Types of handguns

Types of handguns

The general types of handguns are listed below in their order of historical appearance. Each type can be classified into many subtypes. Some of these types can also be differently classified using the general distinction between muzzle-loading firearms (loading from the front of the barrel) and breech-loading firearms (loading from behind the barrel).

Single-shot pistols

Western European handgun, 1380. 18 cm-long and weighing 1.04 kg, it was fixed to a wooden pole to facilitate manipulation. Musée de l'Armée.

Hand cannon from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). 

Single-shot pistols are theoretically the simplest pistols. The earliest handguns were single-shot, muzzle-loading guns with ignition provided by inserting a smoldering match cord into a touch hole. As such, they were essentially nothing more than miniature cannons, small enough to be handheld.

Improvements followed in subsequent centuries, as various types of locks (ignition devices) were invented. In the matchlock, the separate match cord was affixed to a spring-loaded pivot which could be tripped by a trigger. In the wheellock, a mechanism analogous to that used in today's cigarette lighters replaced the smoldering match cord. In the 17th century, the flintlock, which strikes a flint against steel, appeared. (The flintlock, amazingly, remained state-of-the-art for some two hundred years.) In the 19th century, percussion caps were developed, followed shortly by modern integrated-primer cartridges, and hammers therefore traded their flint for firing pins.

Single-shot pistols continue to be manufactured today and are often used for handgun hunting game, including big game. The most powerful handguns are capable of taking all game including elephant.

Multi-barreled pistols

Not long after the very beginning of firearms, inventors began experimenting with multi-barreled weapons in the quest for the ability to fire more than one shot before needing to reload. Not surprisingly, all types of firearms were included in their efforts, from volley guns to analogously devised handguns. Before anyone had developed a practical capability for delivering multiple loads to one barrel in quick succession (which is how repeating fire is usually accomplished today), gun smiths were aggregating multiple loaded barrels into one place.

Some examples of multi-barreled pistols are:

·         Duck's-foot pistols

·         Derringers

·         Pepper-box guns (variously referred to as pepper-box pistols or pepper-box revolvers)

·         Howdah pistols, often made from double-barreled rifles.

 

Semi-automatic pistols

Semi-automatic pistols

The next development in handgun history after a practical revolver was the development of the semi-automatic pistol, which uses the energy of one shot to reload the chamber for the next. Typically recoil energy from a fired round is mechanically harnessed; however, larger calibers may also be gas operated (e.g. Desert Eagle). After a round is fired, the pistol will cycle, ejecting the spent casing and chambering a new round from the magazine, allowing another shot to take place immediately.

Some terms that have been, or still are, used as synonyms for "semi-automatic pistol" are automatic pistol, auto pistol, autoloader, self-loading pistol and self loader.

Compact semi-automatic Smith & Wesson .45 ACP Chief's Special — Model CS45.

Walther P99, a semi-automatic pistol from the late 1990s.

 

 

Revolvers

Revolvers

Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army

A 1930s vintage Enfield revolver.

With the development of the revolver in the 19th century, gunsmiths had finally achieved the goal of a practical capability for delivering multiple loads to one handgun barrel in quick succession. Revolvers feed ammunition via the rotation of a cartridge-filled cylinder, in which each cartridge is contained in its own ignition chamber, and is sequentially brought into alignment with the weapon's barrel by a mechanism linked to the weapon's trigger (double-action) or its hammer (single-action). These nominally cylindrical chambers, usually numbering between five and eight depending on the size of the revolver and the size of the cartridge being fired, are bored through the cylinder so that their axes are parallel to the cylinder's axis of rotation; thus, as the cylinder rotates, the chambers revolve about the cylinder's axis.

There is a hybrid form of the revolver, known as the automatic revolver, which combines the revolving chamber concept of the conventional revolver with the recoil-harnessing, self-cycling ability of the semi-automatic pistol. Weapons of this type are rare, as the technology was quickly rendered obsolete by a combination of the double-action revolver and the semi-automatic pistol.

 

Multiple senses of the word "pistol"

Nomenclature variations

Multiple senses of the word "pistol"

The word "pistol" is often synonymous with the word "handgun". Some handgun experts make a technical distinction that views pistols as a subset of handguns. Sometimes in American usage, the term "pistol" refers to a handgun whose chamber is integral with the barrel, making pistols distinct from the other main type of handgun, the revolver, which has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers. However, Commonwealth usage makes no distinction at a technical level—"pistol" may refer to revolvers, semi-automatics, or muzzle-loading/cap-&-ball handguns. For example, the official designation of the Webley Mk VI was "Pistol, Revolver, Webley No. 1 Mk VI", and the designation "Pistol No. 2 Mk I" was used to refer to both the Enfield Revolver and the later Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic.

The first pistols were made as early as the 15th century, but their creator is unknown. By the 18th century, the term came to be used often to refer to handheld firearms. Practical revolver designs appeared in the 19th century, and it was in that century that the (sometimes-observed) technical differentiation in usage from the words "pistol" and "revolver" developed, at that time differentiating the newer revolver from the single-shot pistols previously in use.

Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, model 1849, using a Percussion cap mechanism.

Derringers are small and can be easily concealed.

 

 

Machine pistols

Machine pistols

A machine pistol is generally defined as a firearm designed to be fired with one hand, and capable of fully automatic or selective fire. While there are a number of machine pistols such as the Glock 18 and later models of the Mauser C96, these are rare; the light weight, small size, and extremely rapid rates of fire of a machine pistol make them difficult to control, making the larger and heavier submachine gun a better choice in cases where the small size of a machine pistol is not needed. Most machine pistols can attach a shoulder stock (the Heckler & Koch VP70 would only fire single rounds at a time unless the stock was attached); others, such as the Beretta 93R, add a forward handgrip. Either of these additions technically creates a legal non-pistol under the US National Firearms Act, as pistols are by definition designed to be fired with one hand. The addition of a stock or forward handgrip is considered a design change that creates either a short-barreled rifle or any other weapon, and therefore such additions are generally only found on legal machine guns.

Luger or P00 Parabellum, used by the Swiss Army from 1900 to 1949 (among other Parabellum models).

 

Lever action pistols

Lever action pistols

Volcanic Pistol .41 cal

The first lever action pistols were based on a Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson patent of 1854. The Smith & Wesson pistols were made in Norwich, Connecticut 1854-55. In 1855, Oliver F. Winchester became an active investor and H. Smith and D.B. Wesson both dropped out of the enterprise. In July 1855, the name was changed to Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, and later to New Haven Arms Company, opening an important chapter in Winchester's history. The production of the Volcanic pistols lasted until 1860. Two models were produced: The Navy Pistol .41 cal. with 6" / 8" / 16 " barrels and a Pocket Pistol .31 cal. with 3½" / 6" barrels.

 

Handgun

Handgun

"Pistol" redirects here. For other uses, see Pistol (disambiguation).

"Pistols" redirects here. For the football team, see Pueblo Pistols.

 

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand, with the other hand optionally supporting the shooting hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from their larger counterparts: long guns such as rifles and shotguns (which are held in both hands and usually braced against the shoulder), mounted weapons such as machine guns and auto cannons, and larger weapons such as artillery

Some handgun subtypes include derringers single-shot pistols, revolvers semi-automatic pistol paper boxes, and machine pistols The overlapping variations in meaning of the words "pistol" and "handgun" are discussed below

A Browning 9×19mm Hi-power, also known as the GP (Grande Puissance) 35.

Etymology of "pistol"

Etymology of "pistol"

A disassembled Taurus Millennium series PT145 pistol.

 

The word "pistol" is derived from the French pistole (or pistolet), which has these possible origins:

·         From the Czech pistole and this one from the Czech píšťala (flute or pipe, referring to the shape of a Hussite firearm), from Middle High German pischulle or from Middle French pistole.

·         From the city of Pistoia, Italy, where hand-held guns (designed to be fired from horseback) were first produced in the 1540s.

·         That early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel (or pistallo in medieval French) of a horse's saddle

 

Advantages of semi-automatics

Advantages of semi-automatics

Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic.

·         Larger ammunition capacity: semi-automatics typically carry around 7 to 20 rounds; whilst most revolvers carry between 5 and 8 rounds.

·         Compact ammo storage: The flat shape of most magazines make them more convenient to carry than the speed loaders needed for revolvers.

·         Slimmer profile: Semi-automatics often have a significantly slimmer and easier to conceal frame as they do not suffer from the bulge produced by cylinder of a revolver.

·         Lighter: Some modern semi-automatics have frames made of polymers, making them lighter and more comfortable to carry for long periods. Recent advancements in technology and design major manufacturers are producing polymer frame revolvers like the Ruger LCR, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38, and Taurus Protector Polymer that rivals the weight of polymer semi-automatics.

·         Safety: Some semi-automatics incorporate an external safety switch, which prevents the gun from firing. Most revolvers do not have such a feature, though the same is true of many semi-automatics. There is debate over whether external safety switches are necessary, particularly in models with trigger-activated firing pin blocks, though many users prefer them for peace of mind regardless of whether or not they are safer.

·         Quieter: With similar ammunition, a semi-automatic is typically slightly quieter. Flash and noise can be suppressed. Noise and flash suppressors are ineffective in most revolvers due to noise and flash escaping the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. Suppressors are illegal in many jurisdictions.

·         Less expensive ammunition: semi-automatics often fire standard military ammunition, which is more readily available and cheaper thanks to extensive mass production. However, some revolver cartridges such as .38 Special are comparable in their cost and availability to popular auto loading cartridges such as 9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP.