History of Firearms

Goals

• Develop a general understanding of the history and development of firearms.

• Gain a basic understanding of the function of firearms.

Word of Caution

• Beware Gun store Commandos, Sales person SEALs, Space Shuttle Door Gunners.

• There's tons of bullshit about firearms out there. Internet, magazines and conversation. Trust but verify/

Before we start

• You folks have things to bring to the table, please do.

• This is a field you will continue to learn as long as you live

What came first

• By the early 1200’s the Chinese had invented gunpowder. But it wasn’t until later that the earliest firearms were used.

The first

• By the mid 1300’s the first recorded use of a firearm was noted.

• These were primitive muzzle loading black powder firearms.

• Referred to has hand cannons or hand gonnes.

Before we go further

Recap

• An assembly of a barrel and action from which a projectile(s) is propelled by products of combustion.

• Powder burns, creates gas, gas makes pressure, pressure launches projectile.

Muzzleloaders

• Muzzle loaders are firearms that are loaded from the muzzle end of the barrel.

• You will need to know and be able to give examples of muzzleloaders.

Matchlock Guns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUE4dzFPFJU

Matchlock

• 1400s• Primitive triggers

allow the mechanical firing of guns

Matchlock

• Complicated and fragile firing system.

• Gunpowder was placed in a flash pan

• Lit fuse ignited the flash pan which ignited the main powder charge

Matchlock

• Pros- First trigger • Cons- Fragile, weather

sensitive, poor accuracy

Matchlock

• Define “touchhole”• Must be in a firearms

context.

Wheel lock guns

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsl0BcVpog

Wheel lock guns

• Early 1500s• Think of cigarette

lighters.• Flint and steel

ignition.

Wheel lock

Wheel lock

• Flint + Steel = sparks

Wheel lock

• Pros- Shorter lock time, better accuracy, Less weather sensitive.

• Cons- Fragile operating system, very expensive to manufacture.

Flintlocks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJCH5W2Z1pU

Flintlocks

• On the scene by 1630• Cheaper to produce

then wheel locks.

Flintlock

• Pros- Cheap to produce, relatively fast reloads, work well for pirate movies.

• Cons- weather sensitive, fragile

Flintlocks

Percussion Caps

• 1820s• Making serious strides

towards cartridges• Explosive pressure

sensitive• Ignition system much

less sensitive to weather.

Percussion Caps

Percussion Caps

Percussion Caps

Percussion Caps

Percussion Caps

• Pros- Cheap, fast lock time, improved weather resistance, multi-shot (repeater) action, looks good in Westerns

• Cons- Slow reload time, possible sympathetic detonations.

Percussion Caps

Percussion Caps

• 1835 Samuel Colt introduced the first mass produced revolver.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbUE1ozd0fQ

Word of Caution

• Sympathetic ignition is when you fire one chamber and one or more of the adjacent cylinders fire.

                                    

Pinfire

• 1840• Off set primer• Firing pin part of

cartridge.

Pinfire

Pinfire

Pinfire

Rimfire

• 1840s• Round of ammo is

complete.• No cartridge pin• Longest lived

cartridge to date is rimfire

Rimfire

• BB caps• One of the oldest

cartridges used for indoor gallery shooting.

• Primer only, no gunpowder

Rimfire

• Rimfire has the priming compound in the rim of the cartridge.

• Cartridge is self contained allows fast reloading, repeating action, reliability

Early Rimfire

•

Modern Rimfire

• Most common ammunition sold in the world.

• Pros- Cheap, Accurate, reliable

• Cons- limitations of velocity and caliber

22LR

22LR

• Most common cartridge

• Very accurate

• Cheap

• Reliable

• Virtually no recoil minimal noise

22LR

Center fire

Center fire

Why Center fire

• Reloadable• Capable of big

projectiles and high velocities

• Reliable• Very weather resistant

Center fire Cons

$

Modern Firearms

Modern Firearms

• 2 main groups• Handguns• Longguns

What's a Revolver

• A repeating firearm that has a cylinder with multiple chambers. The cylinder rotates when trigger is pulled.

Handguns-Revolvers

• • Single Action vs. Double Action

• Various loading methods

Revolvers

• Break top

Revolvers

• Break top

Revolvers

• Gate loading

Revolvers

• Gate loading

Revolver

• Pull out cylinder

Revolver

• Swing out cylinder

Revolver

• Swing out cylinder is activated by the cylinder release

Derringers

Derringers

• Single or multi-shot handgun generally small in size and can be one or more barrels.

Derringers

• 4 barrel model

Derringers

• Flip action

Pistols

• Generally a semi-automatic firearm designed to be handheld

Pistols

• Single Action

Pistols

• Safe Action

About Glocks

• 1st successful polymer frame gun

• Will set off metal detector

• Bruce Willis in Die Hard Movie

• Controversy sells• Intro in 1985

About Glocks

• Pros- Tough and reliable.

• Cons- no lead ammo , Bad gun to reload for

Shotguns

• Long gun designed with a smooth barrel (no rifling).

• Shoulder fired• Pellets or slugs

Pellets

Pellets

Pellets

Slug

Slug

Shotguns

• Pump

Shotguns

• Pump

Shotguns

• Semi-automatic

Shotguns

• Over-under

Shotguns

• Side by side

Winchester 21

Rifles

• Lever

Rifles

• Pump

Rifles

• Semi-automatic

Assault Rifles

Assault Rifles

• Legal term vs. military term

• Typically applied to semi-automatic firearms

Military term

• Small caliber or intermediate caliber firearm capable of select or automatic fire.

Machine guns

• Heavy firearms designed for sustained automatic fire

• Legal term: any firearm capable of firing more then 1 round per pull of trigger

Submachine gun

• Pistol caliber firearm capable of automatic fire.