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Originally Posted by Philip
Hi, gang
Have been away from the forum awhile, just noticed this thread. Martin has so far posted a number of pics showing several guns from the Maghrib. Some clarification is in order.
1. The first gun on the thread is indeed Moroccan, called an "afedali" (Elgood, FIREARMS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD, London 1995, quoting an early 20th c. French source), characterized by its broad flaring butt. Jim, the lock on this gun is not a so-called miquelet, rather it is a snaphaunce (schnapphahn), an early flint mechanism of Dutch origin. What's the difference? The miquelet has a large external mainspring and a combined, L-shaped frizzen and pan-cover. Its cock is released by a sear which moves horizontally through an aperture in the lockplate. The snaphaunce has an internal mainspring and sear, and the frizzen and pan-cover are entirely separate units. Whereas on a miquelet, the flint's striking the frizzen causes it to flip forward exposing the pan to the shower of sparks, the snaphaunce relies on an internal pushrod system to slide the pan-cover open automatically as the flint strikes the frizzen and pushes it up and forward out of the way of the pan.
2. Later, a picture of an Algerian gun was posted. These have elongated triangular butts, no trigger-guards, and miquelet locks. In the case of these, the miquelet is a particular type originating in Spain, sometime in the latter 16th cent., called "llave de agujeta". It saw only limited popularity in its homeland but was widely used in Algeria until the 20th cent. In the Iberian it was very soon superseded by the familiar "llave patilla" which is the type copied by the Ottomans. The difference: Agujeta locks have a complex sear system derived from wheellocks, and no half-cock detent (a manually-set dog catch acts as a safety). The patilla has a half-cock
setting which blocks the trigger, and its sear is simple and robust. In my experience, the agujeta locks of Algeria, though robust and well-made, are far less efficient. The sear easily works itself out of adjustment due to wear and tear, and the dog catch is a comparatively clumsy feature.
(for more information on Spanish miquelet history and types, see Jas. D. Lavin, A HISTORY OF SPANISH FIREARMS, NY, 1965)
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