Description
A replica bandolier for a musketeer during the 17th century in Europe.
All is handmade
History about it down below, text from Wikipedia
By the late 15th century, the earliest viable handheld firearms in Europe were the arquebus fitted with a matchlock mechanism. The user kept his shot in a leather pouch and his powder in a flask with a volumetric spout. The spout was calibrated to deliver the proper charge for the user’s arquebus. With the advent of the heavy arquebus (later known as a musket) in the early 16th century, a spout large enough to measure the required powder was impractical. Furthermore, trying to double or triple charge from a flask was time consuming and could create a “missed” charge. A bandolier from whence would hang several little flasks each filled with a dedicated premeasured charge was the solution to this problem. Since these were loaded prior to going into battle, the musketeer could take the time to accurately measure each charge.
The bandolier was fitted with small wooden bottles called charges. The charges were recommended to be turned from a single piece of wood; a two-piece design (tube with a bottom) could come apart and metal charges make too much noise. The number of charges was determined from the size of the musket, that is, the weight of the ball it fired. Each musketeer was issued a pound of lead from which they would cast their ammunition. For instance, if they had a 1⅓ ounce (583.1 gr (37.78 g)) musket ball, a pound of lead would provide them with 12 balls, hence, 12 charges. A “two-ouncer” would have eight charges. Throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, the number of charges varied between 8 and 16.
Additionally, the bandolier would be fitted with a bullet pouch and a priming flask. It might also carry an oil flask for the lock mechanism, a match keeper,or other accessories.
