In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading weapon that handles the ammunition, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot weapons with a closed off breech and the ammunition is manually loaded through the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock,.
John Moses Browning was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms – many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop, and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries, and pioneered the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms.
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun (pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actually discharge the following shot. As a result, only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge.
The M1901 Mannlicher Self-Loading, Semi-Automatic Pistol was an early semi-automatic pistol design.
A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a weapon at the moment of firing.
The Beretta M1951 is a 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol, developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s by Pietro Beretta S.p.A. of Italy. The pistol was produced strictly for military use and was introduced into service with the Italian Armed Forces and security forces as the Modello 1951 (M1951), replacing the Modello 1934 pistol, chambered for the 9×17mm Short cartridge.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, suitable for concealed carry in either a coat, jacket or trouser pocket.
The Sauer 38H or often just H was a small semi-automatic pistol made in Nazi Germany from 1938 until just after the end of World War II by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, then based in Suhl, Germany. The "H" in the model number is short for "hahn", referring to the internal hammer of the firing mechanism.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is a variant introduced five years later in .380 ACP caliber. Despite the title "hammerless", the Model 1903 does have a hammer. The hammer is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide. This allows the pistol to be carried in and withdrawn from a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging.
Locked breech is the design of a breech-reloading firearm's action. This is important in understanding how a self-reloading firearm works. In the simplest terms, the locked breech is one way to slow down the opening of the breech of a self-reloading firearm when fired. The source of power for the movement is recoil.
The SIG Sauer P230 is a small, semi-automatic handgun chambered in .32 ACP or .380 Auto. It was designed by SIG Sauer of Eckernförde, Germany. It was imported into the United States by SIGARMS in 1985. In 1996 it was replaced by the model P232.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by the American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original Colt M1900. The Colt M1902 Sporting Model and 1903 Pocket Hammer model have significant differences to the military-inspired Colt 1902 Military Model although they fire the same cartridge. Its design is in no way related to the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless or the FN Model 1903 pistol.
Llama Firearms, officially known as Llama-Gabilondo y Cia SA, was a Spanish arms company founded in 1904 under the name Gabilondo and Urresti. Its headquarters were in Eibar in the Basque Country, Spain, but they also had workshops during different times in Elgoibar and Vitoria. The company manufactured moderate-priced revolvers and self-chambering pistols in a wide variety of models. These were popular mainly in the European and Latin American export market, as well as domestically in Spain.
The 1931 Fabrique Nationale (FN) Baby Browning is a small blowback-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Belgium-born Dieudonné Saive chambered in .25 ACP. The pistol features a six-round magazine capacity and is a striker-fired, single action, blow back mechanism. The manual thumb operated safety locks the slide in the closed position when engaged using side thumb pressure.
The Savage Model 1907 is a semi-automatic pocket pistol produced by the Savage Arms, from 1907 until 1920. It was chambered in .32 ACP and, from 1913 until 1920, in .380 ACP. Although smaller in size, it is derived from the .45 semi-automatic pistol Savage submitted to the 1906-1911 US Army trials to choose a new semi-automatic sidearm. After several years of testing the Savage pistol was one of two finalists but ultimately lost to the Colt entry, which became famous as the Colt Model 1911. 181 of these .45 ACP pistols were returned to Savage after the testing and sold on the civilian market.
The Ortgies 7.65 mm pistol was a hammerless semi-automatic pistol produced in Germany in the years immediately after World War I, first by its inventor Heinrich Ortgies and then by Deutsche Werke. Inexpensive, but of good quality, the pistol achieved considerable success at contemporary shooting competitions and, as an export product, was popular throughout the Americas.
The Beretta 70 is a magazine-fed, single-action semi-automatic pistol series designed and produced by Beretta of Italy, which replaced the earlier 7.65mm Beretta M1935 pistol. Some pistols in this series were also marketed as the Falcon, New Puma, New Sable, Jaguar, and Cougar. The gun is notable for its appearances in film, and is also the first compact Beretta pistol to feature several improvements commonly found in Beretta pistols for the rest of the century.
In 1977 Browning introduced four models of their Browning BDA handgun. These guns came in two frame sizes from two different makers. The large frame handgun was made in three calibers; 9x 19mm Parabellum, .38 Super, and .45 ACP. The guns were sold from 1977 until 1980. These guns were made in Germany by Sig-Sauer.
The Beretta Model 1915 or Beretta M1915 is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Beretta, designed by Tullio Marengoni who was the chief engineer in the company, to replace the Glisenti Model 1910 which had a complex and weak firing mechanism. It is the first semi-automatic pistol which was manufactured by the company, and issued as a service pistol in Royal Italian Army during World War I. The total production of the Beretta M1915 is estimated about 15,670 during 1915-1918, and about 56,000 of Beretta M1915/1917. Some of the pistols were also used in World War II until 1945. The design of the pistol is similar to modern Beretta pistols such as Beretta M1923, Beretta M1934, Beretta M1935, Beretta M1951, Beretta 70, Beretta 92, Beretta Cheetah, and Beretta M9.
