Percussion Cap Muzzle Loader

The final evolution of the muzzleloader; to load, pour some black powder down the barrel, then place a lead barrel at the muzzle. Use the included ramrod to ram the ball to the bottom of the barrel. Place the hammer into half-cock, place a percussion cap onto the cone. Pull the hammer into full cock, aim, and fire.

• Enfield 1853
• Springfield 1861

Percussion Cap Breech Loader

This type of rifle was short-lived as the earliest cartridges didn't include percussion caps. So much like percussion cap muzzleloaders, the percussion cap has to be placed on the cone after inserting the cartridge into the breech. Still faster to load than a muzzleloader.

• Burnside Carbine
• Smith Carbine

Trapdoor Rifles

Conversions of earlier muzzleloaders; the breech is a simple latch at the base of the barrel that is lifted in order to insert a round.

• Snider-Enfield
• Springfield 1884

Falling Block Rifles

Purpose-built breech-loading rifles; each breechblock is operated slightly differently, but all of them are single-shot weapons where the user opens the breech, inserts a round, closes the breech, cocks the hammer, and fires.

• Martini Henry Rifle
• Quackenbush 1886
• Rolling Block Creedmoor
• Rolling Block Rifle
• Sharps 1874
• Werndl-Holub 1877
• Winchester 1885

Break Action Rifles

Break Action rifles are similar to break action shotguns, but they are much longer ranged and usually fire very large rounds.

• .577 Nitro Express Safari Rifle
• H&H .405 Remington Double Barrel