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 commonly called six shooters.
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.
A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm, is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a following round of cartridge into the chamber and prepares it for subsequent firing, but requires the shooter to manually actuate the trigger in order to discharge each shot. Typically, this involves the weapon's action utilizing the excess energy released during the preceding shot to unlock and move the bolt, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber, all without input from the user. To fire again, however, the user must actively release the trigger, allow it to "reset", before pulling the trigger again to fire off the next round. As a result, each trigger pull only discharges a single round from a semi-automatic weapon, as opposed to a fully automatic weapon, which will shoot continuously as long as the ammunition is replete and the trigger is kept depressed.
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 slide on the majority of fully/semi-automatic pistols is the upper part that reciprocates ("slides") with recoil during the gun's operating cycle. It serves as the bolt carrier group (BCG) and partly as the receiver, and generally houses the firing pin/striker, the extractor and frequently also the barrel, and provides a mounting platform for iron and optical sights.
The Beretta 92G-SD and 96G-SD Special Duty handguns are semi-automatic, locked-breech delayed recoil-operated, double/single-action pistols, fitted with the heavy, wide Brigadier slide, chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge (92G-SD) and the .40 S&W cartridge (96G-SD), framed with the addition of the tactical equipment rail, designed and manufactured by Beretta.
The Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the P88. The P99 and its variants are also made under licence by Fabryka Broni Radom.
An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm is an autoloading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge to feed a new ammunition round into the chamber, and then igniting the propellant and discharging the projectile by delivering a hammer or striker impact on the primer.
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.
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. As semi-automatic firearms, the shooter must manually operate the trigger to discharge each shot.
The USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns.
The Heckler & Koch P2000 is a German semi-automatic pistol introduced late in 2001 and intended primarily for law enforcement, paramilitary, and commercial markets. It is based on the USP Compact pistol. The P2000 was designed specifically with improved ergonomic characteristics; it has features that reduce handling related stresses, while at the same time increasing user handling and comfort.
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.
A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks an external hammer that the user can manipulate directly. One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency for it to get caught on items such as clothing; covering the hammer by removing the hammer spur reduces this from occurring.
The Browning BDM is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by the Browning Arms Company from 1991 until production ceased in 1998. Similar in appearance to Browning's "Hi-Power" pistol, the BDM was actually a new design created to compete in service trials for a proposal as a standard issue pistol for the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, the BDM failed to win any large scale law enforcement contracts, so was instead sold only in the retail market. Having a similar profile to the Browning P-35 Hi-Power, the BDM and its variants are often conflated as mere variants of the much older P-35 model, or other newer Browning or FN Herstal pistols that were updated variants of the P-35, such as the Hi-Power DAO model. However, the Browning BDM pistol is distinct from all forms of the Browning Hi-Power pistol.
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 following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
FN HP-DA is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed by Belgian Fabrique Nationale arms factory in Herstal. In North American markets, it was marketed as the Browning BDA and is also referred to as Browning DA and Browning Hi-Power BDA.
The CZ 2075 RAMI is a semi-automatic pistol made by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod (CZUB) in the Czech Republic. It features a staggered-column magazine, all-metal construction or optional Polyframe, and a hammer-forged floating barrel. The gun's name, RAMI, is derived from combining the first two letters of the designers' given names, Radek Hauerland and Milan Trkulja.
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.
