Percussion caps (caplock mechanisms), coming into wide service in the 19th century, were a dramatic improvement over flintlocks.

The term hammer is also used for some devices that are designed to deliver blows, e.g., the caplock mechanism of firearms.

Musketoons had a brass or iron barrel, and used a wheellock, flintlock or caplock mechanism firing mechanism, like the typical musket of the period.

The caplock mechanism consists of a hammer, similar to the hammer used in a flintlock, and a nipple (sometimes referred to as a "cone"), which holds a small percussion cap.

The caplock mechanism or "percussion" lock was the successor of the flintlock mechanism in firearm technology, and used a percussion cap struck by the hammer to set off the main charge, rather than using a piece of flint to strike a steel frizzen.