I'm currenty reading Nosworthy's book on American Civil War strategy and tactics, and the author takes a moment to describe the post-Napoleonic development of the rifle musket, describing the Delvigne musket (the smooth ball would be dropped down the rifle barrel and then tapped down to fit smugly), Thouvenin's carabine à tige, and then the Minié rifle.
Delvigne's design sounds very simple, and although the rifle itself was not the most reliable of firearms (especially in the hot climate of Algeria, where it saw much action), use of the rifle helped inspire further work and innovation. What if a simple rifle-musket was developed for widespread use and deployed 50 years earlier than OTL, in time for the American Revolution? A century, just at the tail end of the Spanish Succession war? Two centuries, in the midst of the Thirty Years' War?
Delvigne's design sounds very simple, and although the rifle itself was not the most reliable of firearms (especially in the hot climate of Algeria, where it saw much action), use of the rifle helped inspire further work and innovation. What if a simple rifle-musket was developed for widespread use and deployed 50 years earlier than OTL, in time for the American Revolution? A century, just at the tail end of the Spanish Succession war? Two centuries, in the midst of the Thirty Years' War?