Lock (firearm)
The lock of a
Hand cannon
Firelock
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. Slow match would be held clear of the flash pan in a spring-loaded pivoting arm (the serpentine). Depressing the firing lever would dip the burning match into the flash pan. The snap matchlock latched the serpentine back against spring tension. Actuating the trigger or firing lever would release the serpentine, allowing it to rotate and dip the lit match into the priming pan. This reduced hesitancy at the moment of firing and thereby improved accuracy. However, rather than firing, the match might be snuffed out when it struck the flash pan.[8][9][10][11]
The next advance was a self-igniting firearm that did not require a lit slow match to fire. The first of this type is the
The next advance in firearm design was the snaplock, which used flint striking steel to generate the spark. The flint is held in a rotating, spring-loaded arm called the cock. This is held cocked by a latch and released by a lever or trigger. The steel is curved and hinged. This accommodates the arc of the flint, maintaining contact with the steel. The spark produced is directed downward into the flash pan. The snaphance incorporates a mechanism to slide the pan cover forward at the moment of firing. The doglock incorporates a second latch (or dog) as a safety mechanism that engages the cock in a halfway or half-cock position. The dog is independent of the trigger. The dog is only released when the lock is bought to the full-cock position. The miquelet lock is the penultimate of the flint-sparking locks. It has an L-shaped frizzen, the base of which, covers the flash pan and is hinged forward of the pan. The flint strikes against the upright of the "L" and flips the frizzen forward to reveal the pan to the sparks created. The miquelet lock also has a half-cock mechanism similar in function but differing in operation from the doglock.[13][2]
The flintlock is also referred to as the true flintlock to distinguish it from other flint-sparking mechanisms. It is also known as the French lock.[14] It uses a frizzen similar to the miquelet lock and has a half-cock position. The distinction between the two locks is that the flintlock uses a single vertical sear to latch the cock in both the cocked and half-cocked positions. The sear is a lever that pivots in the vertical plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cock and acts much like a pawl engaging the catch points of a ratchet gear. The tumbler is similar in function to a ratchet gear. It is mounted on the inside of the lock-plate and has two catch-points corresponding to the half-cocked and full-cocked positions. The half-cock catch-point is a V-notch into which the sear fits and cannot be levered away by the trigger to disengage the tumbler.[15][16]
Firelock firing mechanisms are assembled either side of a mounting plate. The assembly is then mounted to the side of the
Percussion lock
The advent of the percussive ignition eliminated the need for a spark to discharge a firearm. Instead, the discharge is initiated by striking a shock-sensitive explosive material. Initial patents are attributed to the
The flintlock mechanism was readily adapted to utilise this new technology. The flash pan was removed. A
which mechanised the recharging of the primer but such systems were never widely adopted.Percussion lock refers generally to firearms that use external percussive primers. Cap lock and tube lock refer to percussion-lock firearms that utilised either cap or tube primers respectively. Scent-bottle lock refers to a design by Forsyth. The charger containing the fulminating powder resembles a scent bottle in shape.
Breechloaders
Early
used much the same side mounted lock mechanism as muzzle-loading cap-locks.Revolvers
The commercially practical revolver followed from the advent of the percussion cap. The action of cocking the hammer is used to rotate the cylinder and bring a loaded chamber in-line with the barrel preparatory to firing. The mechanism for cocking, rotating and firing revolvers is contained between side-plates that form the frame of the revolver. This is a significant departure from earlier lock mechanisms that were constructed about a single plate fixed to one side of a firearm.
Metallic cartridges
Boxlock
Side-by-side shotguns and hunting rifles continued to use side-locks until the advent of the boxlock patented by Anson and Deeley in 1875. Side-lock shotguns have two separate lock plates mounted to the sides of the butt of the gun and not the receiver. In the boxlock, the components of the firing mechanism are contained within the frame of the gun. This simplified manufacture and significantly reduced costs. While the boxlock is referred to as a hammerless gun, the hammers of the mechanism are concealed within the gun's frame. Side-lock shotguns continue to be made for the high-end market.[29][30]
In culture
See also
- Bolt (firearms)
- Doglock
- Flintlock mechanism
- Bolt action
- Lever-action
- Pump-action
- Break-action
- Falling-block action
- Rolling block
- Semi-automatic rifle
References
- JSTOR 48578499.
- ^ a b c Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Vol.1, pp. 372–373, C. Knight, 1833.
- ^ Lexico.com, definition of firelock, accessed 29 October 2021.
- ^ Collinsdictionary.com, definition of firelock, accessed 29 October 2021.
- ^ Oxfordreference.com, firelock, accessed 29 October 2021.
- ^ Merriam-webster.com, definition of firelock, accessed 29 October 2021.
- ^ On the origin of the term lock: "The fabrication of these devices fell to locksmiths ... They gave to the firing mechanism the enduring name lock". (War on Land, Robert Curley (ed.), Britanica Educational Publishing, 2011)
- ^ Britanica.com, Matchlock, accessed 29 October 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-851094-70-7.
- ^ Weir, William (2019). 50 Weapons That Changed Warfare. Permuted Press.
- ^ Ramsey, Syed (2016). Tools of War: History of Weapons in Early Modern Times. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd.
- ^ Kinard 2003, pp. 5–10.
- ^ Kinard 2003, pp. 16–24.
- ^ Kinard, 2003, p. 24.
- ^ Kinard 2003, pp. 24–26.
- ^ Flintlock -Looking at the internal parts of a Brown Bess, accessed 6 August 2022.
- ^ The Queen Anne pistol is a notable exception. It is a breech-loading flintlock in which the barrel is screwed off to load the chamber. In this style of firearm, the chamber and lock-plate are forged as a single piece. However, the lock-plate is still off-set to one side. (See: Silver Clad Queen Anne Pistols)
- JSTOR 45377089. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ The Gun: (part 1) Flintlock to percussion, BBC, 1976.
- ^ The 1807/35 M “Console” Jägerstützen, a tube lock, was one of the most basic of conversions. It replaced the flint in the cock with a piece of steel to become the hammer (The story of the Augustin tube lock ignition system [accessed 31 October 2021])
- ^ The Maynard carbine used a paper tape, much like that used in toy cap guns.
- ^ How the pellet priming system works on an original 1863 M Sharps percussion carbine (accessed 31 October 2021)
- ISBN 978-0-517-63606-0.
- ^ 1863 Sharps Close Up, Disassembly, and Function
- ^ Wilson Carbine: Tasmanian Military Forces, Australian War Memorial (accessed 31 October 2021).
- ^ Gunsmithing: Trapdoor Springfield Rifle .45-70 Government (Gunworks)
- ^ Remington-Lee Model 1879 [Accessed 16 March 2020]
- ^ See also, the M1885 Remington–Lee, which was a subsequent development of the Model 1879.
- ^ Weiland, Terry (2008). Vintage British Shotguns: A Shooting Sportsman Guide. Down East Books. pp. 93–101.
- ^ The Gun: (part 6) The fine English shotgun, BBC, 1976.