A quick walk through a well-stocked gun shop and today’s handgun buying choices might seem daunting, but a mental dash through firearms history will help sort things out.
Let’s go back to the 1100s when the first man-portable “firearms” were invented. It didn’t take the Chinese very long to figure out stuffing some black powder in a bamboo tube, topping it off with rocks, and igniting it would throw the projectiles farther and faster than could be accomplished by human power alone.
Fast forward to the mid-19th Century and mankind had refined firearms, but they were, for all practical purposes, still stuffing rocks down tubes on top of a charge of black powder and igniting it. Samuel Colt patented the revolving (and repeating) pistol in 1836, and his competition of Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson bought the rights for a “bored through” revolving cylinder for a pistol from Rollin White to go with their patent on self-contained ammunition cartridges. By 1856, when Colt’s patent expired, Smith & Wesson’s timely launch of Volcanic Repeating Arms in 1852, and its subsequent sale to Oliver Winchester in 1855 financed their iconic revolver company that bore the two men’s names.
As firearms patents expired, other gun companies sprang up and kept stacking improvements in technology, metallurgy and chemistry into the gun-making mix until we have today’s revolver… which is still a bored-through cylinder holding cartridges, that, when aligned with the barrel can be fired until the gun is empty.
Not satisfied with just six shots offered by most revolvers, Hugo Borchardt patented his C-93 self-loading pistol with some help from his assistant Georg Luger. Borchardt’s ego got in the way of making changes to his first-ever mass-produced, magazine-fed, self-loading pistol design, so the German military asked his assistant, Luger, to make the changes. He obliged and designed the Luger Parabellum Pistol, and by 1908 the iconic P-08 Luger firing the 9x19mm Luger cartridge was born.
America’s most prolific firearms inventor, John Moses Browning, patented his first firearm design in 1885, and by his own discovery of the waste of burning powder gasses came upon his own self-loading automatic machine gun designs that quickly developed into semi-automatic pistol designs by 1899. His designs continued to improve, but his initial designs that incorporated a barrel surrounded by a shroud, which creates the pistol “slide” is still the primary design used in the vast majority of recoil-operated, semi-auto pistol designs today. Browning is also credited with producing some of the most popular pistol cartridges still in use today; .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .380 ACP, and .45 ACP.
Today’s Handgun
Three basic pistol designs exist today: the less common breech loader with one or more barrels; the revolver; and the semi-automatic. Since the vast majority of handgun sales are comprised of revolvers and semi-autos, we’ll dissect those to better understand their attributes. Understanding how pistols and revolvers work will give you a deeper knowledge of how to handle them safely and effectively.
Understanding a pistol starts when the gun fires. The primer ignites the powder charge and the expanding burning gas pressure drive the bullet down the barrel. The rifling puts a spin on the bullet that keeps the bullet pointed in the same direction during flight increasing accuracy. Rifling consists of spiral cuts in the bore. The raised part of the rifling are called “grooves,” and the “lands” are the ridges of metal between the grooves.
Caliber
Caliber is used to describe the size of a handgun bore and the size of the bullets designed for different bores.
Caliber usually is measured as the diameter of the lands in the bore is expressed in hundredths of an inch, thousandths of an inch, or millimeters. For example, a .357-caliber handgun bore measures 357/1000ths of an inch in diameter. Making things a little confusing, no standard is established for designating caliber. In some cases, the caliber is given as the diameter of the bullet, or something close in size to either the bore diameter or bullet diameter.
One thing is for certain, every pistol is designed to fire a specific cartridge. Be sure that the ammunition matches the data stamp on the firearm, and follow the manufacturer’s specifications regarding power rating. For instance, some pistols are more sturdy in design and can use “+P” ammunition that is loaded with more power. Lesser designs can’t handle this more powerful ammunition without damage to the gun.
Handgun Parts Basics
All modern handguns have three basic groups of parts; trigger group, frame, and barrel.
The trigger group contains the component parts that fire the cartridges. The frame is a metal housing that may also serve as the handle (grip) of the handgun, and contains the trigger group. The barrel is the metal tube that the bullet travels through. The handgun barrel is much shorter than a rifle barrel. A handgun is designed to be shot while being held with one or two hands. The term “action” can also be synonymous with frame. Here’s where the word “action” can get confusing. It can also be used to describe the function of the weapon; or as a noun, which describes the specific part of a gun.
Repeating handguns (revolvers and semi-automatic pistols) hold more than one round of ammunition. A revolver’s cylinder stores ammunition, and a semi-automatic pistol uses a removable magazine that is inserted up into the grip. Another point of confusion is the use of the term “pistol” by some. Some believe that it describes the action type, i.e., a distinction being made between the term “pistol” and “revolver.” To clear things up, the term pistol can correctly describe any weapon that is designed to be fired with one hand. The word pistol is the primary describer, with revolvers being a descriptive subset of pistols.
Revolvers
The best way to delve into learning about revolvers is to start with the Single-Action. This revolver is the earliest design that required manually cocking a hammer before pulling the trigger to fire a shot. The hammer must be manually cocked again after firing a shot. This causes the cylinder to rotate and place an unfired cartridge in line with the barrel. Once all rounds are fired, the loading gate is opened revealing a spent cartridge case. The empty case is forced from the cylinder by an ejector rod and the cylinder is rotated by hand to expose the next empty cartridge. The process is repeated until all cylinders are empty. New cartridges are inserted into each empty chamber in the cylinder until all are filled to ready it to fire again.
The double-action revolver includes the same firing function as the single-action, but adds a second method of firing the gun. Depressing the trigger alone rotates the cylinder, cocks the hammer and releases the hammer. Because the double-action mode requires more mechanical work to take place within the pistol, it required more trigger finger force to fire the gun. Some double-action-only revolvers have hidden hammers, and only fire in that second mode.
Revolver Parts
Muzzle—This is end of the barrel where the bullet exits.
Sight—Most pistols have a front and rear sight, which are aligned with the point of impact for the bullet
Ejector Rod—This mechanism is used to push spent cases from the cylinder chamber(s). A single-action revolver does it one at a time, while a double-action revolver pushes all spent cases out of the chambers simultaneously
Barrel—This is the metal tube through which the fired bullet travels.
Cylinder—This is the round piece of metal with bored-through chambers (usually six) that house the cartridges.
Trigger Guard—A metal strap protecting the trigger from being snagged and inadvertently pulled when not in use.
Trigger—This is the protrusion within the trigger guard that transfers energy from the trigger finger to a sear that is holding the hammer under spring tension.
Hammer—This is the device that either strikes the cartridge primer, or hits a captive firing pin, which in turn strikes the primer.
Grip—This is the handle by which the pistol is held.
Bore—This is the inside of the handgun barrel through which the projectile travels when fired.
Forcing Cone—Located at the rear end of the barrel, the forcing cone is the transition portion of the barrel that squeezes the fired bullet down to bore diameter after leaving the cylinder chamber.
Chamber–Base of the barrel used to hold the cartridge ready for shooting
Cylinder Release—This is the latch or button that releases the cylinder from the frame in a double-action revolver.
Firing Pin—This is the pointed metal device that causes cartridge ignition by striking the primer.
Semi-Auto Pistols
Self-loading pistols share many common features, which typically includes a reciprocating slide that moves back and forth while the barrel stays relatively motionless. The travel of the slide chambers cartridges from the magazine and extracts loaded cartridges or fired cases from the chamber.
Some of the earliest self-loading pistol designs have fixed magazines that don’t detach from the gun, such as the C96 Mauser. The vast majority of self-loading pistols use a detachable magazine. One advantage is that the user can carry several pre-loaded magazines and rapidly reload after emptying a magazine.
Semi-auto pistols with detachable magazines incorporate a latch, button or lever that releases the magazine so it can be removed.
Two of the primary advantages of self-loading pistols over revolvers is increased ammunition capacity and ease of loading, and the speed of reloading.
All firearms have an “action” type. This can be simply described as a group of moving parts that control the firing and operation. Semi-auto pistols incorporate a number of action types. Action types include:
Single-Action
Double-Action
Double-Action Only
Double-Action/Single-Action
Striker-Fired
These are the most common action types, although some might expand the list.
A novice might easily conclude that a double-action means a gun can shoot two ways, or make similar assumptions about other action types. The simplest way to determine the action type is to see how many actions take place when the trigger gets pulled. If the trigger only releases a pre-cocked hammer, it’s a single-action. If pulling the trigger simultaneously draws the hammer to the rear and releases it firing the gun, it’s a double-action. If both actions are possible, cocking the hammer manually or pulling the trigger and drawing the hammer to the rear, it’s a double-action/single-action.
Internal striker-fired pistols are the most modern design. The firing pin gets partially cocked when the slide is drawn back, and it is fully cocked and released when the trigger is pulled.
Manual safeties on self-loading pistols can take several forms. Some pistols incorporate multiple safeties, while others only use a passive, two-part lever imbedded in the trigger. The oldest safety designs include a lever located on the rear of the frame or slide. Some safety levers act as de-cocking devices, too.
Grip safeties can also be part of the design, whereby the shooter only has to squeeze the grip to depress the safety prior to firing. A grip safety is also seen on the Model 1911 Colt, which actually has three safety mechanisms to include a lever, and the hammer must be cocked before firing.
A cautionary note about safeties is that some models include a key lock safety to prevent unauthorized people from firing the pistol. These can malfunction from the wear of firing and leave the owner with a gun that won’t work. Some models incorporate an internal safety that gets engaged when the magazine is removed. The down side to this design is that it typically makes the trigger press harder and less smooth.
Semi-Auto Parts
Semi-auto pistols share many of the same basic parts of a revolver… they’re just shaped differently. Some of the parts unique to a self-loading pistol are:
Slide—This is the shroud that covers the barrel. It has grooves that mate up with grooves on the pistol frame, where it can “slide” back and forth as the pistol unloads and reloads itself in the firing process.
Hammer—Some semi-auto pistols incorporate a hammer to strike a firing pin, while “striker fired” pistols use spring tension to drive the firing pin.
Grip—The typical semi-auto’s grip is integral with the entire frame, which houses the major parts of the pistol. Obviously, it incorporates the handle by which the pistol is held. It also houses the magazine.
Magazine—Made of metal, plastic, or both, the magazine has a spring-loaded “follower” that pushes cartridges up toward the chamber area.
Magazine Release—This button or lever releases the magazine so it can be removed from the pistol.
Safety—This mechanical device blocks the trigger or hammer to help prevent accidental firing.
Slide Lock—This lever locks the slide in to the rear when the slide is pulled to back to expose the chamber area, and cartridges if a loaded magazine is present.
Now that you’ve got pistol basics under your belt you’re ready to do some shopping for… your first gun.
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