RANGED WEAPONS - Muskets - primary weapon of the infantry, used by all of the factions

Muskets are used by all the factions, but usually seen only among infantry's riflemen formations - musketeers and among the navy crewmembers. 

A lot of times musketeers will also use a special military "fork" to help them position their weapon, it's a sort of a long wooden stick which is impaled in the ground and then serves the same purpose as a tripod for modern photo cameras :)

It's not mandatory to have these forks, but muskets are quite heavy, so it's easier to fire them this way for their users.

It's also easier to target enemies with a fork, than without it.

After shots are fired, if the enemy is close, they might also be used as a blunt weapon, a club of sorts.

One of the major flaws for those that use muskets is gunpowder. Sometimes it may be provided in bad quality or low quantity, and therefore, even tho a soldier might own a musket, he won't be able to fire effectively. Or he will fire, but the bullet won't fly where it should and won't hit it's target.

Same with rain and water. These weapons need to be protected, some people keep them covered in rags or even some kind of a holster.

There fore, it sometimes takes time for muskets to dry, same with the gunpowder. 

That's the moment when musket-users are endangered the most, since they can't be sure that they will be able to defend themselves effectively against a cavalry charge in the rain, as their weapons might not fire.

Please note that, as You will see it on pictures, or perhaps You've seen it already in the post about Musketeers, riflemen keep prepared packs of ammunition on special belts on their torso, These may look kinda like a simple pepper mill, but in reality contain a bullet, gunpowder and everything else a soldier needs to fire a shot.

These are prepared during camp or rest, and often right before the battle, since without them it would take a lot more time to fire a shot.

Still, firing a musket is already quite complicated and takes time, but it is said that a skilled rifleman  can shoot more than once in a minute. Still, this is the reason why musketeers will be grouped in large formations or a couple of lines on the battlefield - because when the first line will fire, they will be replaced by the line behind them, and so will have time to reload their weapons, while other will keep firing instead.

And an important NOTE!

Cavalry doesn't use muskets, vere rarely at least, and they have their own type of a "musket" - a carvine, which is a bit shorter than a traditional musket.

Tho, musket is used by Dragoons, which are like a "motorised" infantry, they do move on horse, but are supposed to fight like a normal infantry when they'll arive on the battlefield. 

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