At the point of its introduction the 2 groove with belted ball was at the cutting edge of military rifle design. It impressed the Russian army enough for them to make it their standard specialist rifle and have them made in Belgium as direct copies. A few years later French research produced assorted expanding bullet methods which eased loading but the Brunswick remained in Indian army front line service into the 1870s and production resumed after the Pattern 1853 was introduced in order to maintain stocks for Indian regiments who were still using the Brunswick. So clearly not a bad rifle at all. Popular with the Indian troops who were trained and experienced professionals.
Looking at it as a 2 groove rifle rather than as a belted ball one, it was trialled with a variety of winged conical bullets and the Russians added new longer range sights and replaced the belted ball with a winged conical (Kulikov) which served them in Crimea with their Finnish marksmen.
Equally, as a 2 groove rifle it could take Pattern 1851 'Minié' bullets and were trialled with them in Britain and indeed could accept any expanding bullet capable of being used for a 0,690" bore rifle musket. So it had assorted possibilities to stand with period rifle muskets. As to what was actually stuffed down the pipe in America to fly out with a bang I leave to the cognoscenti of the American Difference of Opinion War, but would be fascinated to know myself.
Overall a short step behind a period modern rifle musket certainly but quite serviceable, and Barnetts sent them with Pattern 1853 type sights in place of the standard fixed or two position ones. The Good Lord alone knows what bullet they were set for, if for anything in particular at all. Given the typical actually used ranges by the ill trained American troops and officers I should prefer to give them the original belted ball which would have the flattest trajectory up to 300 yards.
Given good ammunition I should not feel aggrieved were I issued one in good order.
Bringing the