Flintlock

Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century.

Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with black-powder shooting enthusiasts.

French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made a firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610.

[2] Their cost and delicacy limited their use; for example around 1662, only one in six firearms used by the British royal army was a snaphaunce, the rest being matchlocks.

Flintlock firearms differed from the then more common and cheaper to manufacture matchlock arms in that they were fired by the spark of the flint against the powder charge rather than by the direct application of a lighted length of cord or (as it was then called) "match".

This was particularly important with men armed with muskets guarding artillery trains where a lighted cord ("match") would have been a dangerous fire hazard.

Various types were in use by elite infantry, scouts, artillery guards (as noted), and private individuals in European armies throughout most of the 16th and 17th centuries, though matchlocks continued to overwhelmingly outnumber them.

While it is known that the Dutch were the first power to adopt the flintlock as the standard infantry weapon, the exact chronology of the transition is uncertain.

These flintlocks were in use alongside older firearms such as matchlocks, wheellocks, and miquelet locks for nearly a hundred years.

The last major European power to standardize the flintlock was the Holy Roman Empire, when in 1702 the Emperor instituted a new regulation that all matchlocks were to be converted or scrapped.

Compared to the earlier matchlock, flintlocks could be reloaded roughly twice as fast, misfired far less often, and were easier to use in various environments due to the fact that they did not require a lit match.

This system was improved in the 1770s by Colonel Patrick Ferguson and 100 experimental rifles used in the American Revolutionary War.

[9] The Hall rifles and carbines were loaded using a combustible paper cartridge inserted into the upward tilting breechblock.

Even though they have long been considered obsolete, flintlock weapons continue to be produced today by manufacturers such as Pedersoli, Euroarms, and Armi Sport.

Flintlocks were far more complicated to manufacture than simple matchlocks, thus less-developed countries continued to use the latter into the mid 19th century, long after Europe had made the switch in the late 17th.

[10] The Sinhalese Kingdoms locally produced flintlock mechanisms for long-barreled muskets known as the Bondikula known for its unique bifurcated butt and heavy ornamentation.

But matchlocks remained prominent until the mid-19th century, and the Southeast Asian states generally lacked the ability to natively produce the flintlock.

[15] Flintlocks may be any type of small arm: long gun or pistol, smoothbore or rifle, muzzleloader or breechloader.

The smallest would fit into a typical pocket or a hand warming muff and could easily be carried by women.

Flintlock muskets tended to be of large caliber and usually had no choke, allowing them to fire full-caliber balls.

Based on the Jäger rifle, but with a much longer barrel, these were exceptionally accurate for their time, and had an effective range of approximately 250 m (820 ft).

"[19] The Jezail was a military long flintlock rifle, developed near and popular throughout Afghanistan, India, Central Asia and parts of the Middle East.

Notable are the Puckle gun, Mortimer,[21] Kalthoff, Michele Lorenzoni, Abraham Hill, Cookson pistols,[22] the Jennings repeater and the Elisha Collier revolver.

Some armies attempted to remedy this by using a leather cover over the lock mechanism, but this proved to have only limited success.

Some modern flintlock users will still place a leather cover over the frizzen while loading as a safety measure to prevent this from happening.

The black powder used in flintlocks would quickly foul the barrel, which was a problem for rifles and for smooth bore weapons that fired a tighter fitting round for greater accuracy.

Leaving an air gap in between the powder and the round (known as "short starting") was very dangerous, and could cause the barrel to explode.

Although paper cartridges were safer to handle than loose powder, their primary purpose was not safety related at all.

As a result of the flintlock's long active life, it left lasting marks on the language and on drill and parade.

Terms such as: "lock, stock and barrel", "going off half-cocked" and "flash in the pan" remain current in English.