The Black Powder Cartridge era is generally considered pre-1899. This will include Pinfire, Rimfire, and Centerfires. When the cartride came along it was a boon to shooting and was developed in conjunction with the Volcanic Repeating Arms, both Pistol and Rifle, developed by Smith and Wesson while working at a company which would later become Winchester (For a better explanation of this see Manufactuer's Section under Winchester). The Volcanic cartridge wasn't really a cartridge at all but rather a lead bullet with powder packed in it and a primer inserted in the end. Next another man working at the same company, B. Tyler Henry, developed a lever action rifle based on the Volcanic repeating arm that Smith & Wesson had developed a few years earlier, it was chambered for the newly developed 44 cal. rimfire cartridge , and the rest, as they say, is history. There are also Muskets in this section but by this point in the evolution of firearms the term Musket came to mean, a style of military weapon, generally with the stock extending almost to the end of the barrel,as opposed to the civilian version with the forearm extending only far enough to facilitate placement of the off hand, not whether it had a smooth bore or not.