1.
Pistol
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A pistol is a type of handgun. In some usage, the term refers to a subset of handguns. In other usage, the term is interchangeable with handgun, some handgun experts and dictionaries make a technical distinction that views pistols as a subset of handguns, others use the terms interchangeably. But UK/rest of Commonwealth usage does not always make this distinction, for example, the official designation of the Webley Mk VI revolver was Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No.1 Mk VI. The English word was introduced in ca.1570 from the Middle French pistolet, the etymology of the French word pistolet is disputed. The first suggestion derives the word from Czech píšťala, a type of hand-cannon used in the Hussite Wars during the 1420s, the Czech word was adopted in German as pitschale, pitschole, petsole, and variants. The second suggestion is less likely, the use of the word as a designation of a gun is not documented before 1605 in Italy, long after it was used in French, the Czech word is well documented since the Hussite wars in 1420s. Other suggestions include from Middle High German pischulle or from Middle French pistole, also it is suggested that early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel of a horses saddle. The most common types of pistol are the shot. Single shot handguns were mainly seen during the era of flintlock and musket weaponry where the pistol was loaded with a ball and fired by a flint striker. However, as technology improved, so did the single shot pistol, new operating mechanisms were created, and due to this, they are still made today. It is the oldest type of pistol, and is used to hunt wild game. Multi-barreled pistols were common during the time as single shot pistols. As designers looked for ways to increase fire rates, multiple barrels were added to all guns including pistols, one example of a multi-barreled pistol is the Ducks foot pistol, which generally had either four or eight barrels, although some 20th century models had three barrels. Around 1850, pistols such as the Jarre harmonica gun were produced that had a sliding magazine, the sliding magazine contained pinfire cartridges or speedloaders. The magazine needed to be moved manually in many designs, hence distinguishing them from semi-automatic pistols, 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. The semi-automatic pistol was the step in the development of the pistol. By avoiding multiple chambers—which need to be individually reloaded—semi-automatic pistols delivered faster rates of fire, an example of a modern blow back action semi-automatic pistol is the HK VP70
2.
Colt's Manufacturing Company
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Colts Manufacturing Company is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt. It is the corporation to Colts earlier firearms-making efforts, which started in 1836. Colts earliest designs played a role in the popularization of the revolver. Although Samuel Colt did not invent the concept, his designs resulted in the first very successful ones. The most famous Colt products include the Colt Walker, made 1847 in the facilities of Eli Whitney Jr. Though they did not develop it, for a long time Colt was also responsible for all AR-15 and M16 rifle production. The most successful and famous of these are numerous M16 carbines, including the Colt Commando family, in 2002, Colt Defense was split off from Colts Manufacturing Company. Colts Manufacturing Company now serves the market, while Colt Defense serves the law enforcement, military. The two companies remained in the same West Hartford, Connecticut location cross-licensing certain merchandise before reuniting in 2013, following the loss of its M4 contract in 2013, Colt was briefly in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, starting in 2015. Samuel Colt received a British patent on his design for a revolver in 1835. That same year, he founded his first corporation for its manufacture, the first firearm manufactured at the new Paterson plant, however, was the Colt First Model Ring Lever rifle beginning in 1837. This was followed thereafter in late 1837 by the introduction of the Colt Paterson. This corporation suffered quality problems in production, making firearms with interchangeable parts was still rather new, and it was not yet easy to replicate across different factories. Interchangeability was not complete in the Paterson works, and traditional gunsmithing techniques did not fill the gap entirely there, the Colt Paterson revolver found patchy success and failure, some worked well, while others had problems. The United States Marine Corps and United States Army reported quality problems with these earliest Colt revolvers, production had ended at the New Jersey corporation by 1842. Colt made another attempt at revolver production in 1846 and submitted a prototype to the US government, during the Mexican–American War, this prototype was seen by Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker who made some suggestions to Colt about making it in a larger caliber. Having no factory or machinery to produce the pistols, Samuel Colt collaborated with the Whitney armory of Whitneyville and this armory was run by the family of Eli Whitney. Eli Whitney Jr, the son of the patriarch, was the head of the family armory
3.
Rifling
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In firearms, rifling consists of helical grooves in the internal surface of a guns barrel, which impart a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability. Rifling is often described by its twist rate, which indicates the distance the rifling takes to complete one revolution, such as 1 turn in 10 inches. A shorter distance indicates a faster twist, meaning that for a given velocity the projectile will be rotating at a spin rate. Barrels intended for long, small-diameter bullets, such as the ultra-low-drag, 80-grain 0.223 inch bullets, extremely long projectiles such as flechettes may require high twist rates, these projectiles must be inherently stable, and are often fired from a smoothbore barrel. Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle. Consequently, on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired, barrel rifling was invented in Augsburg, Germany in 1498. In 1520 August Kotter, an armourer of Nuremberg, Germany improved upon this work, though true rifling dates from the mid-16th century, it did not become commonplace until the nineteenth century. The most successful weapons using rifling with black powder were breech loaders such as the Queen Anne pistol, the grooves most commonly used in modern rifling have fairly sharp edges. More recently, polygonal rifling, a throwback to the earliest types of rifling, has become popular, polygonal barrels tend to have longer service lives because the reduction of the sharp edges of the land reduces erosion of the barrel. Supporters of polygonal rifling also claim higher velocities and greater accuracy, polygonal rifling is currently seen on pistols from CZ, Heckler & Koch, Glock, Tanfoglio, and Kahr Arms, as well as the Desert Eagle. Such guns have achieved significant increases in velocity and range. Examples include the South African G5 and the German PzH2000, gain-twist rifling begins with very little change in the projectiles angular momentum during the first few inches of bullet travel after ignition during the transition from chamber to throat. This enables the bullet to remain undisturbed and trued to the case mouth. After engaging the rifling the bullet is progressively subjected to accelerated angular momentum as burning powder propels it down the barrel. By only gradually increasing the rate, torque is spread along a much longer section of barrel. Gain-twist rifling was used as early as the American Civil War, colt Army and Navy revolvers both employed gain-twist rifling
4.
International Practical Shooting Confederation
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The International Practical Shooting Confederation is the worlds second largest shooting sport association and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC as of 2016 affiliates 100 regions from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, competitions are held with pistol, revolver, rifle and shotgun, and competitors are divided into different divisions based on firearm and equipment features. While everyone in a division competes in the Overall category, there are also own separate awards for the categories Lady, Junior, Senior, IPSC organizes the World Championships called the Handgun World Shoot, Rifle World Shoot and Shotgun World Shoot with three year intervals for each discipline. The sport soon expanded to Europe, Australia, South America and Africa, jeff Cooper served as the first IPSC President. Today there are over 100 active IPSC regions, making shooting an major international sport which emphasizes firearms safety highly. Only full caliber firearms are used, i. e. for handguns 9x19 mm is the smallest caliber, accuracy and speed is reflected by the comstock scoring method, while power is reflected by the minimum power factor requirement. Competitors fire the stages one at a time, and the system is based on achieving most possible points in the shortest time. The method used is called comstock, named after its inventor Walt Comstock, the time is measured from the start signal until the last shot fired using special shot timers with microphones, and this way the competitor can influence the total stage time. Since the number of rounds is unlimited, the competitor can re-engage the same target in order to get more points, usually the two best scoring hits count for each target. Competitors are ranked for each stage by their hit factor, which is the ratio of points per second, the hit factor is calculated by summing the points and dividing by the time used. If a competitor scores 115 points and uses 25.00 seconds he will get a hit factor for that stage of 115 points⁄23.00 s =4.6. For the overall score, stage points are added for all stages. The scoring method allows for a precise gradation of performances across the match, the power factor is the momentum of the fired bullet as its moving through the air, which contribute to the recoil of the firearm. Thus, the factor in a way reflects recoil. In for instance handgun competitions the ammunition must exceed 125 kgr·ft/s for minor scoring, extra scoring is not given for exceeding the threshold. A competitor declaring major, but who fails the threshold, have their score re-calculated at minor, a competitor who fails the threshold of minor is given a score of zero for the match. Minimum power factors To achieve a varied, challenging and exciting sport there are no fixed target arrangements, distances or shooting programs, making every match unique. Paper and steel targets can be mixed in the same stage, paper targets have the three scoring zones A, C and D with points per hit varying slightly depending on power factor
5.
Body armor
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Body armor or Body armour, or personal armor/armour is protective clothing, designed to absorb and/or deflect slashing, bludgeoning and penetrating attacks by weapons. It was historically used to military personnel, whereas today, it is also used to protect various types of police, private citizens. Many factors have affected the development of personal armor throughout human history, significant factors in the development of armor include the economic and technological necessities of armor production. For instance full plate armor first appeared in Medieval Europe when water-powered trip hammers made the formation of plates faster and cheaper, with the development of capitalism and technological advancements armor became more available to the lower classes often at a cost of quality. Eastern armor has a history, spanning several thousand years. The oldest known Western armor is the Dendra panoply, dating from the Mycenaean Era around 1400 BC, mail, also referred to as chainmail, is made of interlocking iron rings, which may be riveted or welded shut. It is believed to have been invented by Celtic people in Europe about 500 BC, most cultures who used mail used the Celtic word Byrnne or a variant, suggesting the Celts as the originators. The Romans widely adopted mail as the lorica hamata, although they made use of lorica segmentata. While no non-metallic armor survives, a linen laminate known as linothorax is repeatedly mentioned in ancient Greek sources, in East Asian history laminated armor such as lamellar, and styles similar to the coat of plates, and brigandine were commonly used. Later cuirasses and plates were also used, in pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armor was made out of rhinoceros. Chinese influence in Japan would result in the Japanese adopting Chinese styles, gradually, small additional plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. By the late 13th century, the knees were capped, a variety of methods for improving the protection provided by mail were used as armorers seemingly experimented. Hardened leather and splinted construction were used for arm and leg pieces, the coat of plates was developed, an armor made of large plates sewn inside a textile or leather coat. Early plate in Italy, and elsewhere in the 13th to 15th centuries were made of iron, Iron armor could be carburized or case hardened to give a surface of harder steel. Mail continued to be used to protect those joints which could not be protected by plate, such as the armpit, crook of the elbow. Another advantage of plate was that a lance rest could be fitted to the breast plate, the small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet, the bascinet, as it was lengthened downward to protect the back of the neck and the sides of the head. Additionally, several new forms of fully enclosed helmets were introduced in the late 14th century to replace the great helm, such as the sallet and barbute and later the armet and close helm. By about 1400 the full harness of plate armor had been developed in armories of Lombardy Heavy cavalry dominated the battlefield for centuries in part because of their armor
6.
.357 Magnum
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The.357 S&W Magnum, or simply.357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge with a. 357-inch bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B, Wesson of firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wessons earlier.38 Special cartridge, the.357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in 1934, and its use has since become widespread. This cartridge started the Magnum era of handgun ammunition, the.357 Magnum cartridge is notable for its stopping power. The.357 Magnum was collaboratively developed over a period in the early to mid-1930s by a group of individuals in a response to Colts.38 Super Automatic. Tests at the revealed that those vests defeated any handgun cartridge traveling at less than about 1,000 feet per second. Colts.38 Super Automatic just edged over that velocity and was able to penetrate car doors and vests that bootleggers and gangsters were employing as cover. Though.38 and.357 would seem to be different diameter chamberings, they are in fact identical, the.38 Special nomenclature relates to the previous use of heeled bullets, which were the same diameter as the case. Thus, the only difference in the two cartridges is a slight difference in length, solely for safety purposes. Much credit for the. 357s early development is given to hunter and experimenter Elmer Keith, the. 38-44 HV load used the. 38-Special cartridge loaded to a much higher velocity than standard. 38-Special ammunition. The. 38-44 revolvers were made by using a.44 Special size gun with the barrel bored to accept. 357-caliber bullets, since the frame, cylinder, and barrel were much stronger than the standard.38 Special components, it was capable of withstanding much higher pressures. The. 38-44 HV round, while no longer available, was in most cases the equal of the later.357 Magnum, which works at more than double the pressure of standard.38 Special. Elmer Keith also contributed the Keith-style bullet, which increased the mass of bullet located outside the cartridge, the Keith bullet also employed a large, flat meplat, thus enabling rapid energy transfer for greater wounding properties. At the same time, this design does not deform like a hollow point. These characteristics of the Keith bullet make it suitable for hunting applications as well as for target shooting. In order to reassert itself as the leading law-enforcement armament provider, Smith & Wesson developed the.357 Magnum, Wesson leading the effort within Smith & Wesson, along with considerable technical assistance from Phillip B. Sharpe, a member of the Technical Division staff of the National Rifle Association, the new round was developed from Smith & Wessons existing.38 Special round. It used a different powder load, and ultimately the case was extended by 1⁄8 inch, the case extension was more a matter of safety than of necessity
7.
Magazine (firearms)
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A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines can be removable or integral to the firearm, the magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm. The detachable magazine is often referred to as a clip, although this is technically inaccurate, magazines come in many shapes and sizes, from those of bolt-action express rifles that hold only a few rounds to drum magazines for self-loading rifles that can hold one hundred rounds or more. Various jurisdictions ban what they define as high-capacity magazines, with the increased use of semi-automatic and automatic firearms, the detachable box magazine became increasingly common. Soon after the adoption of the M1911 pistol, the magazine was settled on by the military and firearms experts. The defining difference between clips and magazines is the presence of a mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower. Use of the clip to refer to detachable magazines is a point of strong disagreement. The first mass-produced repeater was the Volcanic Rifle which used a bullet with the base filled with powder and primer fed into the chamber from a spring-loaded tube called a magazine. It was named after a building or room used to store ammunition, the anemic power of the Rocket Ball ammunition used in the Volcanic doomed it to limited popularity. The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine fed rifle, designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, it was one of the first firearms to use self-contained metallic cartridges. The Henry was introduced in the early 1860s and produced through 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company and it was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War and favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. Many later found their way West and was famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle which are made to this day. The Henry and Winchester rifles would go on to see service with a number of militaries including Turkey, switzerland and Italy adopted similar designs. The first magazine-fed firearm to achieve success was the Spencer repeating rifle. The Spencer used a magazine located in the butt of the gun instead of under the barrel. The Spencer was successful, but the rimfire ammunition did occasionally ignite in the magazine tube and it could also injure the user. The new bolt-action rifles began to favor with militaries in the 1880s and were often equipped with tubular magazines. The Mauser Model 1871 was originally a single-shot action that added a magazine in its 1884 update
8.
Percussion cap
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The percussion cap, introduced circa 1820, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather. This gave rise to the caplock or percussionlock system, before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems that produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the guns main powder charge. Flintlocks were prone to misfire in wet weather, and many flintlock firearms were later converted to the more reliable percussion system, the percussion cap is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is an amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such as fulminate of mercury. The percussion cap is placed over a hollow metal nipple at the end of the gun barrel. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer strikes the percussion cap. The flame travels through the nipple to ignite the main powder charge. Percussion caps were, and still are, made in sizes for pistols and larger sizes for rifles. While the metal percussion cap was the most popular and widely used type of primer, accordingly, several manufacturers developed alternative, auto-priming systems. The Maynard tape primer, for example, used a roll of paper much like todays toy cap gun. The Maynard tape primer was fitted to some firearms used in the mid-nineteenth century, other disc or pellet-type primers held a supply of tiny fulminate detonator discs in a small magazine. Cocking the hammer automatically advanced a disc into position, however, these automatic feed systems were difficult to make with the manufacturing systems in the early and mid-nineteenth century and generated more problems than they solved. While it had a number of problems, it was used by the Prussians. In the 1850s, the cap was first integrated into a metallic cartridge. By the late 1860s, breech-loading metallic cartridges had made the percussion cap system obsolete, today, reproduction percussion firearms are popular for recreational shooters and percussion caps are still available. Most percussion caps now use non-corrosive compounds such as lead styphnate, the percussion cap replaced the flint, the steel frizzen, and the powder pan of the flint-lock mechanism. It was only applied to the British military musket in 1842. The first percussion firearm produced for the US military was the carbine version of the M1819 Hall rifle
9.
.45 ACP
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The.45 ACP, or.45 Auto is a handgun cartridge designed by John Browning in 1905, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials it was adopted along with the Browning.45 Colt handgun as the.45 M1911 cartridge, the handgun was designated M1911 handgun. The U. S. Cavalry had been buying and testing various handguns in the late 1890s, the.45 Colt Single Action Army had largely been replaced, even by some double-action versions of the same caliber. The Army had fielded some double-action revolvers in.38 Long Colt and they determined the.38 caliber round was significantly less effective than the.45 Colt against determined opponents such as the Moro juramentado warriors encountered in the Moro Rebellion. This experience, and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904 led the Army and they noted, however, training was critical to make sure a soldier could score a hit in a vulnerable part of the body. The result from Colt was the Model 1905 and the new.45 ACP cartridge. The resulting. 45-caliber cartridge, named the.45 ACP, was similar in performance to the.45 Schofield cartridge, by 1906, bids from six makers were submitted, among them Brownings design, submitted by Colt. Only DWM, Savage, and Colt made the first cut, DWM, which submitted two Parabellum P08s chambered in.45 ACP, withdrew from testing after the first round of tests, for unspecified reasons. In the second round of evaluations in 1910, the Colt design passed the testing with no failures. The Colt pistol was adopted as the Model 1911, the cartridge/pistol combination was quite successful but not satisfactory for U. S. military purposes. The very first production, at Frankford Arsenal, was marked F A811, the cartridge was designed by John Browning for Colt, but the most influential person in selecting the cartridge was Army Ordnance member Gen. John T. Thompson. Thompson insisted on a real man stopper pistol, following the showing of the Armys.38 Long Colt pistols during the Philippine–American War. The.45 ACP has 1.62 ml cartridge case capacity.45 ACP maximum C. I. P. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 406 mm,6 grooves, Ø lands =11.23 mm, Ø grooves =11.43 mm, land width =3.73 mm and the primer type is large pistol. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case at the L3 datum reference, according to Commission Internationale Permanente pour lEpreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives rulings, the.45 ACP cartridge case can handle up to 131.000 MPa Pmax piezo pressure. In CIP-regulated countries every pistol cartridge combination has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers and this means that.45 ACP chambered arms in C. I. P. Regulated countries are proof tested at 170.30 MPa PE piezo pressure. The SAAMI pressure limit for the.45 ACP is set at 21,000 psi piezo pressure, while the SAAMI pressure limit for the.45 ACP +P is set at 23,000 psi, piezo pressure
10.
Muzzle brake
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A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon that redirects propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire. They have been used in forms for rifles and pistols to help control recoil. They are used on pistols for practical pistol competitions, and are usually called compensators in this context, the interchangeable terms muzzle rise, muzzle flip, or muzzle climb refer to the tendency of a handheld firearms front end to rise after firing. Firearms with less height from the line to the barrel centerline tend to experience less muzzle rise. The muzzle rises primarily because, for most firearms, the centerline of the barrel is above the center of contact between the shooter and the grip and stock. The reactive forces from the bullet and propellant gases exiting the muzzle act directly down the centerline of the barrel. If that line of force is above the center of the points, this creates a moment or torque rotational force that makes the firearm rotate. The M1946 Sieg automatic rifle had a muzzle brake that made the rifle climb downward. Muzzle brakes are simple in concept, such as the one employed on the 90 mm M3 gun used on the M47 Patton tank and this consists of a small length of tubing mounted at right angles to the end of the barrel. Brakes most often utilize slots, vents, holes, baffles, the strategy of a muzzle brake is to redirect and control the burst of combustion gases that follows the departure of a projectile. All muzzle brake designs share a basic principle, they partially divert combustion gases at a sideways angle. The momentum of the diverted gases thus does not add to the recoil, the angle toward which the gases are directed will fundamentally affect how the brake behaves. If gases are directed upward, they exert a downward force. Construction of a brake or compensator can be as simple as a diagonal cut at the muzzle end of the barrel to direct some of the escaping gas upward. On the AKM assault rifle, the brake also angles slightly to the right to counteract the movement of the rifle under recoil. Another simple method is porting, where holes or slots are machined into the barrel near the muzzle to allow the gas to escape, more advanced designs use baffles and expansion chambers to slow escaping gases. This is the principle behind a linear compensator. Ports are often added to the chambers, producing the long
11.
Recoil
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Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms, early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow the recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded, however, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating the gun rearward during firing. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system. The same physics affecting recoil in mounted guns and cannons applies to hand-held guns, hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, a change in momentum of a mass requires a force, according to Newtons first law, known as the law of inertia, inertia simply being another term for mass. That force, applied to a mass, creates an acceleration, according to Newtons second law, the law of momentum -- changing the velocity of the mass changes its momentum. It is important to understand at this point that velocity is not simply speed, velocity is the speed of a mass in a particular direction. In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar, a magnitude, in summation, the total momentum of the system equals zero, surprisingly just as it did before the trigger was pulled. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy, recoil is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy. The nature of the process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in the barrel upon the gun. It is also determined by the force applied to the gun. The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun, except for the case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the force are not matched. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, an example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall, the recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum
