GAOP Flint Gunlocks

[lwhitehead]

Hi I was wondering when Flint Gunlocks were started generally used by Naval Powers, British Empire 1745, French 1805, but what about the other Naval powers and Barbary Pirates.

 

 

LW

[Commodore Swab]

There is considerable difference between "GAoP" (1680-1720) and 1745 and even more between 1745 and 1805 just as there is a difference between new world and old world.  

To keep it "general" 1670-1700 saw a wide variety of weaponry.  The 1600's saw the evolution of a matchlock into a weapon that could be carried ready to fire (firelock).  Wheellocks were the dominating original design although in northwestern Europe you saw snaphaunces evolve into English lock weapons and finally doglocks.  The Med saw miquelets of different designs.  France being more centrally located was able to borrow from the snaphaunce (internal springs) and miquelet (integrated pan/frizzen) and create what would become the true flintlock 1640's.  There was little to no uniformity, i.e. weapons made to be near identical en mass even for militaries.  Where am I going with this? Well by the GAoP in the new world there was a crazy combination of wealthy weapons that might have been individually owned, masses of "out of date" weapons that were discarded and the possibility of some of the newer developing military patterns.  Fast forward to the 1740's . . .

 

By this time the French flintlock had become the dominate choice of lock having evolved to include bridled cocks, tumblers, and frizzens.  In other words rather than having a screw only held on one side it was held on both allowing for a more stable rotation thus increased reliability.  Military patterns were becoming more standardized and while they might look the same from a distance they were still individually made with differences.  Early 19th century saw more standardization in weapons but more importantly the shift from large bore smooth guns with thin walls to thicker walled rifles and then the percussion cap.

 

Long story short 1740's You would be looking at a "flintlock" smoothbore and by the 19th century it would be beginning the evolution into a rifle.