Editing Lock (firearm)

{{Short description|Gun mechanism}}
[[File:Musee-historique-lausanne-img 0086.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|This flintlock mechanism is distinct from the metal barrel extending to the right, and the surrounding wooden stock encloses and obscures the trigger mechanism connection to the actuation spring.]]
The '''lock''' of a [[firearm]] is the mechanism used to initiate firing. It is generally used as a historical term, referring to such mechanisms used in [[muzzle loader|muzzle-loading]] and early [[breech loader|breech-loading]] firearms, as modern firearms uniformly fire by use of a [[firing pin]] to strike the rear of a [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]].  '''Side-lock''' refers to the type of construction, in which the individual components of the mechanism are mounted either side of a single plate.  The assembly is then mounted to the [[Stock (firearms)|stock]] on the side of the firearm.  In modern firearm designs, the mechanism to initiate firing is generally constructed within the frame or [[Receiver (firearms)|receiver]] of the firearm and is referred to as the [[Firing mechanism|firing]] or trigger mechanism.

==Hand cannon==

[[Hand cannon]], the earliest of firearms, had arrived in Europe by {{ca}} 1338.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert |year=2015 |title=Medieval Europe's first firearms |journal=Medieval Warfare |volume=5 |issue=5|jstor=48578499 | pages=49–52|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/48578499.pdf}}</ref>  These cannons were loaded from the [[muzzle loader|muzzle]].  The [[propellent]] charge is lit through a [[touch hole]].  A small [[Primer (firearms)|priming charge]] over the touch hole is ignited with a lit piece of [[slow match]] or similar.  These hand cannons were ungainly: the difficulty being in holding and aiming the weapon while manipulating the slow burning fuse needed to fire it.  Improvements to the basic design placed the touch hole and a priming pan ([[flash pan]]) to the side of the barrel.  A cover to the priming pan allowed this to be filled with priming powder in advance of firing but there was no actual ''mechanism'' for firing.<ref name="penny">[https://books.google.com/books?id=swsDAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA375 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.</ref>

==Firelock==

A firelock is a firearm in which the priming is ignited by sparks.<ref>Lexico.com, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200922050105/https://www.lexico.com/definition/firelock definition of ''firelock''], accessed 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>Collinsdictionary.com, [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/firelock definition of ''firelock''], accessed 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>Oxfordreference.com, [https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095819722 ''firelock''], accessed 29 October 2021.</ref>  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.<ref>Merriam-webster.com, [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firelock definition of ''firelock''], accessed 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>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". (''[https://books.google.com/books?id=IfKcAAAAQBAJ&dq=snap+matchlock&pg=PA53 War on Land]'', Robert Curley (ed.), Britanica Educational Publishing, 2011)</ref>

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.<ref>Britanica.com, [https://www.britannica.com/technology/matchlock ''Matchlock''], accessed 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kinard |first=Jeff |title=Pistols:An Illustrated History of Their Impact |year=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-851094-70-7| pages=12–13 & 16 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVnuHX_6bG0C}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Weir |first=William |title=50 Weapons That Changed Warfare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfKcAAAAQBAJ&dq=snap+matchlock&pg=PA53 |year= 2019 |publisher=Permuted Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Syed |title=Tools of War: History of Weapons in Early Modern Times |year=2016 |publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkk5DAAAQBAJ&dq=snap+matchlock&pg=PT87}}</ref>

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 [[wheellock]].  The wheellock produces a spark in much the same way as a [[Zippo lighter]].  [[Pyrite]] held against a rotating steel wheel produced a spark directed at the priming charge in the flash pan.  The wheel is rotated by a spring under tension. It would be wound up like a clock before each firing, held by a latch and fired by a lever that released the latch. To avert stalling, the pyrite would be lowered onto the rotating wheel rather than being permanently held against it.  The mechanism would also remove a cover from the flash pan at the moment of firing, sliding it forward.  The cover would retain the priming charge in the flash pan during transit.  The mechanism was altogether quite complicated. Consequently it was expensive and found limited use.{{sfn|Kinard|2003|pp=5–10}}<ref name="penny" />

[[File:Patilla Style Miquelet Lock.jpg|thumb|The patilla style miquelet lock fully cocked. An extension of the ''cock'' is resting on and restrained by the upper of the two ''horizontal'' sears protruding through the lock-plate. The movement of the sear is nominally parallel to the axis of rotation of the ''cock''. Depressing the trigger causes the sear to be drawn inward and release the ''cock''.  This type of sear was used in firelocks prior to the advent of the ''true flintlock''.]]

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 (firearms)|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 (engineering)|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.{{sfn|Kinard|2003|pp=16–24}}<ref name="penny" />

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.<ref>Kinard, 2003, p. 24.</ref>  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 (firearm)|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 (device)|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.{{sfn|Kinard|2003|pp=24–26}}<ref>''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq0cakJL7UI Flintlock -Looking at the internal parts of a Brown Bess]'', accessed 6 August 2022.</ref>

Firelock firing mechanisms are assembled either side of a mounting plate.  The assembly is then mounted to the side of the [[stock (firearm)|stock]] of the firearm.  The actual trigger may be separately mounted from the lock-plate.  ''Side lock'' refers to lock mechanisms of this general construction.<ref>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: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx2in3FeWv4 Silver Clad Queen Anne Pistols])</ref> It continued to be used in percussion-lock firearms and early firearm designs using [[Cartridge (firearms)|metallic cartridges]].

==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 [[Reverend]] [[Alexander John Forsyth]], who use a [[fulminate]] powder delivered from a ''charger'' that was integral to the lock mechanism.  The charger contained a [[firing pin]] that was struck and in turn, struck the fulminate. The mechanism was otherwise constructed similar to that of the flintlock.  The fulminate used in percussive locks was variously packaged as pills, metal tubes and paper patches but the [[percussion cap]] soon predominated.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wescott |first=Allen Pennell |title=Transition Problems: The Conversion of Weapons to Meet New Demands |journal=Army Ordnance |volume=18 |issue=108 |year= 1938 |pages=343–346|jstor=45377089 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45377089 |access-date= 21 October 2021}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6DQBwm2rPc ''The Gun: (part 1) Flintlock to percussion''], BBC, 1976.</ref>

The flintlock mechanism was readily adapted to utilise this new technology.  The flash pan was removed. A [[Nipple (firearm)|nipple]] (a small hollow cone) was fitted to the touchhole.  The percussion cap is fitted over the end of the nipple.  The cock was modified to strike the cap and redesignated as the [[Hammer (firearms)|hammer]].  As a safety measure, the face of the hammer was soon hollowed to surround the cap.  As an economy, many existing flintlocks (particularly military stocks) were converted to use the percussion cap.  Most conversions modified rather than replaced the lock mechanism of the firearm being converted<ref>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 ([https://capandball.com/the-story-of-the-augustin-tube-lock-ignition-system/ The story of the Augustin tube lock ignition system] [accessed 31 October 2021])</ref> while lock designs in new models of longarms were largely unchanged.  Some designs emerged, such as [[Maynard carbine]]<ref>The Maynard carbine used a paper tape, much like that used in toy [[cap gun]]s.</ref> and the pellet feed system employed by the [[Sharps carbine]],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6PWIMoHD8 How the pellet priming system works on an original 1863 M Sharps percussion carbine] (accessed 31 October 2021)</ref><ref name="Hogg">{{cite book|last=Hogg|first=Ian V.|author-link=Ian V. Hogg|title=Weapons of the Civil War|year=1987|publisher=[[Random House Value Publishing]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-517-63606-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/weaponsofcivilwa00ianh/page/13 13–18]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/weaponsofcivilwa00ianh/page/13}}</ref> 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 [[breech-loading]], cap lock longarms, such as the Sharps carbine<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeF5cxJxPDA 1863 Sharps Close Up, Disassembly, and Function]</ref> and the [[Wilson carbine]]<ref>[https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C330394?image=6 Wilson Carbine: Tasmanian Military Forces], Australian War Memorial (accessed 31 October 2021).</ref> 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 (firearms)|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==

[[Cartridge (firearms)|Metallic cartridges]] package projectile, propellant and primer together.  They are initiated by striking with a [[firing pin]] or striker that passes through the [[breechblock]].  Early metallic-cartridge, single-shot breechloading rifles, such as the British [[Snider–Enfield]] model 1866 and the American [[Springfield model 1873|Springfield]] model 1873, continued to use side-mounted hammers and lock mechanisms that differed little from the cap lock and the flintlock in manufacture.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOZnC6ZxJSI Gunsmithing: Trapdoor Springfield Rifle .45-70 Government (Gunworks)]</ref>  The firing pin is angled away from the axis of the barrel and toward the hammer, to accommodate the offset of the hammer.  The further development of breech-loading mechanisms and [[repeating firearm]]s placed the components of the mechanism within the [[Receiver (firearms)|receiver]] or frame of the firearm.  This can be seen in the [[Martini–Henry]], the Remington-Lee Model 1879<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLzqQlQ49oA Remington-Lee Model 1879] [Accessed 16 March 2020]</ref><ref>See also, the [[M1885 Remington–Lee]], which was a subsequent development of the Model 1879.</ref> and the [[Winchester rifle]]s.  The mechanism employed to open and close the breech is integrated with the firing mechanism to cock the firearm.  Improvements in spring technology has also resulted in cheaper helical coil springs in place of leaf and V springs.  The term ''lock'' is not generally used to refer to the [[firing mechanism|firing]] or trigger mechanism of metallic cartridge firearms.

===Boxlock===

Side-by-side [[shotgun]]s and hunting rifles continued to use side-locks until the advent of the [[Boxlock action|boxlock]] patented by Anson and Deeley in 1875.  Side-lock shotguns have two separate lock plates mounted to the sides of the [[Stock (firearms)|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Weiland |first=Terry |title=Vintage British Shotguns: A Shooting Sportsman Guide |pages=93–101 |publisher= Down East Books |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=de9XBAAAQBAJ&dq=Anson+and+Deeley+boxlock&pg=PA94 }}</ref><ref>''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcKfaoX_0HA The Gun: (part 6) The fine English shotgun]'', BBC, 1976.</ref>

==In culture==

[[Lock, stock and barrel]] is a [[figure of speech]] referring to the totality of a firearm as: the [[Gun barrel|barrel]] through which the bullet is directed toward a target, the [[Stock (firearms)|stock]] which provides a means of gripping the firearm, and the lock as the firing mechanism.

==See also==
*[[Bolt (firearms)]]
*[[Doglock]]
*[[Flintlock mechanism]]
*[[Bolt action]]
*[[Lever-action]]
*[[Pump-action]]
*[[Break-action]]
*[[Falling-block action]]
*[[Rolling block]]
*[[Semi-automatic rifle]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{early firearms}}

[[Category:Firearm actions]]