Wheellocks and Flintlocks

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Varyon

You'd load the weapon and, rather than having a flashpan, you'd have a piston that lowered (probably after being struck by a hammer) into the chamber itself, compressing things enough to ignite the powder (you may need a ratchet mechanism to prevent the explosion from throwing the piston back up), which then propels the bullet, as normal.

I'm rather dubious about this. You're requiring the lock to do a lot more mechanical work than a flintlock or wheellock. Springs were some of the hard parts of those locks, and this is going to need stronger ones, which start to require real effort to cock. As for the ratchet for the piston - you're creating something approaching the ambition of a semi-automatic action, in an era of much worse materials, with everything made by hand. It's going to be expensive, dangerous, or both.