Puckle Guns

Puckle Guns
Belongs to	Most Western Factions
Type	Foot Artillery
Guns	4
Firepower	0
Range	150
Accuracy	40
Reload	25
Morale	3
Tech requirement	None
Produced from	Ordnance Board or higher
Shot Types	Musket Balls
Cost	1140 SP/510 MP
Upkeep	280 MP
Turns to Train	1
Unit Cap	None

Puckle Guns are a type of foot artillery in Empire: Total War.

Description

The Puckle gun is a tripod-mounted repeating heavy musket or small cannon, capable of rapid fire.

It achieves this by using pre-loaded breech chambers that are rotated into line with the barrel, fired and then a new chamber is positioned for the next shot. All this is achieved mechanically, by the operator revolving a handle at the back of the piece. As long as loaded magazines are available for the piece, a puckle gun can be kept in rapid fire action!

Historically, James Puckle’s “defence gun” was not a huge success, partly because the engineering of 1718 simply wasn't up to the task of producing components with fine tolerances. His gun had promise, though, as it could fire shots around three times faster than a well-trained fusilier. One odd feature of the design was the two versions offered to potential customers: a round barrel fired conventional bullets for shooting at Christian (but not Protestant) enemies, while a second barrel was offered that fired square bullets (that allegedly did more damage) for use against Turks and similar unwelcome infidels. The British Royal Navy never bought any, and other users were equally reluctant to part with their money. Puckle’s career as a gunsmith ended in failure for him and his investors.

General Information

Puckle Guns are unique artillery, firing musket rounds at a high rate rather than the Round Shot, Canister Shot, and Shrapnel Shot most foot artillery fields. They make up for their lack of firepower with a very fast reload rate. Although they deal relatively ineffectual damage to infantry regiments, Puckle Guns are deadly against cavalry: their high fire rate and very low reload times make it near-impossible for cavalry to charge them without taking heavy casualties. They also have a range of 150 allowing them to fire normal musket rounds at a faster rate and over a longer range than even the best riflemen - albeit less accurately.

Gallery

Puckles produce massive amounts of gunsmoke when in action

Puckle Guns in action