History of Firearms
Goals
• Develop a general understanding of the
history and development of firearms.
• Gain a basic understanding of the function
of firearms.
Word of Caution
• Beware Gun store
Commandos, Sales
person SEALs, Space
Shuttle Door Gunners.
• There's tons of bullshit
about firearms out
there. Internet,
magazines and
conversation. Trust but
verify/
Before we start
• You folks have things to bring to the table,
please do.
• This is a field you will continue to learn as
long as you live
What came first
• By the early 1200’s
the Chinese had
invented gunpowder.
But it wasn’t until
later that the earliest
firearms were used.
The first
• By the mid 1300’s the
first recorded use of a
firearm was noted.
• These were primitive
muzzle loading black
powder firearms.
• Referred to has hand
cannons or hand
gonnes.
Before we go further
Recap
• An assembly of a barrel and action from
which a projectile(s) is propelled by
products of combustion.
• Powder burns, creates gas, gas makes
pressure, pressure launches projectile.
Muzzleloaders
• Muzzle loaders are
firearms that are
loaded from the
muzzle end of the
barrel.
• You will need to know
and be able to give
examples of
muzzleloaders.
Matchlock Guns
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=KUE4dzFPFJU
Matchlock
• 1400s
• Primitive triggers
allow the mechanical
firing of guns
Matchlock
• Complicated and
fragile firing system.
• Gunpowder was
placed in a flash pan
• Lit fuse ignited the
flash pan which
ignited the main
powder charge
Matchlock
• Pros- First trigger
• Cons- Fragile, weather
sensitive, poor
accuracy
Matchlock
• Define “touchhole”
• Must be in a firearms
context.
Wheel lock guns
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsl0B
cVpog
Wheel lock guns
• Early 1500s
• Think of cigarette
lighters.
• Flint and steel
ignition.
Wheel lock
Wheel lock
• Flint + Steel = sparks
Wheel lock
• Pros- Shorter lock
time, better accuracy,
Less weather sensitive.
• Cons- Fragile
operating system, very
expensive to
manufacture.
Flintlocks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJCH5W2Z1pU
Flintlocks
• On the scene by 1630
• Cheaper to produce
then wheel locks.
Flintlock
• Pros- Cheap to
produce, relatively fast
reloads, work well for
pirate movies.
• Cons- weather
sensitive, fragile
Flintlocks
Percussion Caps
• 1820s
• Making serious strides
towards cartridges
• Explosive pressure
sensitive
• Ignition system much
less sensitive to
weather.
Percussion Caps
Percussion Caps
Percussion Caps
Percussion Caps
Percussion Caps
• Pros- Cheap, fast lock
time, improved
weather resistance,
multi-shot (repeater)
action, looks good in
Westerns
• Cons- Slow reload
time, possible
sympathetic
detonations.
Percussion Caps
Percussion Caps
• 1835 Samuel Colt introduced the first mass
produced revolver.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbUE1o
zd0fQ
Word of Caution
• Sympathetic ignition
is when you fire one
chamber and one or
more of the adjacent
cylinders fire.
Pinfire
• 1840
• Off set primer
• Firing pin part of
cartridge.
Pinfire
Pinfire
Pinfire
Rimfire
• 1840s
• Round of ammo is
complete.
• No cartridge pin
• Longest lived
cartridge to date is
rimfire
Rimfire
• BB caps
• One of the oldest
cartridges used for
indoor gallery
shooting.
• Primer only, no
gunpowder
Rimfire
• Rimfire has the
priming compound in
the rim of the
cartridge.
• Cartridge is self
contained allows fast
reloading, repeating
action, reliability
Early Rimfire
•
Modern Rimfire
• Most common
ammunition sold in
the world.
• Pros- Cheap, Accurate,
reliable
• Cons- limitations of
velocity and caliber
22LR
22LR
•
•
•
•
•
Most common cartridge
Very accurate
Cheap
Reliable
Virtually no recoil minimal noise
22LR
Center fire
Center fire
Why Center fire
• Reloadable
• Capable of big
projectiles and high
velocities
• Reliable
• Very weather resistant
Center fire Cons
$
Modern Firearms
Modern Firearms
• 2 main groups
• Handguns
• Longguns
What's a Revolver
• A repeating firearm
that has a cylinder
with multiple
chambers. The
cylinder rotates when
trigger is pulled.
Handguns-Revolvers
•
• Single Action vs.
Double Action
• Various loading
methods
Revolvers
• Break top
Revolvers
• Break top
Revolvers
• Gate loading
Revolvers
• Gate loading
Revolver
• Pull out cylinder
Revolver
• Swing out cylinder
Revolver
• Swing out cylinder is
activated by the
cylinder release
Derringers
Derringers
• Single or multi-shot
handgun generally
small in size and can
be one or more
barrels.
Derringers
• 4 barrel model
Derringers
• Flip action
Pistols
• Generally a semiautomatic firearm
designed to be
handheld
Pistols
• Single Action
Pistols
• Safe Action
About Glocks
• 1st successful polymer
frame gun
• Will set off metal
detector
• Bruce Willis in Die
Hard Movie
• Controversy sells
• Intro in 1985
About Glocks
• Pros- Tough and
reliable.
• Cons- no lead ammo ,
Bad gun to reload for
Shotguns
• Long gun designed
with a smooth barrel
(no rifling).
• Shoulder fired
• Pellets or slugs
Pellets
Pellets
Pellets
Slug
Slug
Shotguns
• Pump
Shotguns
• Pump
Shotguns
• Semi-automatic
Shotguns
• Over-under
Shotguns
• Side by side
Winchester 21
Rifles
• Lever
Rifles
• Pump
Rifles
• Semi-automatic
Assault Rifles
Assault Rifles
• Legal term vs. military
term
• Typically applied to
semi-automatic
firearms
Military term
• Small caliber or
intermediate caliber
firearm capable of
select or automatic
fire.
Machine guns
• Heavy firearms
designed for sustained
automatic fire
• Legal term: any
firearm capable of
firing more then 1
round per pull of
trigger
Submachine gun
• Pistol caliber firearm
capable of automatic
fire.