Early flintlocks

[musketman]

Early in firearm history, before the flintlocks, were the SNAPHAUNCES...

These were the forerunner to the flintlock and the snaphaunce replaced the wheel-lock as an ignition system.

Iron-Pyrate was held in the holding arm which struck the tooth face of the frizzen and created sparks...
The main difference between snaphaunces and flintlocks were the frizzen and primming pan cover of the snaphaunces are two seperate peices, unlike the single piece of the flintlocks that exposed the primming charge to the sparks once fired.

Moorish snaphaunces are mostly .62 caliber, long barreled guns held by six barrel bands.

 

[sethwyo]

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Please help me understand what source says they used pyrite?

The Spanish 'Miquelet' lock also pre-dated the true French-type flintlock and was another flint ignited fire lock. Other lock types pre-dating the flintlock were the English lock, then followed by the doglock.

But otherwise there are other differences, like how the cock is part of the tumbler, or how the snaphaunce had a horizontal sear and not a vertical sear; and that they had incredibly strong springs due to the infancy of the flint production at that time, amongst other differences too.

 

[TobJohn]

Please help me understand what source says they used pyrite?

According to Armin Koenig, there are at least 3 snaphance petronels that use pyrite, from the 1570s, apparently very unreliably