First you hear the small click as the hammer drops forward and the flint strikes the frizzen, a metal plate made of steel, causing sparks to drop into the pan holding a small amount of gunpowder. The resulting fire, or flash in the pan, caused by the sparks igniting the powder travels through a small hole in the barrel where the main charge of gunpowder rests. A lead bullet with its wrapping of cloth separating the bullet from the powder charge sits tightly packed against the main powder charge. In a moment almost too fast to measure the main charge of powder ignites with a mighty roar and the bullet and the fire driving it speeds down the barrel to its target.

When everything happens correctly, and you truly want it to happen correctly, say when a grizzly is charging you intent on dismembering you, or an enemy is trying to shoot you at the same time you’re trying to shoot him, you want all the actions described above to function as designed and produce that fire in the hole. As you can see above everything worked as planned and a successful shot was fired. Now to load the rifle again in a big hurry if that shot at the grizzly went wide.