A snaplock is a type of

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for firing a

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

or is a gun fired by such a lock. A snaplock ignites the (usually

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

) 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

snaphance Swedish snaphance guns from the mid 17th century 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. It is the mechanical progressi ...

(sometimes classed as an advanced type of snaplock) and the later

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), 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 its ...

(see below). In all snaplocks, the

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

is held in a clamp at the end of a bent lever called the cock. When the gun is "cocked", the cock is held back, against the pressure of a spring, by a catch which is part of the trigger mechanism. When the

trigger Trigger may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Trigger (''Only Fools and Horses''), in the TV sitcom * Trigger Argee, in science fiction short stories by James H. Schmitz * Devil Trigger, a transformation ability of ...

is pulled, the catch is released and the spring moves the cock rapidly forwards. The flint strikes a curved plate of hardened steel, called the "steel". The flint strikes from the steel a shower of white hot steel shavings (sparks) which fall towards the priming powder held in the flash pan. The flash from the pan's ignited primer travels (unless there is only a " flash in the pan") through the

touch hole A touch hole, also known as a cannon vent, is a small hole at the rear (breech) portion of the barrel of a muzzleloading gun or cannon. The hole provides external access of an ignition spark into the breech chamber of the barrel (where the com ...

into the firing chamber at the rear of the barrel, and ignites the main charge of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. Before the weapon is fired, the pan has a closed cover: the mechanism for opening this cover (i.e. manual or automatic) can affect whether the weapon is classed as a snaplock. In fact, the term ''snaplock'' may be used in three ways, as follows: * The most general use of ''snaplock'' is for any lock which strikes flint against steel but which does not have the defining feature of a true flintlock. This is the

frizzen The frizzen, historically called the "hammer" or the steel,This may appear anomalous since, in later firearm designs (e.g. percussion locks), the component operating in the same manner as the ''cock'' is called the hammer. is an L-shaped piece of ...

, a single piece of metal which is a combined "steel" and self-opening pan cover. * A more restrictive definition excludes the snaphaunce, more sophisticated weapons with a lateral sear and a pan cover, separate from the steel, that opens automatically. * Sometimes the term is used only for specific

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n varieties of lock.

Period of use

The origin of this proto-flintlock is unclear. The earliest source which could be speaking of a snaplock is an account from 1515 where a young man in Konstanz, Germany accidentally shot a girl with a pistol, thinking it could not go off due to the lack of a lit match. The pistol in question could be a snaplock but probably was a wheellock. Two years later is the letter-patent of the

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

, banning the use of self-striking guns which ignite themselves. Dr. Arne Hoff argues that because "striking" is a very inaccurate description of what happens with a wheellock, it is probable that he was referring to a snaplock, thus making 1517 the likely first appearance of the weapon. City regulations from Italian town Ferrara from 1522 and 1634 forbid the carrying of certain firearms which probably are snaplocks and in 1547 a corresponding law in Florence in describing the different locks speak of matchlock, wheellock and a lock with stone and steel. In this cases it is more or less inarguable that the weapons in question are snaplocks. Arsenal accounts from 1547 in Sweden also explicitly mention snaplocks, and continued to do so in 1548 and beyond. The earliest surviving example of a Swedish snaplock is currently held in the Royal Armoury of Stockholm, probably one of a series of snaplock guns made in 1556 from German barrels and Swedish locks.Arne Hoff. “What do we Really Know About the Snaphaunce?”. The American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin, No. 22, (1970) pp. 11- 18
Transcript
Compared to a matchlock, the snaplock could fire twice as many shots per minute due to requiring fewer steps to reload. Not requiring a match to be lit also made it easier to handle and more usable in a wider set of environments, such as in damp places.Michael Charney. "Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300-1900." Page 55. It was cheap and easy to produce, and like all post-matchlock weapons, could be primed and loaded in advance and be fired at a moment's notice. It fell out of favor by about 1640, except in Sweden and Russia, where it lasted far longer.Blair 1983:67

Safety

Snaplocks as a class did not have safety devices, but individual models could be prevented from inadvertent firing by different mechanisms: * In the early models with a manual pan cover, the steel could be swung out of the path of the flint until just before firing; also, a closed pan cover would not allow the primer to ignite and could help keep the primer dry in misty conditions. * On some models, an external hook attached to the lock plate could engage the tip of the "cocked" cock to prevent it from moving forwards. Regional varieties include the Baltic Lock, the Russian Snaplock, and the Miquelet lock. The Swedish king

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

had many matchlock muskets converted to snaplocks during his military reforms.

References

*Blair, Claude. Editor. ''Pollard's History of Firearms.'' New York: Macmillan, 1983 *Chase, K. (2003), ''Firearms: A Global History to 1700'', Cambridge University Press, *Fowler, W., North, A. & Stronge, C. ''The Development of Small Firearms, from 12th-century Hand Cannons to Modern-day Automatics''.

External links

Original snaplock pistol
{{Early firearms Firearm actions Early firearms Renaissance-era weapons

Period of use

Safety

See also

References

External links