Ahead of Their Time: Break Action Flintlocks

Some good ideas are simply ahead of their time. RIAC Senior Firearms Describer Austin Ellis shows us two British flintlocks that initially look quite traditional. However, close inspection of their mechanisms reveals touches of peak technology in the early 18th century.
Each of these two British flintlocks is actually a breech loading design. Their unique break actions would not seem out of place on a double gun today. Furthermore, each also utilizes a reusable steel "case" in which powder and ball can be loaded, and then slipped quickly into the breech. This is quite an innovation for the time with several similarities to today's modern self-contained ammunition.
Elegant in appearance and thoughtful in their design, these two break action British flintlocks are a fascinating look into firearms technology of the early 1700s. Both come courtesy from the collection of Joe M. Wanenmacher Jr.
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[@msgfrmdaactionman3000]

Seems very advanced for early 1700s. It took over 100 years to make a self contained cartridge. These seem pretty close to that!

[@ethanetn]

I wish guns like these were still made

[@kylianvanhoorn2859]

There are still some gunmakers like: holland and holland, westley richards, purdey and sons, johann fanzoj etc who still handcraft very fine high end engraved hunting rifles/shotguns for you if you pay them a boatload of cash

[@ethanetn]

@@kylianvanhoorn2859 any experience in buying one and how much they go for? Id love to commission one as a future retirement gift for myself and a family heirloom

[@kylianvanhoorn2859]

@@ethanetn i dont necessarily have any experience in buying those types of guns but if you want to buy one of their guns i would just recommend contacting them by sending an email or giving them a phone call, and then they will just take you through the process from there. But be warned those types of guns are extremely expensive especially the British makers. makers like AYA, grulla, kemen from spain but also longthorne, merkel, heym, sauer and sohn, ziegenhahn, hausmann and co, chapuis armes from the uk, Germany, austria and france respectively will generally be a bit more reasonable. keep in mind that you're still talking 10k-25k for a Spanish gun, and 40k-70k for a german/austrian gun, which is still a ton of money but nowhere as extreme as 120k+ you often get with a british gun But prices always will vary between different makers so always check online beforehand. And btw keep in mind this is not official sales advice, always do your own research beforehand

[@ethanetn]

@@kylianvanhoorn2859 ok thank you

[@rjptrucking4598]

That's beyond amazing

[@semperfi-1918]

That is awesome

[@christiankastorf4836]

The trouble was that those thick walled "cartridges" could not expand to seal the breech. Either they were too loose and allowed gases to spray into the shooter's face or they got stuck easily, especially when the barrel was covered in slimy residues after a few shots.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

Actually it seals it quite well. You can't see it, but it has a slight camming action when it closes, and presses the fitted tapered cartridge into the breach.

[@redbyrd64]

Beautiful firearms

[@dwyaneengle9621]

Once apon a time 🌞🌞 Simply amazing craftsmen ship

[@billshepherd4331]

😮😮Those are Amazing!

[@brivas3343]

Very very interesting rifles!

[@stanisawzokiewski3308]

Would make perfect cavalry weapon.

[@phileas007]

wait, so how does the automatic priming work?

[@AS40143]

The pan has a recessed cylinder, connected to the barrel. When You open the gun, the cylinder rotates and the recess catches a small amount of priming powder from a bunker

[@user-uy1rg8td1v]

@@AS40143 I wish they can make reproductions of these, it would be cool to see how well these breech loading flintlocks with automatic priming actually work.

[@barttorbert5031]

Lots of "modern" firearm design elements were in exitance back then. The problem was that firearms with these features were expensive to make and had fragile aspects to them, particularly because of the state of metallurgy at the time. It was just not practical to mass produce such firearms due to cost and the limited skill of most soldiers. Why spend lots of money to provide features that most soldiers could not take advantage of?

[@krockpotbroccoli65]

I wish I could afford one of these. A 300+ year old breech loading musket that's in shootable condition.... Time to buy a Powerball ticket. And yes. I would totally fire one of these and take it hunting.

[@shooterqqqq]

Who made the second rifle? Poor descriptions on the rifles.