In a situation where there might be Hand-to-hand fighting, the Pennsylvania rifle was too delicate to use as a club. Striking it against anything could cause the stock to break. The long thin wrought iron barrel was relatively soft could be easily bent. Frontiersmen knew this and were careful not to damage their main hunting weapon. In battle, it took twice as long to reload a Pennsylvania rifle as it did the Brown Bess musket. Worse, due to the barrel length, the shooter almost had to stand up to carefully measure the powder, load the ball and patch, and tamp it down with a ramrod. It is no wonder Pennsylvania riflemen hid behind trees so as not to expose themselves to enemy fire. The main weapon during the Revolutionary war was the musket on both sides. Fewer than 10% of the American soldiers carried a long rifle.