History of Early Firearms

Since before the Middle Ages wars were fought with swords or a similar hand-held blunt weapon. History changed rapidly with the invention of firearms. Hand-held firearms had their beginnings early in the medieval era but they were not perfected until the 16th Century. It was the beginning of the end for the medieval knight in shining armor.

The matchlock, a cumbersome weapon, was the first usable hand-held gun. A strip of match cord that burned very slowly and was used to ignite powder in a flash pan, which in turn ignited powder in the barrel. This sent a lead ball in the general direction the gun was pointed. This system had several obvious and dangerous flaws. The smoldering match cord was a dead giveaway that could lead your enemy right to you at night. Keeping an open flame or spark in the vicinity of the gun powder was very dangerous and resulted accidents. And the matchlock was nowhere near accurate.

The wheel lock was a truly modern firearm that was relatively safe and much more sophisticated than the matchlock. A serrated, spring-loaded wheel rests against a fixed piece of iron pyrite. When the trigger is pulled it releases the tightly wound wheel. This creates sparks which ignite the powder in the lock and projects the ammo. The wheel lock had its short comings, although more reliable, it was also expensive, complicated and difficult to repair and take care of.

The invention of the flintlock gave the average soldier an inexpensive and reliable firearm that was easy to operate. A small piece of flint is attached to the hammer which has a thumb-cocking mechanism. Powder is placed in flash pan and the lock is pulled down to protect it. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer is released. The flint strikes the lock flipping it out of the way of the pan while simultaneously creating a sizable spark. This spark ignites the powder. Gun manufacturers perfected mass production during this time as the flintlock was widely used.

This design prevailed for nearly two hundred years until the introduction of cartridges, repeating rifles and pistols which added firepower as well as accuracy and range. They put the flintlock out of business but gun enthusiast often have a flintlock or two because they are fun to shoot and beautiful in design.

Visit A2 Armory to see replica flintlock pistols and firearms from World War II plus Civil War firearms.