Speed Loading & Firing A Flintlock Smoothbore.

A close friend of mine had a Brown Bess, I don't recall it being any less accurate than my fusil.
Keith.

 

Not so with the smoothbore Bill. Originally smoothbores did not use patching (actually neither did rifles), just a wad or wadding, round ball & another wad or wadding. Just like loading shot. You can use an undersized ball & patch it, but it is still easy to load in a smoothbore with just the ramrod. The military used paper cartridges, which were faster to load. You bite off the end of the cartridge, pour the gunpowder charge down the barrel, push the rest of the paper cartridge down the barrel, prime & fire. Actually the correct military way was to use some of the cartridge powder to prime first, but this is a dangerous way of doing it so I don't recommend it.

Keith.

 

Loading with a cartridge yes, but then this was not an issue for the military considering the way they conducted their battles in the 18th century. Loading with a wad over the powder charge you don't lose any velocity, but you will lose some accuracy. This may not matter if the distance is not too far. Loading a patched ball is far more accurate.
Keith.