Editing Flintlock (section)

==Subtypes==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2022}}
Flintlocks may be any type of [[small arm]]: [[long gun]] or [[pistol]], [[smoothbore]] or [[rifle]], [[muzzleloader]] or [[Breechloading|breechloader]].

===Pistols===

[[File:Pistolet à silex Queen Anne IMG 3172.jpg|thumb|Flintlock pistol in "Queen Anne" layout, made in Lausanne by Galliard, {{circa|1760}}. On display at Morges military museum.]]
Flintlock pistols were used as self-defense weapons and as a military arm. Their effective range was short, and they were frequently used as an adjunct to a [[sword]] or [[cutlass]]. Pistols were usually smoothbore although some rifled pistols were produced.

Flintlock pistols came in a variety of sizes and styles which often overlap and are not well defined, many of the names we use having been applied by collectors and dealers long after the pistols were obsolete. The smallest were less than {{convert|6|in|cm}} long and the largest were over {{convert|20|in|cm}}. From around the beginning of the 1700s the larger pistols got shorter, so that by the late 1700s the largest would be around {{convert|16|in|cm}} long. The smallest would fit into a typical pocket or a hand warming muff and could easily be carried by women.

The largest sizes would be carried in holsters across a horse's back just ahead of the saddle. In-between sizes included the coat pocket pistol, or coat pistol, which would fit into a large pocket, the coach pistol, meant to be carried on or under the seat of a coach in a bag or box, and belt pistols, sometimes equipped with a hook designed to slip over a belt or waistband. Larger pistols were called horse pistols. Arguably the most elegant of the pistol designs was the [[Queen Anne pistol]], which was made in all sizes.

Arguably the high point of the mechanical development of the flintlock pistol was the British [[duelling pistol]]; it was highly reliable, water resistant and accurate. External decoration was minimal but craftsmanship was evident, and the internal works were often finished to a higher degree of craftsmanship than the exterior. Dueling pistols were the size of the horse pistols of the late 1700s, around {{convert|16|in|cm}} long and were usually sold in pairs along with accessories in a wooden case with compartments for each piece.

===Muskets===

{{Main article|Musket}}
[[Image:Flintlock.jpg|thumb|A [[Flintlock mechanism]], National Army Museum, New Zealand, 2008]]
Flintlock [[muskets]] were the mainstay of European [[army|armies]] between 1660 and 1840. A musket was a muzzle-loading smoothbore long gun that was loaded with a round lead ball, but it could also be loaded with [[Lead shot|shot]] for [[hunting]]. For military purposes, the weapon was loaded with ball, or a mixture of ball with several large shot (called [[buck and ball]]), and had an effective range of about {{convert|75-100|m|abbr=on}}. Smoothbore weapons that were designed for hunting birds were called "fowlers."  Flintlock muskets tended to be of large caliber and usually had no [[Choke (firearms)|choke]], allowing them to fire full-caliber balls.

Military flintlock muskets tended to weigh approximately 10 pounds (4.53&nbsp;kg), as heavier weapons were found to be too cumbersome, and lighter weapons were not rugged or heavy enough to be used in hand-to-hand combat. They were usually designed to be fitted with a [[bayonet]]. On flintlocks, the bayonet played a primarily a deterrence role - casualty lists from several battles in the 18th century showed that fewer than 2% of wounds were caused by bayonets.<ref>Lynn, John A. Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print.</ref>

[[Antoine-Henri Jomini]], a celebrated military author of the [[Napoleon]]ic period who served in numerous armies during that period, stated that the majority of bayonet [[charge (warfare)|charge]]s in the open resulted with one side fleeing before any contacts were made.<ref>Jomini, Antoine Henri. The Art of War. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1971. Print.
</ref>  Flintlock weapons were not used like modern rifles. They tended to be fired in mass volleys, followed by bayonet charges in which the weapons were used much like the pikes that they replaced.{{dubious|date=March 2012}} Because they were also used as pikes, military flintlocks tended to be approximately {{convert|5|-|6|ft|cm}} in length (without the bayonet attached), and used bayonets that were approximately {{convert|18|-|22|inch|cm}} in length.

===Rifles===

In Germany, the [[German military rifles#Early Jäger rifles|Jäger rifle]] was developed by the late 18th century. It was used for hunting, and in a military context, skirmishing and by specialist marksmen.

[[Image:Drevnosti RG v3 ill111 - Rifle of Alexei Mikhailovich.jpg|thumb|Russian flintlock rifle made in 1654 by master Grigory Viatkin.]]
In the United States, the small game hunting [[long rifle]] ("Pennsylvania rifle" or "Kentucky rifle") was developed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. Based on the Jäger rifle, but with a much longer barrel, these were exceptionally accurate for their time, and had an effective range of approximately {{convert|250|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>"What about the rifle?", Popular Science, September 1941</ref> They tended to fire smaller caliber rounds, with calibers in the range of {{convert|.32-.45|in|abbr=on}} being the most common - hence being sometimes referred to as a "pea rifle."<ref>"American Rifle: A Treatise, a Text Book, and a Book of Practical Information in the Use of the Rifle" By Townsend Whelen, Publisher: Paladin Press (July 2006)</ref>

The [[Jezail]] was a military long flintlock rifle, developed near and popular throughout [[Afghanistan]], [[India]], [[Central Asia]] and parts of the [[Middle East]].

However, while European military tactics remained based on loosely-aimed mass volleys, most of their flintlocks were still smoothbore - as the spiral grooves of rifling made rifles take more time to load, and after repeated shots [[black powder]] tended to foul the barrels.

Rifled flintlocks saw most military use by sharpshooters, skirmishers, and other support units. While by the late 18th century there were increasing efforts to take advantage of the rifle for military purposes, with specialist rifle units such as the [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]] of 1756 and [[Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)|Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)]], smoothbores predominated until the advent of the [[Minié ball]] – by which time the [[percussion cap]] had made the flintlock obsolete.

===Multishot flintlock weapons===

====Multiple barrels====

Because of the time needed to reload (even experts needed 15 seconds to reload a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading musket<ref>Dennis E. Showalter, William J. Astore, ''Soldiers' lives through history: Volume 3: The early modern world'', p.65, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0-313-33312-2}}.</ref>), flintlocks were sometimes produced with two, three, four or more barrels for multiple shots. These designs tended to be costly to make and were often unreliable and dangerous. While weapons like double barreled shotguns were reasonably safe, weapons like the [[pepperbox|pepperbox revolver]] would sometimes fire all barrels simultaneously, or would sometimes just explode in the user's hand. It was often cheaper, safer, and more reliable to carry several single-shot weapons instead.

====Single barrel====

Some repeater rifles, multishot single barrel pistols, and multishot single barrel revolvers were also made. Notable are the [[Puckle gun]], [[Harvey Walklate Mortimer|Mortimer]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4833569 |title=Mortimer multishot pistol |access-date=2011-10-26 |archive-date=2014-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227170302/http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4833569 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kalthoff, Michele Lorenzoni, [[Abraham Hill]], Cookson pistols,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVnuHX_6bG0C&pg=PA37 Flintlock revolvers]</ref> the Jennings repeater and the [[Elisha Collier revolver]].{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}