early hand cannons used a simple stick fitted into a socket in the breech end to provide a handle. the modern gunstock shape began to evolve with the introduction of the arquebus, a matchlock with a longer barrel and an actual lock mechanism, unlike the hand-applied match of the hand cannon. firing a hand cannon requires careful application of the match while simultaneously aiming; the use of a matchlock handles the application of the slow match, freeing up a hand for support. with both hands available to aim, the arquebus could be braced with the shoulder, giving rise to the basic gunstock shape that has survived for over 500 years. this greatly improved the accuracy of the arquebus, to a level that would not be surpassed until the advent of rifled barrels.