Earlier development of the rifle musket?

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?
 
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?

??? Like the British rifle companies in the Napoleonic wars ?
 
??? Like the British rifle companies in the Napoleonic wars ?

But the Baker rifle had a lower rate of fire than standard muskets which means it couldn't be used as a standard infantry weapon. A Minié rifle musket has the same rate of fire as a smoothbore and requires no special technological developments but the idea.
 
??? Like the British rifle companies in the Napoleonic wars ?

But the Baker rifle had a lower rate of fire than standard muskets which means it couldn't be used as a standard infantry weapon. A Minié rifle musket has the same rate of fire as a smoothbore and requires no special technological developments but the idea.
xchen's on the mark here. I'm wondering about earlier use of rifle muskets as a standard infantry firearm, not just something limited to skirmishers.
 
But the Baker rifle had a lower rate of fire than standard muskets which means it couldn't be used as a standard infantry weapon. A Minié rifle musket has the same rate of fire as a smoothbore and requires no special technological developments but the idea.
The Minié rifle does seem like one of those things that could have been invented a lot sooner than it was in OTL.
 

67th Tigers

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Well, the rifled musket requires a great deal of training to utilise properly, and is no better than a smoothbore at ca. 100yds. Beyond 100yds it's actually a bit worse unless the troops are properly trained to alter their sights &c.

The British in the AWI had adapted to the problem of rifle fire in the correct manner, move quickly through the killing zone in a open or extended order and get to bayonet point ASAP. The ability of a 18th century rifleman to pick out a target is very limited indeed (see Griffith's Forward into Battle)

The major improvement in ACW firepower wasn't the rifling, but rather the introduction of the percussion cap. Simply by replacing the unreliable flintlock the firepower increased dramatically; 25-33% simply by removing the large numbers of misfires, more by the fact we can aim a caplock properly (something that's difficult with a flintlock, be it a musket or rifle, due to the flash). Few if any troops were trained to utilise the rifle (and none before late 1863), and so the war was effectively fought with percussion muskets.
 
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