In our previous blog, we mentioned the fact that gunpowder has changed the course of history, and as inventions go, ranks among the most influential and life-altering. After all, it created victories for armies that otherwise would have lost. While it's hard to say what would have happened without gunpowder, it remains a powerful force that continues to influence history today.

RailScales has created and now manufactures the best rail covers for your firearm. These small handguard rails are used to cover your gun's rail, and they add in texture, grip, and heat protection. We've designed these tactical grips to be easy to attach, but hard to accidentally be removed. They come in a variety of colors to meet your style and match your gun. Below, we'll continue our look at the history of gunpowder. Shop our rail grips online today!

GUNPOWDER IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Once the secret of gunpowder got out, it found the hands of everyone, from the Arabs to the Europeans. Records of gunpowder usage appear in India, Korea, and Japan around this time as well. Innovation then began by these other cultures, as well as refinement. The Arabs created a hand cannon, and Europeans blasted arrows from tubes and hand cannons. Gunpowder changed siege warfare and, in essence, ended it.

By the mid fourteenth century, the use of gunpowder was commonplace in the on-going battles between the English and the French during the Hundred Years' War. The Turks utilized gunpowder to successfully take Constantinople in 1453, effectively ending the last vestiges of the old Roman Empire. Gone were the days of hiding behind castle walls.

At some point, someone invented the handgun around the middle of the fifteenth century, which was basically the idea of the hand cannon but shrunk down. These guns created a new way to fight using foot soldiers, or infantrymen. Germany began to develop the arquebus, which was a long gun, or musket, invented to penetrate armor. These heavy guns, while useful, were heavy to carry and difficult to fire, especially while in hand-to-hand combat battles. New methods of warfare had to be invented, which led to the creation of an army.

While gunpowder was a great invention, it did have some drawbacks. It was rendered useless when it got wet because it wouldn't ignite. The smoke of the gun was a tell-tale sign of where the shooter was hiding, and the compounds themselves tended to corrode metal. Soon, the focus shifted to improving gunpowder for use specifically in guns. The focus also was to improve the gun's accuracy, the speed of the bullet, and the control of the smoke.

The explosive power of gunpowder began to be used for other tasks outside of warfare. It was adopted in mining and road building before dynamite was invented, as it was perfect for breaking up underground rock.

CHANGES TO THE POWDER ITSELF

In the early days, black powder had to be hand-mixed and ground together. Later water-powered devices were employed, but it was still a tedious task. The grain of the gunpowder matters as well for burn rate since a faster burn rate allows the gun to fire quickly. However, the pressure buildup was too much for a small gun. Larger grains were then used to control this pressure. As rifling became commonplace in the mid-19th century, gunpowder began to be burned more slowly.

Innovation continued with the invention of black powder grains that burned progressively faster so that the bullet would start slower and then pick up speed as it exited the gun. This gunpowder was invented in the 1850s by Thomas Rodman in the US Army.

Inevitably, black powder began to be replaced by more stable elements, such as guncotton and nitrocellulose, that burn by decomposing rapidly. This gets rid of the smoke, and coupled with the increase in combustion and speed, the bullet travels much farther. These gunpowder were tweaked even more to solve some minor problems primarily to make it more stable and to control the burn rate more precisely.

CHOOSE RAILSCALES FOR ALL YOUR RAIL MOUNT ACCESSORIES TODAY

RailScales offers the best handguard rails on the market today. Featuring the toughest material on the market that will last, these rail covers are aesthetically-pleasing, and they get the job done of adding in texture, grip, and heat protection. Available in different sizes for a variety of setups, these thin tactical grips come in different colors and are easy to mount and stay put. Many of our customers say that now they don't have to wear gloves while shooting with these tactical grips.

Our small company prides itself on creating a superior product that helps many people shoot better and for longer. If you are looking for rail covers, you won't find any better than those here at RailScales. Visit our website, and order yours today!