Reverend Forsyth and the Birth of Percussion Ignition

By Logan Metesh

Scotland – -(Ammoland.com)- Reverend Alexander John Forsyth made a significant change in the world of firearms ignition systems. Born in 1768 to a minister in Scotland, he was educated at King’s College and followed in his father’s footsteps as a man of the cloth. A deep thinker, he often walked along the water as a calming way to collect his thoughts, sometimes thinking about his sermons; other times, thinking about firearms.

As an avid duck hunter, Forsyth lamented the inefficiency of the flintlock’s design as a hunting piece. The delay between the trigger pull, ignition of the flash pan, ignition of the main powder charge, and the actual firing of the weapon was advantageous to the ducks and not the hunter. First, the noise of the mechanism alerted the birds of something in the area; then, the resulting delay provided enough time for the birds to make an evasive maneuver and avoid being shot.

In 1805, at the age of 37, Forsyth had developed …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand