Use of a musket rest, or forquette, was common in the early days of the hand-held firearm, during the early 17th century. The matchlock musket used in Europe at this time tended to weigh around 6.5kg and be 1.5m long, making it burdensome and awkward to hold up. Added to this was the significant recoil caused upon firing, further necessitating a musket rest.

By the 1630s, advances in firearm design, such as shortening the barrel and reducing the barrel thickness, saw the decline of musket rest-use on European battlefields. Recoil was still a problem, however, and musket rests were still used often until the arrival of smaller calibre muskets later in the 17th century.