A snaplock is a type of

lock Lock(s) 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 entertainment * ''Lock ...

for firing a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

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

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) desig ...

) 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

snaphaunce 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 progressio ...

(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 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 itself, also know ...

(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. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

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 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 pan or priming pan is a small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzle-loading guns. Flash pans are found on gonnes, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplocks, snaphances, and flintlocks. Development The flash p ...

. 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 called a 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 combustion o ...

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, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

. 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 o ...

, 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; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n, German, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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, 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 Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the Spanish ...

. The

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

king Gustavus Adolphus 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