Compared to a matchlock, a flintlock was more likely to ignite the gunpowder charge instantaneously, rather than with a delay of some seconds. Id. at 104.

Matchlocks, at half the cost, remain in common use. This is an early (ca. 1540) multi-shot, wheel-lock pistol, made for Emperor Charles V. In this weapon, two locks are combined in one mechanism, to ...

The distinction between a matchlock and a flintlock was the difference in the lock. All of the types of guns described in the next section could be either matchlocks or flintlocks (except when ...