page_title: Firearm
section_title: Flintlock
hierarchical_section_title: Firearm / History / Evolution / Firing mechanisms / Flintlock
caption_attribution_description: English: Flintlock Mechanism
context_page_description: A firearm is a type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by a single individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
  The first primitive firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance, operable by a single person, which was later used to good effect in the Siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, the Chinese invented the metal-barreled hand cannon, widely considered the true ancestor of all firearms. The technology gradually spread throughout the rest of East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
  Modern firearms can be described by their caliber. For pistols and rifles this is given in millimeters or inches, or in the case of shotguns by their gauge. They are also described by the type of action employed, together with the usual means of deportment.
context_section_description: The flintlock action was a major innovation in firearm design. The spark used to ignite the gunpowder in the touch hole was supplied by a sharpened piece of flint clamped in the jaws of a "cock" which, when released by the trigger, struck a piece of steel called the "frizzen" to create the necessary sparks. (The spring-loaded arm that holds a piece of flint or pyrite is referred to as a cock because of its resemblance to a rooster.) The cock had to be manually reset after each firing, and the flint had to be replaced periodically due to wear from striking the frizzen. (See also flintlock mechanism, snaphance, Miquelet lock) The flintlock was widely used during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in both muskets and rifles.
caption: Flintlock mechanism
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