Tools of the Trade

   Instructor: Saucy Jack

Pirates would rather force their victims to surrender as opposed to pounding them with cannon which damaged their potential plunder. Pirates preferred to have a victim surrender or the Pirates would come along side the targeted ship and take her by boarding and fighting in hand to hand combat. Some of the favorite pirate weapons are discussed below.

Guns

This weapon was great for shock and aw  when attacking  but only fired one shot without reloading. The gun was then used as a club or was thrown at the enemy while the pirate switch to attack with cutting and bludgeoning weapons.

Types of Guns used were:

Blunderbuss: This  muzzle-loading weapon was devastating at close range. It was a  three foot long gun and had a two inch flared end. The weight was ten to sixteen pounds. Like most guns of the era, it was loaded from the front. It was designed for a large ball or several small balls but was frequently loaded with what ever shrapnel was available such as glass or nails. Whith a powerful recoil, it was usually fired from the hip.

Flintlock pistol: This was a lightweight, portable, personal defense weapon.  It weighed around five pounds and ran up to sixteen inches long. The pistol fired when a flint mounted on the gun's lock slammed forward and sent a spark into a priming pan with a small amount of black powder. The sparked powder pan  ignited additional gun powder wrapped in a paper wadding in the pistol's barrel. This weapon, like most of the time period weapons was loaded from the front of the barrel then rammed home with a ramrod. This was one of the pirate weapons which were used as a club or thrown at the enemy after firing.

Musketoon:   This gun was similar to the blunderbuss in its' operation with the advantage of being a good weapon in close quarters due to the short length.

Musket:  An efficient personal weapon began as a matchlock but later was modified as a flintlock. This five foot long gun weighed twelve to 18 pounds and was used for long range attacks. A muzzle loaded gun took a a powder charge and ball which were tamped down with a ramrod.

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