Musket rests

[Roland Fricke]

I'm paintign up some musket bases and some of the figures are reloading. Would the musket rest have been hammered into the ground so the musketeer wouldn't have to hole it while reloading? I want to add this to the bases as a scenic.

[Roland Fricke]

Found a video finally that answers that question:
http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/s...res-and-videos

[timurilank]

I would think holding the musket rest while reloading, as in the de Gheyn etchings or placed in the ground in front of the shooter would depend on the circumstances.

Reloading while advancing forward would necessitate keeping the musket rest ready to be repositioned. Maintaining a defensive position, say siege, then "hammering the musket rest" into the ground may help.

For variety, I would use both possibilities.

[Alan Lauder]

My memory of musket drill is that the rest is held with your left hand alongside the stock while loading and priming - so, I would be inclined to think it would look a bit odd to have rests stuck into the ground.

Keeping the rest in your left hand makes it easier when it comes to remounting the musket on the rest in preparation for the order to fire (because you fit the fork on the rest to the stock then lower them together - see plate 33 in above link - rather than having to lower a heavy musket down past its point of balance onto the narrow mouth of the fork on the rest).

It also means you are ready to change posture at a moments notice rather than having to reach out and grab your rest. And, avoid the sergeant jabbing you in the butt with his halberd for mucking up!

Then you give them hot stuffe Those were the days.