Pistol

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A pistol or handgun is a usually small firearm that can be used with one hand. There are three common types of pistols: single-shot pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic pistols. 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 often have longer barrels than a typical police or military pistol, and are often equipped with telescopic sights. Consequently, they are generally less concealable and some cannot be carried in a holster.

Varieties of pistol

Nowadays there are three main varieties of pistol: "automatic" self-loading pistols and revolvers being by far the two most common types, followed distantly by single-shot hunting or target 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."

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 then 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 or self loading is becoming more common, to prevent confusion with machine pistols, which are pistols capable of fully automatic or burst mode fire.

Automatic pistols may be hammer, firing pin, or striker fired. Hunting and target pistols are generally single action, while defensive and military handguns designed since World War II are generally double action for the first shot, single action for the rest. Some of the latest handguns now offer various trigger modes, including double-action-only or a partially pre-cocked striker or hammer, and some even offer the option of changing the mode of operation with the turn of a switch.

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 and small size 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 foreward 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 an any other weapon, and therefore such additions are generally only found on legal machine guns.

Operating Mechanisms

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.

 

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 handguns bullet neither has the energy of, or the accuracy of a rifle.