Comment by AngryData
7 days ago
They didn't just have muskets at that time, repeating firearms were just too expensive to outfit entire armies with them. When you can supply 10 guys with muskets for the same cost as 1 guy with a repeating firearm, you pick the 10 men even if the 1 guy can fire just as fast.
Are you sure?
https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/slideshow/Firearms-o...
The Kalthoff repeater was invented in the 1600s. Here's a Forgotten Weapons video on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghKrbNpqQoY
There is also the Cookson repeater available in the late 1600s. And in 1756 was advertised for sale in the Boston Gazette.
Multiple founding fathers, including George Washington, were also offered purchase of repeating firearms, some for use in the military, some for personal usage. But of course this is still before interchangeable parts so production is of course still expensive and repairs must be done be a highly skilled gunsmith and not just some apprentice blacksmith.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girardoni_air_rifle