The flintlock muzzleloader style dates back to the 17th century. It’s named for it flintlock mechanism which produces sparks when a piece of flint strikes its steel frizzen.

This firearm’s firing mechanism consists of the following parts:

FlintThe flint is a hard, fine-grained form of quartz stone mounted in the hammer. It creates a shower of sparks when it strikes the steel frizzen.

HammerThe hammer holds the flint in the firing mechanism.

FrizzenThe frizzen is a piece of steel struck by the flint to create sparks. The frizzen also covers the priming charge in the flash pan.

Flash panA small groove cut in the firing mechanism, the flash pan holds the priming charge. When filling the flash pan with priming powder, tilt the gun slightly so that the powder enters the touch hole. Once the flash pan is full, close the frizzen tightly.

Touch holeThe touch hole is located at the side of the barrel at the edge of the flash pan.