Pistol

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A pistol or handgun is usually a small firearm that can be used with one hand.

Overview

There are four common types of handguns: single-shot pistols, revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, and fully automatic pistols like the micro uzi though these are often said to be a separate category, and are harder to fire with only one hand. In the 15th century the term "pistol" was used for small knives and daggers which could be concealed in a person's clothing. By the 18th century the term came to be used exclusively to refer to small firearms, or additionally, and more recently, similar devices designed for the aimed discharge of projectiles by the force of gas pressure stored by means other than chemical ("air pistol"). Although all handguns are generally referred to as pistols, some restrict the term "pistol" to single-chamber handguns, such as semi-automatic or single-shot pistols, as opposed to multi-chambered revolvers or multi-barreled derringers, and use handgun for the broader category.

The term may be derived from the French pistole (or pistolet), which, in turn, comes from the Czech píšťala (flute or pipe, referring to the shape of a Hussite firearm). Other suggestions have been made—that it comes from city of Pistoia, Italy, where perhaps a manufacturer was one Camillio Vettelli in the 1540s; or that early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel (or pistallo in medieval French) of a horse's saddle.

Pistols are used mainly by police officers, military personnel, or civilians who want a compact defensive weapon, or for shooting sports. Some specialized pistols are also used for hunting. Where available, semi-automatic pistols have become the weapon of choice for civilians, making them widely used outside of the police and military realms where they first became popular over the revolver.

For some military usage, the widespread introduction of body armor has rendered most pistols ineffective. Personal defense weapons are beginning to replace them in some situations.

Hunting pistols are almost always either revolvers or modern single-shot pistols such as the Thompson/Center Contender. These handguns often have longer barrels than a typical police or military pistol and are usually chambered in calibers that much more powerful than standard anti-personnel rounds. They are often equipped with telescopic sights or precision adjustable iron sights. Because of the potency of the cartridges they are chambered for, the frame and cylinder tend to be very strongly built, and when combined with long barrels and optical sights generally less concealable, and in fact some cannot be carried in a holster.

Varieties of pistol

There are five main varieties of handgun: "automatic" self-loading pistols, revolvers including black powder revolvers, multi-barreled pistols, single-shot hunting or target pistols and finally flintlock pistols. In a pistol, the chamber, in which the cartridge is held for firing, is the rearmost portion of the barrel. Thus the term "pistol" technically excludes revolvers, although this distinction is often ignored in colloquial usage, where revolvers are commonly referred to as "pistols."

Flintlock

The flintlock firing mechanism dates back to the 16th century, although it was another hundred years before it was generally used in infantry muskets, by which time it had been perfected. It survived well into the 19th century and was often known as the French lock because Marin le Bourgeoys, a French gunmaker working in Paris for Henry IV's Louvre, had invented it - in about 1610. He had modified a much more complicated mechanism into a simpler one-piece mechanism. It was also called a firelock. The basic action is that the trigger is pulled and a spring causes the striker, the frizzen, to strike the flint which showers sparks on to the gunpowder in the priming pan. The gunpowder would be carried in a cow horn which was spark-proof and waterproof and had a measuring device in the top allowing the firer to measure the correct charge, which was then poured down the barrel of the musket. On that would go a wad to carry the projectile, which would be a lead bullet. A ramrod was used to ram home the charge, with the muzzle of the gun pointed well away. The firer would then pull back the cock to half-cock. He would put the powder into the priming pan and flip down the frizzen. Having pulled back the cock to full cock, he would then pull the trigger. This would make a double sound - the flash from the pan and the charge going off with clouds of sulphurous smoke. On foggy days and with lots of soldiers firing this would create quite a smokescreen. The loading process meant that the gun would be able to shoot about four or five times a minute. John Harriman says that there is very little chance of harm arising from a backfiring. The flash from the pan goes sideways, and other than a slight powder burn there is very little chance of a flash and it would not be possible to overcharge the barrel. The Brown Bess was one of the best-known flintlock guns in military use. Eventually the flintlock was replaced by the percussion cap.

Multi-barreled

Multi-Barreled pistols such as some variants of Derringer and Pepper-box pistols are still in circulation today. The Pepper-box pistol is a multishot handheld firearm, which was popular in North America around the time of the American Civil War. The pepperbox was invented in the 1830s and was meant mainly for civilian use. It spread rapidly in the United Kingdom and some parts of continental Europe. It started disappearing gradually in the 1850s with the manufacture of true revolvers by Colt, Webley and others. It was similar to the revolver since like it, it held bullets in a rotating cylinder, in separate chambers. Unlike the revolver however, each bullet had its own barrel. Several models were dangerous because firing one bullet could ignite the others, all at the same time, when proper care was not taken.

Revolvers

Revolvers feed ammunition via the rotation of a cartridge-filled cylinder, in which each cartridge is contained in its own ignition chamber, and is sequentially brought into alignment with the weapon's barrel by a mechanism linked to the weapon's trigger (double-action) or its hammer (single-action). These nominally cylindrical chambers, usually numbering between five and nine depending on the size of the revolver and the size the cartridge being fired, are bored through the cylinder so that their axes are parallel to the cylinder's axis of rotation; thus, as the cylinder rotates, the chambers revolve about the cylinder's axis. Due to simplicity of construction and operation, revolvers are considered to be more reliable than semi-automatic pistols.

Automatic pistols

Automatic pistols use the recoil or gas energy of each round to cycle the action, extract the spent case, and load the next cartridge. While the term automatic pistol is often applied in colloquial speech or writings to describe what is more accurately a semi-automatic pistol, the term automatic rifle almost always refers to a rifle capable of fully automatic fire. Due to the confusion this inconsistent naming convention causes, the term semi-automatic, auto-loading or self loading is becoming more common, to prevent confusion with machine pistols, which are pistols capable of fully automatic or burst mode fire.

Operating Mechanisms

There are four basic types of operating mechanisms for handguns. They are discussed extensively in the section triggers, but a general outline follows.

Single-action (SA) handguns have a trigger mechanism whose sole function is to drop a pre-cocked hammer to discharge a cartridge. For revolvers the popular Colt Peacemaker of Old West fame is typically thought of. Its hammer must be manually cocked for each shot. For auto-loading pistols the Colt 1911 or Browning Hi-Power are typical examples. They must be cocked for the first shot, but subsequent shots are cocked automatically. These types of guns typically have a very light and crisp trigger pull, making for more accurate target shooting.

Traditional double-action (TDA) handguns have a mechanism that can be either pre-cocked, like the above single-action gun, or can be fired with the gun uncocked. In this case, the gun has an additional mechanism added to the trigger that will cock the gun (and rotate the cylinder in the case of revolvers) as the trigger is pulled. Once the trigger is pulled far enough, the hammer is released and the gun fired. For autoloading pistols the self-loading mechanism will also re-cock the hammer after the first shot is fired so that subsequent shots are fired single-action. For revolvers, each shot is fired with the hammer initially uncocked unless the shooter manually cocked the gun. Popular auto pistols in this category include the Walther P38 and Beretta Model 92. These guns typically have a longer, heavier trigger pull for the first shot then light, crisp pulls for subsequent shots. Popular revolvers include the Ruger Redhawk and Smith & Wesson Model 629. These have long, heavy trigger pulls for all shots unless the revolver is manually cocked.

Double-action only (DAO) handguns do not have the ability to be cocked and is usually evidenced by a lack of either the hammer spur or the entire hammer A typical autopistol in this category is the Ruger KP93DAO and Taurus Millennium, and a typical revolver is the Smith & Wesson Model 640 "Chief's Special". All pistols in this category have a long, heavy trigger pull for all shots.

Pre-set triggers are only on autoloading pistols. In this case the pistol mechanism is always partially cocked while being carried and during firing. The partially-cocked firing pin or striker is not cocked enough to cause an accidental release to discharge a cartridge, adding to the safeness of the design, but is cocked enough to remove much of the trigger pull and weight of a purely double-action pistol. These types of pistols do not have external hammers and do not generally have a decock function. Common pistols in the category are the Springfield Armory XD and the various forms of the extremely popular Glock. The trigger pull of these guns is between double-action and single-action pistols. Pre-set triggers may or may not have a second-strike feature on a dud cartridge.

Some automatic pistol models such as the HK Heckler & Koch USP (Universal Self-loading Pistol) come in a variety of mechanism types and can be easily changed by a gunsmith for both left- and right-handed shooters and for different operating mechanism and safety features.

Machine pistols

A machine pistol is generally defined as a firearm designed to be fired with one hand, and capable of fully automatic or selective fire. While there are a number of machine pistols such as the GLOCK 18 and later models of the Mauser C96, these are rare; the light weight, small size, and extremely rapid rates of fire of a machine pistol make them difficult to control, making the larger, heavier submachine gun a better choice in cases where the small size of a machine pistol is required. Most machine pistols have the ability to attach a shoulder stock (the Heckler & Koch VP70 would only fire single rounds unless the stock was attached) while others, such as the Beretta 93R, add a forward handgrip. Either of these additions technically create a legal non-pistol under the US National Firearms Act, as pistols are by definition designed to be fired with one hand. The addition of a stock or forward handgrip is considered a design change that creates either a short-barreled rifle or any other weapon, and therefore such additions are generally only found on legal machine guns''.

Stopping power

So-called "stopping power" is the reputed quality in a handgun projectile that injures a human target such that is ceases aggressive momentum when hit.

Police and military experience (see Soldier of Fortune magazine), together with ballistics information, show that such a concept is too simplistic. In reality, the ability to truly stop a violent attacker varies with a number of factors, and is not simply determined by the ballistics characteristics of the particular round under discussion. These additional factors include:

Bullet placement.
Distance between the shooter and the target.
Strength of the opponent, including whether drugs or alcohol are influencing the target's behavior and physical strength, and possibly masking pain in the victim.
Mental or emotional strength of the quarry. For example, a soldier or mentally deranged individual may have a level of commitment that is not easily stopped.
Interference between the target and the gun (an object in the way).
The amount of power the bullet is able to produce.

There is no authoritative rule of thumb for estimating the stopping power of a single shot or of multiple shots. For this reason, police, criminal, and military personnel (as well as licensed and unlicensed individuals carrying pistols for personal protection and power) try to maximize as best they can the combination of factors for stopping a person effectively. They may:

Train to place their shots well, even during movement. Typically they shoot towards the center of mass, where the heart, lungs, liver, and other vital organs are located.
Use calibers and loadings that increase the ballistics coefficients within their limits of good recoil control.
Train under realistic conditions (and learn from the experience of others) so that once the decision is made to use their weapon, they will indeed stop the individual, even if this means using multiple rounds and reloading and using a second magazine of rounds.
Practice drawing their service weapon.

There are two types of energy deposited into the target upon impact by a bullet. The first is kinetic energy and the second is momentum. Kinetic energy depends on the mass of the bullet and the square of the velocity. The generic equation is KE=½*m*v². The more energy a bullet has, the more ability it has to tear apart both itself and the victim. This is especially true with hollowpoint bullets or other expanding-type bullets. Expanding bullets are designed to increase its diameter by 50-75% and create a larger wound channel when it impacts the flesh of its target.

When computing kinetic energy in the U.S. system of foot-pounds of energy, the equation must include weight-to-mass conversions and looks like this: KE= (m*v²)÷450,240, where m is in grains, v is in feet per second, and KE is in foot-pounds.

Momentum can be casually said to be the amount of impact that is felt when the bullet strikes. It is defined as the mass of the bullet times velocity, not the square of the velocity like kinetic energy. The generic equation is M=m*v. The more momentum an impact has (and the faster it is imparted upon the target) the more impact is felt by the target. In the matter of dealing with drug-influenced assailants, many people conclude that one may need to go back to the 'Golden Age' of pistols, ones firing a large, slow moving bullet, such as the .45 ACP cartridge. Larger, slower bullets have more momentum than lighter, faster bullets.

The is most commonly shown in the 9mm versus .45 debate. Looking at the numbers, many 9mm cartridges actually make as much if not more kinetic energy as .45 ACP loadings. However, the slower, heavier .45 bullets carry about 30-40%% more momentum then the comparative 9mm bullets. This means that the stronger impact of the .45 is more likely to break through an assailant's concentration and determination to attack and cause an emotional reaction to the fact that the assailant is shot.

The common pistol used in self defense today is the 9mm pistol, most commonly, the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, which is favored because many pistols allow the user to carry up to 17 bullets in a standard magazine without the pistol's grip becoming excessively bulky to most users (these pistols are commonly called 'Wondernines').

But some say the current crop of pistol calibers don't provide the stopping power to stop a citizen who may be under the influence of drugs such as PCP, cocaine or heroin, the latter often is a problem as it reduces the pain felt by the user when shot.

This, combined with the recent Brady Bill (now expired as national United States law but still in several states) that banned magazine capacities higher than 10 rounds, means that there has been a recent comeback in lower capacity, high powered calibers like the .45 ACP. Many say this does not provide sufficient magazine capacity to the user, with the limit often being set at 8 rounds in a standard full-size, single-stack .45 magazine.

However, it must be realized that any pistol bullet, even the relatively large ones, are tiny compared to the torso of an adult. If a 9mm bullet fired into a human target missed vital organs, it is highly unlikely that a slightly larger bullet like a .45 (about 11.4mm) that follows the same path will hit a vital organ even slightly. Two smaller shots are much more likely to score a vital hit than one larger bullet. This is the primary reason a shotgun is such an effective anti-personnel weapon: depending on the shooter's personal pain threshold, a 12-gauge shotgun can deliver between 9 and 18 00-buckshot pellets per shot, each one being approximately the same size, weight, and velocity of a 9mm bullet.

That being said, there has emerged an intermediate caliber that was born during the FBI's search for a new cartridge. The .40 S&W was created that offers an increase in bullet weight and diameter yet still be the same length and only slightly bulkier than 9mm. Most .40 S&W loadings are significantly more powerful than standard-pressure 9mm Luger and .45 ACP yet most manufactures can easily modify their 9mm pistols to take the similar-length .40 S&W.

Advantages of pistols

Pistols are smaller, lighter, easier to conceal, faster to bring to bear, and sometimes may have more safety features than other firearms.

Generally being an emergency self-defense weapon for use under 25 meters, a handgun bullet neither has the energy of, nor the accuracy of, a bullet shot from a rifle.

Pistols and gun politics

Smaller pistols can also be easily concealed on a person—a trait that is particularly useful to people wishing to carry a handgun for self-protection or for criminals wishing to bear arms. Larger handguns, including many hunting pistols, are often much longer and thus less concealable. For these reasons, handguns are a particular focus of debates on gun politics, and in many jurisdictions their ownership is much more heavily regulated than long arms.

Gun rights supporters argue that wide legal ownership of pistols, including the right to carry them concealed, actually deters crime rather than increases it. In the United States, 48 states allow some form of concealed carry by citizens meeting training or other requirements. 39 of these states, called "shall-issue" states, require issue of a permit if there is no compelling reason not to issue a permit (such as a prior felony conviction, a restraining order, or history of mental illness). The remaining 9 states, called "may-issue" states, may deny a permit for any reason, usually at the discretion of local law enforcement.

See the main gun politics article or the article on concealed carry in particular for more details on this debate.

Other related info

In the 1780s, Alessandro Volta built a toy electric pistol (^*) in which an electric spark caused the explosion of a mixture of air and hydrogen, firing a cork from the end of the gun.

External links

Pistols

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