like most european nations the scots in this period began to convert from the bow to gunpowder firearms. handguns were present in scottish armies in small numbers from the fifteenth century and there are increasingly frequent references to handguns and arquebus in records. an account of the scottish vanguard at haddon rig in 1542 suggests that half the troops were missile men and half of those were arquebusiers. equal proportions of missile to melee troops seems to have been an aim of scottish commanders for most of the century, although it was not always possible in the field. the main source of firearms were the french, who seem to have extensively rearmed the scottish after the english invasions of the rough wooing.