Not much says ‘Pike & Shotte’ like muskets rests (well apart
from voluminous trousers and flamboyant befeathered hats).
Therefore, we just had to make a pack that contained a variety
of musket rests and the less common swine feathers. Early
seventeenth century muskets were long and very heavy – their
long barrel which ensured range and hitting power had to be made
thickly enough to ensure safety for the firer. So long and
unwieldy were they that musketeers were always equipped with a
bandolier or flask for their powder, and a musket rest was
standard issue. The drill manuals of the early period show how
the musketeer used to his weapon and rest in a delicate series
of manouevres, ensuring both efficiency and safety in the rank
and file. A musketeer would have welcomed the rest as though it
may appear an encumbrance as in any period of war there is a lot
of waiting around. Waiting in the files with a very heavy musket
was not ideal, and for sentinel duty a rest was just what was
needed. There are few finer sig