Firearm Development: From the Matchlock to Modern Firearms
Firearms changed more in the last two centuries than in the four before. Ignition moved from the matchlock to the wheellock, flintlock and percussion cap; loose powder and ball gave way to the self-contained metallic cartridge; and single-shot muzzleloaders were replaced by repeaters, semi-automatics and modern polymer-framed handguns. Each step came from inventors, manufacturers and, often, military demand.
The pages below trace that development on Minuteman University.com.
Development Pages
- Firearm History: how arms shaped America
- Firearm Inventors: the designers behind landmark guns
- Firearm Inventions: key innovations from the flintlock to modern actions
- History of Ammo: from powder and ball to the modern cartridge
- US Wars: the service arms of each American conflict
- Firearm Manufacturers Directory: the companies that make them
- Firearm Books: recommended reading
