Handgun History: Flintlock to Percussion

Handguns have come a long way since the days of slingshots and spears. In fact, there are far more steps in their creation than many gun owners realize. First came hand cannons, rifling, and wheellocks, and then came the arrival of the flintlock. Technological advances came in fits and starts in the firearms world, but this is where things began to pick up speed (eventually).

English flintlock pistol
An English flintlock pistol. (Photo credit: Collectors Firearms)

Flintlocks Arrived in Stages

The invention of the flintlock was an important step in the evolution from slingshots to Glocks. Historians largely agree the earliest appearance of flintlocks—or at least of the first step in their creation—took place in the 1560s in the form of the snaphaunce. The snaphaunce, or snaphance, involved a steel pan and striker plate. The striker impacted the powder held in the pan which, in turn, created sparks and got the firing process going.

From the snaphaunce, invention moved on to the miquelet lock. There’s some argument as to whether or not these were really flintlocks, but technically speaking, they were. The miquelet lock tends to be thought of as the last link in the chain of events that resulted in the final iteration of the flintlock. This lock was used by members of the Miquelet—militia—attached to the Peninsular Army during the Peninsular War. The designe came about because the older wheellocks and matchlocks had a lot of trouble with gunpowder being blown away or soaked because the pan wasn’t protected during the firing process. The miquelet solved that problem by covering the pan.

A 15 bore Spanish miquelet lock.
A 15 bore Spanish miquelet lock. (Photo credit: Collectors Firearms)

In the 1600s, the French improved on early designs and came up with what is often referred to as the “true” flintlock mechanism. This is the action that’s commonly associated with muskets. Its general function is relatively simple. As its name suggests, the flintlock has a hammer—also called a cock—with jaws that hold a flint in position for firing. Pulling the trigger drops the hammer and flint, which strikes the frizzen—a piece of steel covering the pan—creating sparks and igniting the gunpowder.

The flintlock stayed in use for centuries before it was eventually replaced by percussion caps. However, there is another facet of handgun history worth exploring before getting into the action itself.

The Appearance of Dueling Pistols

Handguns began seeing common use for duels in the 1700s. In a way this was a tip of the hat regarding their capabilities at closer distances, but in reality they were probably just more portable and maneuverable. Although there were certainly a lot of duelists back then, one does tend to stand out over others for visibility and persistence: President Andrew Jackson.

President Jackson did carry guns for personal defense and, in fact, had a set of dueling pistols he kept ready for 37 years. The president didn’t entertain insults to his horses or his wife, among other things, and historians agree he was involved in more than 100 duels (often as the challenger). One of his more noteworthy duels took place in 1806 against a horse breeder named Charles Dickinson. Jackson grew angry when Dickinson insulted him, his horses, and his wife, by calling her a bigamist. This particular duel would be a bit different, because Dickinson was lauded as the best pistol shot in the state of Tennessee, where the duel would take place. Being a clever man, the president came up with a plan.

A woodcut print of Andrew Jackson dueling Charles Dickenson with flintlock pistols.
A woodcut print of Andrew Jackson dueling Charles Dickenson. (Photo credit: Library of Congress via Timeline.com)

On the day of the duel, Jackson allowed himself to be shot. Yes, he let Dickinson shoot him squarely in the chest with a musket ball (this was, after all, the flintlock era). According to various historical accounts taken from witnesses, the future president didn’t acknowledge the pain of being shot beyond the barest of movements. His decision to let himself be shot gave him plenty of time to take a slow, steady shot. At first, his gun failed to fire, but when he pulled the trigger a second time, his shot struck Dickinson in the abdomen. Dickinson bled to death that same day. As for the future president, the musket ball in his chest had almost reached his heart when it stopped traveling, and it remained there until the day he died in 1845 (not from a duel).

This is an interesting moment in handgun history not only for the involvement of the future president, but because it involved muskets and took place in 1806. In 1807, percussion systems were invented. Would this change have impacted the outcome of that duel between Dickinson and Jackson? We’ll never know.

The percussion system designed by Reverend John Forsyth
The percussion system designed by Reverend John Forsyth. (Photo credit: Historical Firearms)

Percussion Systems

Not long after President Andrew Jackson ended up with a musket ball in his chest for life, Scottish clergyman Reverend Forsyth came up with the percussion system. Forsyth began working on percussion in 1805 and finalized his design in 1807. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, his original attempt “involved a small steel box, called the “scent bottle,” that rotated at the breech end of the barrel and left a small charge of potassium chlorate in a small nipple leading into the barrel. This primer was then detonated by the impact of a falling hammer.”

Eventually, Forsyth was given a workspace in the Tower of London, of all places, and he was able to fine-tune it. By 1807 he’d patented a percussion system that functioned in firearms of the era. However, not long after it was patented, someone new took over running the Tower, and cut off Forsyth’s work. Despite the challenges, he continued working on it and spent years creating firearms and improving on the percussion system. Forsyth passed away in 1843, and in the year before his death, the United States and Britain finally started using his system in their military firearms.

The percussion lock system was a revolutionary advancement for the firearms industry, and few gun owners realize how hard its inventor fought for it.

The Arrival of Big Green

During the time Forsyth was working on his percussion system, something else noteworthy was taking place in the gun world. In 1816, Remington was founded by a young man named Eliphalet Remington. He established his company in Ilion, New York. The reasoning behind the creation of the company was that Eliphalet felt he could make himself a better gun than what was commercially available. To test his theory, he made a flintlock rifle and entered a contest with it. In the end, Eliphalet didn’t win the competition, but he did place second, and other competitors were so impressed by his design they began placing orders. It must have seemed only natural that he would then found a gun company to back those orders. Today, Remington remains the oldest continually-operating gun maker in the United States.

Kat Ainsworth Stevens is a long-time outdoor writer, official OGC (Original Gun Cognoscenti), and author of Handgun Hunting: a Comprehensive Guide to Choosing and Using the Right Firearms for Big and Small Game. Der Teufel Katze has written for a number of industry publications (print and online) and edited some of the others, so chances are you've seen or read her work before, somewhere. A woman of eclectic background and habits, Kat has been carrying concealed for over two decades, used to be a farrier, and worked for a long time in emergency veterinary medicine. She prefers big bores, enjoys K9 Search & Rescue, and has a Master's Degree in Pitiless Snarkastic Delivery.

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