to provide initial velocity and proper direction of the projectile being discharged. Barrel Bands — Metal strips that fasten the barrel to the stock by encircling both these components. Bastard — Unusual; inferior; not of standard or accepted design. Battery — See alsoFrizzen. Bayonet — A thrusting weapon attached to the muzzle end of a shoulder arm. Blueing — A process of artificialrusting used to color metallic components in shades of blue or black. See also Heat Blueing. Blunderbuss — A shoulder arm with a large-diameter smooth bore and a flared muzzle. Bore — A hole extending longitudinally through the gun barrel. This term also used to designate the bore diameter. See also Gauge Breech — The rear of a barrel. Breech Block — That portion of a firearm mechanism that closes the rear of the bore against the force of the charge. Breech Loader — A firearm that is loaded at the breech with the components to be fired. Breech Pin — Obsolete term for Breech Plug. Breech Plug — A cylindrical plug screwed into the barrel's breech to close the bore. A wedge-shaped lug is usually integral with the rear of this plug. There is an integral tang above this, which extends rearward and is usuallypierced for a vertical screw that secures the rear of the barrel to the stock. Bridle — A lock component that provides support for another component to rotate between it and the lockplate. There may be none, one, or two bridles on a flintlock: one supports the tumbler and sear; the other supports the frizzen. Browning — A process of artificial rusting used to color the ferrous metallic components in shades of brown. Butt — The most rearward portion of a shoulder arm. Also used to describe that portion of a firearm's stock behind the wrist. Butt Plate — A metal reinforcing plate used to cover and protect the butt of a shoulder arm. Caliber, Calibre — Usually used to designate the nominal diameter of the ball or bullet used by a firearm, as expressed in hundredths of an inch. Sometimes used to designate the actual bore diameter of afirearm. Carbine — Generally considered to be a shortened form of rifle or musket designed for use by mounted troops. Some British 18th-century carbines were the same length as infantry muskets; they were defined by their smaller-diameter bores and the personnel to whom they were issued. Cartridge — A container with a predetermined quantity of powder and also usually one or more balls or bullets . The earliest cartridgeswere leather-covered wood containers of powder that were suspended from a shoulder sling called a bandoleer. Later cartridges, during the flintlock period, usually consisted of a generally cylindrical paper shell containing the powder and one or more balls. This was broken open, a small amount of powder used to prime the arm, and the remainder of the powder and the balls were loaded into the bore. Catch — The part of a mechanism used to secure any other part in a desired position. Chamber — The part of a bore, or of the firearm mechanism, that contains the charge. Cheek Piece — A raised section, usually on the left side of the buttstock, against which the cheek isrested during the sighting and firing of a shoulder arm. 514 GLOSSARY Cheek Recess — A depression, usually in the left side of the buttstock, in which the cheek is rested during the sighting and firing of a shoulder arm. Cheek Rest — See Cheek Piece. Cock...

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