A firearm is a portable gun that inflicts damage on targets by launching one or more projectiles driven by rapidly expanding high-pressure gas produced chemically by exothermic combustion (deflagration) of propellant within an ammunition cartridge. If gas pressurization is achieved through mechanical gas compression rather than through chemical propellant combustion, then the gun is technically an air gun, not a firearm.
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire rifle cartridges in rapid succession from an ammunition belt or magazine for the purpose of suppressive fire. Not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns. Submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, battle rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. As a class of military rapid-fire guns, machine guns are fully automatic weapons designed to be used as support weapons and generally used when attached to a mount- or fired from the ground on a bipod or tripod. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, features not normally found on rifles.
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round. The .38 Special was the standard service cartridge of most police departments in the United States from the 1920s to the 1990s, and was also a common sidearm cartridge used by soldiers in World War I. In other parts of the world, it is known by its metric designation of 9×29.5mmR or 9.1×29mmR.
The Pancor Corporation Jackhammer was a 12-gauge, blow-forward gas-operated bullpup automatic shotgun designed in 1984 and patented in 1987. Only three working prototypes of the Jackhammer were built. Nonetheless, its distinctive aesthetics and futuristic design have made it a prop in action films, television programs, and video games.
A semi-automatic firearm, also called self-loading firearm or autoloading firearm, is one that not only fires a bullet each time the trigger is pulled, but also performs all steps necessary to prepare it to discharge again—assuming cartridges remain in the firearm's feed device. Typically, this includes extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the firing chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber. To fire again, the trigger is released and re-pressed.
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of pistol that is semi-automatic, meaning it uses the energy of the fired cartridge to cycle the action of the firearm and advance the next available cartridge into position for firing. One cartridge is fired each time the trigger of a semi-automatic pistol is pulled; the pistol's "disconnector" ensures this behavior.
The .357 S&W Magnum (9×33mmR), or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge with a .357-inch (9.07 mm) bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Winchester.
In firearms, the chamber is the portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted before being fired. Rifles and pistols generally have a single chamber in their barrel, but revolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinder, and no chamber in their barrel. Thus rifles and pistols can usually be fired with a detached magazine, while a revolver cannot be fired with its cylinder swung out.
A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to further speed the loading process. Unlike a rotary cannon, a revolver cannon has only a single barrel, thus its spun weight is lower. Automatic revolver cannon have been produced by many different manufacturers.
An automatic revolver is a revolver that uses the energy of firing for cocking the hammer and revolving the cylinder, rather than using manual operations to perform these actions. Examples of genuine semi-automatic revolvers are rare, and the term is more often applied to break-open revolvers with automatic systems for ejecting spent casings on opening.
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the firing sequence of a firearm, airgun, crossbow or speargun. A trigger may also start other non-shooting mechanisms such as a trap, a switch or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger causes the release of much more energy.
The GP100 is a family/line of double action six- or seven-shot, seven-shot, or ten-shot revolvers made by Sturm, Ruger & Co., manufactured in the United States. Since its introduction, it has been produced in a number of variations with three basic barrel lengths, various barrel profiles, fixed or adjustable sights, and in blued carbon steel, and polished or satin stainless steel.
A handgun is a short-barrelled firearm that can be held and used with one hand. The two most common handgun sub-types in use today are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.
A pistol is a type of handgun. The pistol originates in the 16th century, when early handguns were produced in Europe. The English word was introduced in ca. 1570 from the Middle French pistolet. The most common types of pistol today are the single shot and semi-automatic.
The Model 610 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the 10mm Auto cartridge.
The Model 1892 revolver is a French service revolver produced by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne as a replacement for the MAS 1873 revolver. It was the standard issue sidearm for officers in the French military during the First World War.
The Mauser C78 zig-zag was a single-action revolver manufactured by Mauser during the late 19th century. It was chambered in calibers from 6 mm to 11 mm and had a six-round, zig-zag-grooved cylinder, hence the name of the revolver.
In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling.
The Confederate Revolving Cannon was a weapon developed and used during the U.S. Civil War. The weapon had a design similar to that of a revolver pistol, scaled up to the size of a cannon.
