Charleville Model 1766
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 1137 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.79 kg
- Introduced
- 1766
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Charleville Model 1766 is a .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore muzzle-loading musket, a lightened refinement of the heavier Modèle 1763 and the standard infantry arm of the French Army in the years before the definitive Modèle 1777. The 1766 pattern thinned the barrel wall, shortened the lock, slimmed the walnut stock and replaced the earlier trumpet-shaped ramrod with a lighter button-head rod retained by a spring under the breech. Shipped in large quantities to the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, it served as one of the principal patterns the first U.S. military muskets were copied from.
Muskets of the 1766 light pattern were among the French arms that France shipped to Washington's Continental Army, and they directly informed the design of the United States Springfield Model 1795.
Often grouped with the Modèle 1763 as the '1763/1766 light pattern'. Weight figure follows George Moller's research (~8.36 lb); modern reproductions are typically heavier at around 10 lb. Barrel and weight vary slightly across the Charleville, Saint-Étienne and Maubeuge arsenals.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Manufacture royale d'armes de Charleville
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- France
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1766 to 1777
- Variant of
- Lightened
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 1137 mm
- Overall length
- 1524 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.79 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Single stage
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- White metal
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 427 m/s
- Effective range
- 46 m
- Maximum range
- 183 m
- Rate of fire
- 3 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Smoothbore barrel
Muzzle loaded
Three barrel bands
Socket bayonet lug
Button head ramrod- Lightened pattern
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 3.79 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1524 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 1137 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Charleville Model 1766
How much does the Charleville Model 1766 weigh?
The Charleville Model 1766 weighs 3.79 kg (8.36 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Charleville Model 1766?
The Charleville Model 1766 is chambered in .69 Caliber Musket Ball.
How long is the Charleville Model 1766?
The Charleville Model 1766 is 1524 mm (60.0 in) long overall, with a 1137 mm (44.8 in) barrel.
Who makes the Charleville Model 1766?
The Charleville Model 1766 is made by Manufacture royale d'armes de Charleville (France).
When was the Charleville Model 1766 introduced?
The Charleville Model 1766 was introduced in 1766 and discontinued in 1777.
How does the Charleville Model 1766 operate?
The Charleville Model 1766 uses a muzzleloader action, and its firing mechanism is flintlock.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- French Army
- 1766
- French Navy and Marines
- 1766
- Continental Army / United States
- 1777
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/charleville-1766' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "charleville-1766", "name": "Charleville Model 1766", "manufacturer": { "id": "charleville-arsenal", "name": "Manufacture royale d'armes de Charleville", "countryCode": "FR", "foundedYear": 1688, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "da2792e9951a7f14a780b870810ae76c3afc7548c0eb8fa6ab172df76abc1c7d" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1766, "barrel_length_mm": 1137, "weight_empty_g": 3790, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}