Interesting story about the first gun

By Jay Chambers

Where to Start?

 

Starting a story about the first gun has to start with what it means for something to be a gun. The first guns, or at least the first things like guns, were very different from modern firearms and muzzleloaders. The Chinese began experimenting with gun powder in the late 900s and early 1000s. The first guns were what were known as fire lances. Hollowed out bamboo rods would be stuffed with gunpowder along with projectiles or shrapnel. The ignition of the gunpowder would send it flying. Later, in the 1300s, Europeans began developing more modern cannons. One of the earliest recorded recipes for gun powder comes from the philosopher Roger Bacon in the 1300s. He did not necessarily create the recipes, as he very well may have picked it up from people who lived near him.

The first usage of a cannon is not known for certain, but one of the earliest known uses was by a German town called Meersburg as they attempted to repel the invading Imperial Army. Another early usage was by the British in 1346 during the Siege of Calais, a battle of the 100 Years War. As we know, cannons went on to become commonplace among forts and ships. Cannon technology continued to develop, but the development of handheld firearms is what is most interesting.

Handheld Firearms

Early handheld guns were essentially small handheld cannons. The technology was not much more complicated or intricate than the average mounted cannon. One of the first documented uses of this style of firearms was in Russia during the late 1300s, largely during sieges. However, these firearms were impractical for the average soldier. Practical uses for handheld firearms didn’t really come around until the matchlock firing mechanism.

It is unclear where the first matchlock firearms appeared, but they definitely begin showing up in Germany during the late 1400s. From this point, they gained in popularity from Europe to the east Asia. They used a slowly burning piece of rope as the igniter. It was attached to a lever, and it would swing down and ignite the powder when the trigger was pulled. 

These represented the first muzzleloaders that start to resemble modern ones. While the matchlock was revolutionary, they were not nearly as practical for large scale deployment as later firearms were. It was still cheaper and more effective to equip soldiers with traditional bows and melee weapons during this time. However, early tactics regarding volleys of smoothbore fire were starting to be developed.

 

Some of the most unique muskets were the ones used by the Turkish military. The Turks were situated along the Silk Road which meant they had access to the technology traveling between east and west. They had gained access to European designed muskets and set out to design what they thought would be better. They came up with their own obscure design, often called pinion and rack firearms. Essentially, a circular gear would drive a linear one in order to ignite the gunpowder. Their then modern improvements would not compare to modern firearms, but they were interesting nonetheless. The Turkish design never caught on like matchlocks, or the later wheel and flintlocks, but they remain an interesting piece of history.

Wheelock firearms were the next move forward. They used a wheel that was wound up and spring loaded. When they fired, the wheel would let loose, spin, and strike a piece of pyrite which would cause a spark and ignite the gunpowder. These came around in the 1500s. 

It is unclear who designed the wheellock. Urban legend suggests that Leonardo Davinci designed the first wheellock firing mechanism, but more reputable sources credit it to a German in the early 1500s. While definitely more practical than the matchlock, they weren’t quite enough to make the firearm the quintessential piece of military weaponry it became.  

 That credit largely goes to the flintlock. Flintlock firing mechanisms use a lever that clanks down, sparking steel against flint. The first true flintlock firearm is credited to Marin le Bourgeoys, a Frenchman who was, among many things, a gunsmith. By the middle of the 1600s, the flintlock had become the most popular type of firearm in Europe.

While early flintlock firearms were smoothbore, the invention of rifling took them to another level. The Pennsylvania Rifle, or Kentucky Rifle for the more Dixie oriented, was the first flintlock rifle to make it big in the United States. It was originally used as a hunting rifle. Its range and accuracy greatly increased the ways people could hunt. Of course, it made its way to the military as well. No longer were gunmen restricted to firing volleys of fire at broad targets. Trained marksmen could now pick off enemies at longer distances.

After the flintlock, we move into the world of percussion caps, cartridges, and AK-47s. As important as these are, the roots of the firearms we love lie in these early developments. And of course, modern muzzleloaders keep us close to our roots.