A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are also commonly called six shooters.
A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, or machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. The modern derringer is often multi-barreled, and is generally the smallest usable handgun of any given caliber and barrel length due to the lack of a moving action, which takes up more space behind the barrel. It is frequently used by women because it is easily concealable in a purse or a stocking.
A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. 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.
The Makarov pistol or PM is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it became the Soviet Union's standard military and Militsiya side arm in 1951.
The CZ 52 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by two brothers, Jan and Jaroslav Kratochvíl, in the early 1950s for the Czechoslovak military. Around 200,000 vz. 52s were made by Česká Zbrojovka in Strakonice from 1952 to 1954. Before standardizing on the 7.62×25mm vz. 52, the Czechoslovak military used several domestic and foreign pistol models in three different calibers. After 30 years of military service, the vz. 52 was eventually replaced by the 9×18mm Makarov caliber vz. 82.
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun or externally attached. The magazine functions by holding several cartridges within itself and sequentially pushing each one into a position where it may be readily loaded into the barrel chamber by the firearm's moving action. The detachable magazine is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "clip", although this is technically inaccurate since a clip is actually an accessory device used to help load ammunition into a magazine.
The TT-30, commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet military to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver that had been in use since the Russian Empire, though it ended up being used in conjunction with, rather than replacing, the M1895. It served with the Soviet Armed Forces until 1952, when it was replaced by the Makarov pistol.
An automatic revolver also known as semi-automatic revolver, is a revolver that uses the recoil energy of firing for cocking the hammer and revolving the cylinder, rather than using manual operations to perform these actions. Despite the misnomer "automatic", such revolvers are actually semi-automatic. The weapon will not discharge continuously; the shooter must manually operate the trigger to discharge each shot.
The Heckler & KochP7 is a German 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol designed by Helmut Weldle and produced from 1979 to 2008 by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K). It was revealed to the public for the first time in 1976 as the PSP. The P7M13, a variant of the P7 with a double-stack magazine, was produced until 2000, and was unsuccessfully submitted to the U.S. Army XM9 pistol trials as a replacement for the M1911 pistol.
The Type 94 Nambu 8 mm pistol is a semiautomatic pistol developed by Kijirō Nambu and his associates for the Imperial Japanese Army. Development of the Type 94 pistol began in 1929, and after several redesigns the final prototype was tested and officially adopted by the Japanese army in late 1934. The Type 94 pistol entered production in 1935. Approximately 71,000 pistols were manufactured before production ended in 1945.
The Karabiner Modell 1931 is a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle. It was the standard issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces from 1933 until 1958 though examples remained in service into the 1970s. It has a 6-round removable magazine, and is chambered for the 7.5×55mm Swiss Gewehrpatrone 1911 or GP 11, a cartridge with ballistic qualities similar to the 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester cartridge. Each rifle included a 6-round detachable box magazine with matching stamped serial number. A stripper clip can be used to load the magazine from the top of the receiver.
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a power tool, or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy.
Improvised firearms are firearms manufactured other than by a firearms manufacturer or a gunsmith, and are typically constructed by adapting existing materials to the purpose. They range in quality from crude weapons that are as much a danger to the user as the target to high-quality arms produced by cottage industries using salvaged and repurposed materials.
The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
The Ruger Vaquero is a six-shot single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. based on the New Model Ruger Blackhawk frame and was introduced in 1993. It comes in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish, all of which are available with wood, hard rubber, simulated ivory or black micarta grips and fixed sights. It arose with the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting from which came demand for a single-action revolver that was more traditional in appearance.
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was chambered for the same .45 ACP round fired by the Thompson submachine gun, but was cheaper to mass produce and lighter, although, contrary to popular belief, it was less accurate. The M3 was commonly referred to as the "Grease Gun" or simply "the Greaser," owing to its visual similarity to the mechanic's tool.
The Tranter revolver was a double-action cap & ball revolver invented around 1856 by English firearms designer William Tranter (1816–1890). Originally operated with a special dual-trigger mechanism later models employed a single-trigger mechanism much the same as that found in the contemporary Beaumont–Adams 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 Johnston Model D1918 was a light machine gun. It is a rare and little-known weapon with scant information available on it. It is best known for its resemblance to the Lewis Gun, having a similar gas-operated action and a barrel surrounded by a cooling shroud.
