Charleville muskets had a smoothbore barrel. Rifles were more accurate than muskets because of their rifling, but military commanders favored smoothbores on the battlefield. Both types used black powder which caused fouling. Because the bullet was a tighter fit in the barrel (weapons), Rifles became very difficult to load after a few shots. Early on, the longer range and better accuracy of the rifle was also considered to be of little value on a battlefield that was quickly obscured by black powder smoke. Like all smooth bore muskets, the Charleville flintlock musket was only accurate to about against a column of men, or against a single man-sized target.