There is no known Ranger uniform in existence today. In all probability, when the Rangers were disbanded the soldiers had little clothing, and they wore their uniforms until they were worn out.

The uniform with which the Corps was issued closely resembled that worn by the British regulars and other Provincial Corps raised in Canada. Charles Lefferts stated that it consisted of:

...dark green coats faced with scarlet and lined with the same, a waistcoat of green cloth, and Buckskin Indian leggings reaching from the ankle to the waist...their caps were almost skull caps of black jacket leather with a black cockade on the left side and a brass plate in front with the letters GR and the words Butler's Rangers. Their belts were of buff leather and crossed at the breast where they were held in place by a brass plate marked in the same manner and with the same words as the cap plate..

It is unlikely, though, that the description of the cap plate is accurate, for distinctive regimental cap badges did not come into general use in the British Army until after 1800, which leads to some divergence of opinion as to whether there was a helmet plate, whether the cartridge pouch plate was worn, whether a design was painted on the front plate, or whether there was anything worn on the cap itself. Lefferts must have confused the badge attached to the flap of the cartridge pouch. It resembles the modern-day cap badges worn by Canadian soldiers. It was basically the same pattern carried on the cartridge pouch used by the Guards regiments, but the double annulus was inscribed with the words, "Butler's Rangers." All ranks carried a knife of some sort on the waist belt. A haversack was worn on the back and a bedroll was tied to the back of one of the cross straps. In the winter, they wore the typical blanket coat.

It would appear that Butler bought the clothing and accoutrements in England on his personal credit and would submit a claim against the regimental accounts when the issue took place. This would have been risky business, for if the ships carrying the clothing were lost, or the shipment intercepted by the enemy, then the cost would not have been recoverable. In 1781, for example, Butler had to be advanced credit for £3,000 for this type of expense.

The uniform would have been patterned on that of a British line regiment.

Only one reference to clothing and accoutrements has surfaced in original documents, and it mentions:

In existence today, although not in great numbers, are cartridge pouch plates, cross belt plates and buttons. A number of museums and historical societies have examples of these brass plates and pewter buttons. A cartridge pouch is owned by the St Catharines Historical Museum, and the Niagara Parks Commission has a black cockade in its possession.

The cartridge pouch plate was of the standard design used by British Guards units, with the words "Butler's Rangers" engraved within the annulus. The cross belt plate was of standard design, with the Royal Cypher and the words "Butler's Rangers" engraved. Both were in brass. The pewter buttons simply had the words "Butler's Rangers" in two lines.

Carleton expected that the men would bring with them their own muskets, but when the companies began being mustered it was soon discovered that if they did have their own arms, they were in woeful condition. The Commanding Officer at Niagara issued the regulation Brown Bess, the standard issue to the British Army for decades.

The British issued four versions of the Brown Bess during the Revolutionary period in North America: the Long-Land Musket, and three variants of the Short-Land Musket. These were smooth-bore flintlock muskets.

By the Revolution, British muskets were fitted with a firing action called a "flintlock." It had been designed in the early 1600s, and the Brown Bess was equipped with a flintlock in which a spring-loaded, rotating cock would drive a flint against a frizzen creating a spark which ignited powder in a small priming pan. It resultant lash ignited a main charge in the breech of the barrel through a touchhole.

The Brown Bess was muzzle loaded, heavy, and its length made it unwieldy, It had no rear sight, which is an indication of its accuracy and use. Its ball could carry some 300 yards, but was not very effective beyond 150 yards.

The cartridge propellant was black powder, and temperature and humidity would affect performance greatly. Repeated firing would foul the barrel, making reloading difficult. The result was that the ball was usually .05 to .10 inches less than the calibre of the barrel, with resultant gas leakage as the ball travelled the length of the barrel.

Interestingly, British and Canadian forces still refer to live small-arms ammunition as "ball ammunition."

The soldier carried prepared cartridges in a pouch slung over the shoulder. The cartridge was a measured amount of loose powder (164 grains) and a round ball wrapped in paper. The soldier would normally tear the paper with his teeth, tap a small portion of powder into the flashpan of the lock, and then pour the remaining powder into the muzzle, followed by the ball. He might leave the paper wrapping around the ball to act as a gas seal, or tamp it into the barrel after the bullet as a protective wadding. He seated the total charge against the breech using his rammer. When he wished to fire the musket, he pulled the cock back to full-cock and pulled the trigger.

The regular British infantryman was trained to deliver by word of command one shot every fifteen seconds. The musket was not accurate at any great distance, inducing Colonel George Hanger, a Revolutionary veteran, commenting on the performance of the Brown Bess during the Revolution, to write:

A soldier's musket, if not exceedingly ill-bored...will strike the figure of a man at eighty yards; it may even at 100; but a soldier must be very unfortunate indeed who shall be wounded...at 150 yards, provided that his antagonist aims at him...I do maintain...that no man was ever killed at 200 yards by a common soldier's musket by the person who aimed at him.

Although there are records that the Rangers trained to the regulars' standard, it is unlikely that they ever reached this frequency in combat.

The musket left a significant smoke signature when fired, so that in ambush the location of the soldier was quickly identified. When fired in mass, the smoke could quickly mask the enemy, and this factor was taken into account when soldiers formed up into company and battalion formations.

Rapid, sustained fire would heat the barrel and furniture to a degree that the soldier could not hold the musket with a bare hand. There is historical evidence that soldiers would wrap their hand with a rag, or wear a glove, to prevent burning their fingers and palms.

All versions of the Brown Bess could be fitted with a socket bayonet, but it was not fixed until after firing, as loading would have been very difficult. The basic pattern had a 4" socket and a 17" triangular blade and were mounted on a top barrel stud so that when locked on the blade should always be on the right of the barrel.

Early British muskets carried a variety of markings denoting the manufacturer and ownership. In 1764 the names of contractors and dates of manufacture were ordered dropped from the lock plates and only the word "TOWER" was allowed to be engraved or stamped on muskets. That word is sometimes used in the name of musket. Ownership was designated by the Royal Cypher, "GR", and a broad arrow.

The Brown Bess had a life expectancy of between 12 and 15 years, depending on care and use.

The Long-Land Musket. This pattern was in common used during the French-Indian Wars and the Revolution. It came into use about 1762, and traced its development back to the first models issued in the 1720s.

The Short-Land Musket. This was a shorter version of the Long-Land Musket and was in use as early as 1762, and in 1768 was officially adopted as the infantry small arm. Other changes included a flattened side plate, a shorter butt tang, and a straighter lock. There were at least three variants of this model.

There are many references to "Indian" or "Trade Muskets" in the records, and some of these may have been issued to the Rangers, but since the calibres varied (.60), if issued, it would have produced some ammunition supply problems.

With the development of the triangular bayonet, swords (hangers) were abolished for most infantrymen, although at the end of the Revolution, officers and sergeants still carried them. No known sword or hanger used by the Rangers is known to exist. British swords at the time of the Revolution had a variety of forms, but most had a blade of about 30" and a brass hilt.

The Halberd was a combination of a battle-axe-type of blade with a spear above it, mounted on a six to seven foot pole. It served as a symbol of rank for sergeants, and was almost exclusively used in garrison. The Rangers may have used them in garrison, but no reference to them in contemporary documents has been discovered.

Spontoons were essentially an officer's spear and served as a badge of rank and a semi-weapon. They were rarely used by the British in North America after 1755, and a musket and bayonet appeared to be the officer's favoured weapon, other than the sword. Spontoons were popular in the American army. A sample British spontoon had a blade of 9 1/2" long which unscrewed at the cross bar, with a base measuring 4 1/4".

By 1779, Butler had two small three-pounders issued to the Corps. He was unable to transport larger pieces of ordnance with any speed, and although he welcomed the issue, the guns were of little practical use if the enemy was entrenched or in stockades. Caldwell had small cannon with him at Sandusky in 1782, but there is no record of their being in action.

The guns were commonly referred to as "Grasshoppers." Some literature refers to the gun as a "Portable 3 Pounder" while most technical material uses the nomenclature "the Pattison Light 3 pounder," named after its designer, Colonel James Pattison, RA. It was a light brass three pounder mounted on a carriage which had its own pattern of elevating screw, ammunition boxes, drag ropes, tampeon, sponge, wadhook and cartouche. It was fitted with shafts or a limber, but it is not clear whether the shafts were for horses or a means of carrying by the men of the detachment.

The gun weighed 169 lbs, and had an overall length of 3 feet. Test firing of the gun in England in 1774, with a charge of 6 ounces, produced flight ranges between 421 and 950 yards, depending on elevation, and a ricochet which gave an extreme range of 1,000 yards.

The gun was serviced by a detachment of twelve men: the detachment commander, a man to load, a man to ram home the charge and sponge, a man to serve the vent, a man to fire, a man to carry the slow match and water bucket, a man to supply the ammunition, and four men to handle the drag ropes.

It could be carried complete by men, or stripped down on pack saddles on two or three horses. Bateaux could be modified to transport the gun completely assembled, so that it could be rolled off the bow of the craft, or fired in support of assault water landings. Each gun had four ammunition boxes and two pack saddles. The ammunition boxes were usually carried on horses, one on each side, or on a litter slung between two horses led one before the other.

There is no record of men from the Royal Artillery accompanying the Rangers on expedition, so it may be that Butler had his men trained in the employment and use of the guns.

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