The long rifle is an early example of a firearm using rifling (spiral grooves in the bore), which caused the projectile (commonly a round lead ball) to spin around the axis of its motion. This increased the stability of its trajectory and dramatically improved accuracy over contemporary smooth bore muskets, which were cheaper and more common. Rifled firearms saw their first major combat use in the American colonies during the French and Indian War, and later the American Revolution in the eighteenth century. Then War of 1812, Texan Revolution, and American Civil War.