• 1 Fowlers: Guns of about 20 guage with smooth bored barrels,which could shoot shot, buckshot, buck and ball combination loads, or round ball loads.  they had the advantage of being adaptable to many types of game hunting, and this type, not the rifle was the most prevalent type of civilian firearm until the time of the Civil War.
• 2 Light Muskets: Long guns having the stock strength of a military musket, but a reduced bore size or shortened length, to be used by light infantry, ranger, and Indian military units.

• 3 Muskets: Heavy, long smooth bore guns, fitted with bayonets, which were primarily designed for use by line military units and grenadiers. These were about 16 guage to 10 guage in bore and also fired different types of ammunition from buck and ball to 1 ounce round ball.

• 4 Shotguns: Smoothbore guns of shorter barrel length, sometimes set in two parallel barrel arrangements, and frequently having a predetermined choke, or narrowing of the barrel, near the muzzle, to keep the shot pattern tight. The choke, if employed, made it dangerous to fire round ball in these guns, Making them useful only for shot and buckshot of small diameter.

• 5 Rifles: Guns of relatively small calibre, compared to smoothbores, with engraved twists in the interior barrel wall, which imparted a spin to the exiting ball, making it accurate to a longer distance. A very fast twist made the use of elongated "bullets" practical

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