The .40 S&W (10.2x21mm) is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by American firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Winchester in 1990. The .40 S&W was developed as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) reduced-velocity 10mm Auto cartridge which could be retrofitted into medium-frame semi-automatic handguns. It uses 0.40-inch (10 mm) diameter bullets ranging in weight from 105 to 200 grains.
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, for use in its new Colt Model 1908 pocket hammerless semi-automatic, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since, seeing wide use in numerous handguns. Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9×17mm, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9mm Browning Court. It should not be confused with .38 ACP. The .380 ACP does not strictly conform to cartridge naming conventions, named after the diameter of the bullet, as the actual bullet diameter of the .380 ACP is .355 inches.
The Cobray Company was an American developer and manufacturer of submachine guns, automatic carbines, handguns, shotguns, and non-lethal 37 mm launchers. These were manufactured by SWD. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cobray was a counter terrorist training center in addition to being an arms maker under the leadership of Mitch WerBell.
Taurus Armas S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturing conglomerate based in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Founded in 1924 as a tool and die forging plant, the company now consists of Taurus Armas, its firearm division, as well as other divisions focusing on metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets and civil construction.
Intratec was a firearm company based in Miami, Florida. The company's most famous product was the TEC-9.
Hi-Point Firearms, also known as Strassell's Machine, Inc, is an American firearms manufacturer based in Mansfield, Ohio. All of their firearms are manufactured in several different locations in Ohio.
JA Industries is an American firearms manufacturer based in Henderson, Nevada.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or similar space.
The .32 H&R Magnum, also known as the .32 Magnum, is a rimmed cartridge designed for use in revolvers. It was developed and introduced in 1984 as a joint venture between Harrington & Richardson and Federal Premium Ammunition.
Kahr Arms is an American small arms manufacturer focused on compact and mid-size semi-automatic pistols chambered for popular cartridges, including .380 ACP, 9mm Luger, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Kahr pistols feature polymer or stainless steel frames, single-stack magazines, and double-action-only striker firing actions. Kahr Arms is part of the Kahr Firearms Group, a US-based firearms manufacturer, which also includes Thompson Auto-Ordnance and Magnum Research. The Kahr Firearms Group company headquarters is in Greeley, Pennsylvania, with a manufacturing facility in Worcester, Massachusetts.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
The KRISS Vector is a series of weapons based upon the parent submachine gun design developed by the American company KRISS USA, formerly Transformational Defense Industries (TDI). They use an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived recoil and muzzle climb, invented by French engineer Renaud Kerbrat.
The Smith & Wesson Sigma was Smith & Wesson's first venture into using synthetic materials in pistol construction, with high-strength polymer material for the frame. The pistol is similar to a Glock safe-action pistol in both its design and operation, leading to controversy and speculation regarding patents infringement.
Glock is a brand of polymer-framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H.
Bond Arms Inc. is an American firearms manufacturer located in Granbury, Texas which makes derringers, the semi-automatic Bullpup9 pistol, and will soon be putting a tactical lever-action rifle into production by the end of 2023.
The Taurus Millennium series is a product line of double-action only (DAO) and single-action/double-action hammerless, striker-fired, short recoil operated, semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Forjas Taurus S/A in Porto Alegre Brazil. The Millennium line was designed to contend in the civilian concealed carry firearms market, and to be sold as backup weapons for law enforcement officers.
Chiappa Firearms, Armi Sport di Chiappa, is an Italian firearms manufacturing company based in Brescia. It was founded in 1958 by Ezechiele Chiappa as Armi Sport. Total unit production is around 60,000 per year. Its U.S. headquarters are in Dayton, Ohio.
Lorcin Engineering Company was a firearms manufacturer established in 1989 by Jim Waldorf. Lorcin produced a series of very inexpensive handguns, which were sold primarily through pawn shops and marketed to people with low income. As such, their guns were frequently referred to as Saturday night specials, and Lorcin was noted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as one of the Ring of Fire companies, a series of companies established around Los Angeles, California, all of which manufactured inexpensive handguns of similar design and all of which were connected to Raven Arms. Waldorf was a high school friend of Bruce Jennings, founder of Jennings Firearms who was also the son of Raven Arms founder George Jennings.
Davis Industries was a firearms manufacturer established in 1982 by Jim Davis. Davis produced a series of inexpensive handguns, which were sold primarily through pawn shops and marketed towards people with low income. The guns were constructed of injection-molded Zamak, a zinc alloy.
