Bill Harriman, firearms specialist on BBC One's Antiques Roadshow, told Making History that a flintlock is ... process meant that the gun would be able to shoot about four or five times a minute.

1400s - The matchlock gun appears ... give each barrel separate ignition. 1540 - Rifling appears in firearms. 1607 - Settlers arrive in Jamestown, Virginia. 1630 - The first true flintlock.