The Use And Development Of Guns Throughout History

Guns are a relatively recent invention when compared to early mans first use of weaponry

, which ranged from rocks to sticks and then later moved on to swords and spears. The Chinese invented gunpowder, but chose to use it to create pretty fireworks for festivals. It was only when European man discovered this explosive black powder that he thought up a more diabolical use for it.

The sixteenth century saw the invention and perfection of the matchlock rifle, a rather crude instrument of war when compared to today's standards. A lit fuse burned slowly to ignite a measure of gunpowder that was placed in the rifles firing pan. This in turn ignited the powder in the gun barrel, which propelled the lead shot out of the barrel towards its target.

Unfortunately this was a rather dangerous system, what with the volatile nature of gunpowder, but it led to the development of the wheel lock mechanism, which was much safer. A spring loaded wheel with a series of serrations along the edge was held in place until its release caused sparks, which in turn ignited the powder stored in the barrel.

The flintlock evolved as a hammer with a piece of flint attached to the head which, when struck against the metal after the hammer was released, created the sparks necessary to ignite the gunpowder. The lock ensured that the powder was covered to protect against accidental ignition of the powder. To solve the problem of a single shot weapon that took time to reload, a double barreled version was designed.

The next advancement was the revolver, which had a cartridge cylinder that could contain up to six bullets. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson developed the lever action pistol, which they first patented in 1854. The design became popular with lawmen and cowboys across the United States and the era of the modern gun was born.

The semi-automatic handgun is a natural evolution of the handgun, where one shot provides the energy to load the chamber for the next shot. The recoil energy is used for this, but models have been designed to be gas powered, like the Desert Eagle handgun.

Moving on from there, some guns are now fully automatic and include models like the Mauser C96 and the Glock 18, amongst others. These can be used either as traditional single shot weapons or can be set for the rapid fire of full automatic mode. These are lightweight, small weapons that are easy to carry and have become the preferred choice of civilians and soldiers the world over.

by: Carl Newton

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