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Caliber And Heat U.S. Muskets were 69 caliber for the War of 1812 with 72 caliber barrels. Standard rate of fire was 3 rounds per minute . . . And although you could fire faster, this was generally discouraged. The reasoning for this is not actually what you might think. Firing black powder generates a lot of heat. After firing 75 rounds the average barrel temperature of a Springfield rifle is 144 degrees! At that temperature it's not possible to operate the weapon without heavy gloves. The large caliber size was also the result of heating. Smaller caliber weapons would have been received favorably because it meant troopers could carry more rounds and last longer in combat, but gunpowder heating prevented that. Experiments with small caliber weapons in the early 1800's showed that 45 caliber weapons heated up to 210 degrees after only 50 rounds. Finally smoke was a problem. If units fired faster than three rounds a minute, they would generate more smoke that could be dissipated (except in high winds . . . But then it was difficult to load anyway.) Once powder clouds became too thick and the target was obscured, firing became much less effective.
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