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Contents. Matchlock. A matchlock or firelock[ 1 ] is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with their finger. This firing mechanism was an improvement over the ...
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. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier ...
Snaphance. A snaphance or snaphaunce is a type of firearm lock in which a flint struck against a striker plate above a steel pan ignites the priming powder which fires the gun. [1] It is the mechanical progression of the wheellock firing mechanism, and along with the miquelet lock and doglock are predecessors of the flintlock mechanism.
A firelock is a firearm in which the priming is ignited by sparks. [3][4][5] More specifically, it refers to the mechanism or lock of such firearms. It may also refer to a gun's lock which uses slow match to ignite the powder charge. [6][7] The matchlock was a lever mechanism that simplified the ergonomics of firing.
Flintlock mechanism. The flintlock mechanism is a type of lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a " flintlock " (without the word mechanism). The term is also used for the weapons themselves as a whole, and not just the lock mechanism.
Snaplock. A snaplock is a type of lock for firing a gun or is a gun fired by such a lock. A snaplock ignites the (usually muzzle-loading) weapon's propellant by means of sparks produced when a spring-powered cock strikes a flint down on to a piece of hardened steel. The snaplock is therefore similar to the snaphaunce (sometimes classed as an ...
With the Italian or Roman style miquelet lock, the mainspring pushes down on the toe of the hammer and the sears engaged the hammer on both the toe and heel. Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint ...
The earliest lock was the Matchlock that used a match to ignite the powder. These were smoothbore and muzzle-loaded. The Harquebus (Arquebus) and muskets prior to the 17th century are two examples of a matchlock [5] The Wheellock, was developed around 1500, used a spring loaded wheel to create an ignition. Like the matchlock, wheel-locks were ...