Ammunition

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (October 2008) This article is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopdia Britannica, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. Thanks! This article is about ammunition for firearms and artillery. For the product design company, seeAmmunition Design Group. Ammunition, often informally referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war (from the Latin munire, to provide), but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions. In the widest sense of the word it covers anything that can be used in combat that includes bombs, missiles, warheads, and mines (landmines, naval mines, and anti-personnel mines) that munitions factories manufacture. The purpose of ammunition is predominantly to

project forceagainst a selected target. However, the nature of ammunition use also includes delivery or combat supporting munitions such as pyrotechnic or incendiary compounds. Since the design of the cartridge, the meaning has been transferred to the assembly of a projectile and its propellant in a single package. The subject of ammunition is a complex one which covers application of fire to targets, general use ofweapons by personnel, explosives and propellants, cartridge systems, high explosive projectiles (HE),warheads, shaped charge forms of attack on armour and aircraft, carrier projectiles, fuzes, mortar ammunition, small arms ammunition, grenades, mines, pyrotechnics, improved conventional munitions, and terminally guided munition.
Contents
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1 Glossary o 1.1 Historical (circa World War I) o 1.2 Modern era 2 Design of the ammunition 3 Components of ammunition o 3.1 Fuzes 4 Storage of ammunition 5 Firearms ammunition 6 Ordnance ammunition 7 Naval ammunition 8 Supply of ammunition in the field 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit]Glossary A cartridge, is a single unit of ammunition. For a modern small arms cartridge this is the combination of bullet, propellant, primer and cartridge case in a single unit. A "round" is a term synonymous with a fully loaded cartridge containing a projectile, propellant,primer and casing. Large caliber cannon often fire explosivefilled projectiles known as shells, non-explosive projectiles may be used for practice (see artillery). Large numbers of small projectiles intended to be fired all at once in a single discharge are also called shot; hand-held guns designed for this type of ammunition are generally known as shotguns. Duds are fully loaded ordnance that fail to function as intended. A cartridge that fails to fire in the weapon is known as a misfire. A partially functioning round is named a hang fire. Dud ammunition,unexploded ordnance (UXO), is regarded as highly dangerous, and most safety officials inform civilians to report finding of any large-bore duds to the local police or military. Dum-dum rounds were early attempts to cause contactinitiated expansion. Many were leadnose bullets with "X" marks cut across the nose. [edit]Historical (circa World War I)

These general conditions apply to the storage of ammunition in fortresses. Here the positions for themagazine and ammunition stores are so chosen as to afford the best means of protection from an enemy's fire. Huge earth parapets cover these buildings, which are further strengthened, where possible,

by traverses protecting the entrances. For the purpose of filling, emptying, and examining cannoncartridges and shell, a laboratory is generally provided at some distance from the magazine. The various stores for explosives are classified into those under magazine conditions (such as magazines, laboratories, and cartridge stores) and those with which these restrictions need not be observed (such as ammunition and shell stores). The interior walls of a magazine are lined, and the floors laid so that there may be no exposed iron or steel. At the entrance, there is a lobby or barrier, inside which persons about to enter the magazine change their clothes for a special suit, and their boots for a pair made without nails. In an ammunition or shell store these precautions need not be taken except where the shell store and the adjacent cartridge store have a common entrance; persons entering may do so in their ordinary clothes. A large work may have a main magazine and several subsidiary magazines, from which the stock of cartridges is renewed in the cartridge stores attached to each group of guns or in the expense cartridge stores and cartridge recesses. The same applies to main ammunition stores which supply the shell stores, expense stores, and recesses.

Cannon balls from the American Civil War

The supply of ammunition are either for gunsforming the movable armament or for guns placed in permanent positions. The movable armament will consist of guns and howitzers of small and medium caliber, and it is necessary to arrange suitable expense cartridge stores and shell stores close to the available positions. They can generally be constructed to form part of the permanent work in the projected face of traverses or other strong formations, and should be arranged for a twenty-four hour supply of ammunition. These stores are refilled from the main magazine every night under cover of darkness. Light railways join the various positions. The guns mounted in permanent emplacements are divided into groups of two or three guns each, and usually each group will require but one calibre of ammunition. A cartridge store, shell store and a general store, all well ventilated, are arranged for the especial service of such a group of guns. In the cartridge store the cylinders containing the cartridges are so placed and labeled that the required

charge, whether reduced or full, can be immediately selected. In the shell store the common shell are separated from the armour-piercing or shrapnel. Each nature of projectile is painted in a distinctive manner to render identification easy. The fuzes and tubes are placed in the general store with the tools and accessories belonging to the guns. The gun group is distinguished by some letter and the guns of the group by numerals; thus A/1 is number one gun of group A. The magazine and shell stores are also indicated by the group letter, and so that mistakes, even by those unaccustomed to the fort, may be avoided, the passages are pointed out by finger posts and direction boards. For the immediate service of each gun, a few cartridges and projectiles are stored in small receptacles (called cartridge and shell recesses respectively) built in the parapet as near the gun position as practicable. In some cases, a limited number of projectiles may be placed close underneath the parapet if this is conveniently situated near the breech of the gun and not exposed to hostile fire. In order to supply the ammunition sufficiently rapidly for the efficient service of modern guns, hydraulic,electric, or hand-power, hoists are employed to raise the cartridges and shell from the cartridge store and shell store to the gun floor, whence they are transferred to a derrick or loading tray attached to the mounting for loading the gun. Projectiles for BL guns above 6 inch (152 mm) calibre are stored in shell stores ready filled and fuzed standing on their bases, except shrapnel and high-explosive shell, which are fuzed only when about to be used. Smaller sizes of shells are laid on their sides in layers, each layer pointing in the opposite direction to the one below to

prevent injury to the driving bands. Cartridges are stored in brass corrugated cases or in zinc cylinders. The corrugated cases are stacked in layers in the magazine with the mouth of the case towards a passage between the stacks, so that it can be opened and the cartridges removed and transferred to a leather case when required for transport to the gun. Cylinders are stacked, when possible, vertically one above the other. The charges are sent to the gun in these cylinders, and provision is made for the rapid removal of the empty cylinders. The number and nature of rounds allotted to any fortress depends on questions of policy and location, the degrees of resistance the nature of the works and personnel could reasonably be expected to give, and finally on the nature of the armament. That is to say, for guns of large calibre three hundred to four hundred rounds per gun might be sufficient, while for light QF guns it might amount to one thousand or more rounds per gun. [edit]Modern

era

This section requires expansion.

Women ordnance workers inspecting cartridge cases in Los Angeles, 1943

Modern ammunition includes not only shells for tube artillery and mortars, but increasingly aircraft-

delivered bombs, smart bombs, rockets and other explosive-bearing projectiles. The destructive power and lethality of these systems may be difficult to appreciate; but forces in the fight see the accuracy as just another survival tool against the enemy. A singlecluster bomb, deliverable by any of the above systems, can sow softball-sized bomblets across a 100-yard (90-m)American football-sized field in sufficient density to kill any personnel, even penetrating sandbagged trenches and body armour. Operation Desert Storm saw widespread usage of cluster bombsthe Iraqi forces called them "steel rain". There is little doubt that their usage is also seen as a psychological tool. The aforementioned bomblets are armed upon dispersal by the spinning action which is hastened by a design resembling a "softball with small wings". [edit]Design

of the ammunition

The design of the ammunition is determined by its purpose; anti-personnel ammunition is often designed to break up or tumble inside the target,in order to maximize the damage done. Anti-personnel shells contain shrapnel and are designed to explode in mid-air, so its fragments will spread over a large area. Armor-piercing ammunition tends to be hard, sharp, and narrow, often with lubrication. Incendiary projectiles include a material such as white phosphorus which burns fiercely. Tracer ammunition emits light as it travels, allowing the gunner to see the path of bullets in flight while using a machine gun. Popular types of military rifle and machine gun ammunition include the 5.45 mm, 5.56 mm, and 7.62 mm. Main battle tanks use KE-penetrators to combat other MBTs and armoured fighting vehicles, and HE-Frag (High Explosive-Fragmentation) for soft targets such as infantry.

[edit]Components

of ammunition

The components of ammunition intended for rifles and munitions may be divided into these categories: explosive materials and propellants projectiles of all kinds cartridges [edit]Fuzes Main article: Fuze (munitions)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fuzes

The spelling fuze is used for artillery ammunition by militaries which use the English language, to differentiate it from fuses, which are circuit breakers or explosive detonators. Common artillery fuzes include point detonating, delay, time, and proximity (variable time). Point detonating fuzes detonate upon contact with the ground. Delay fuzes are designed to penetrate a short distance before detonating. Time fuzes, as the name implies, detonate a certain time after being fired in order to achieve an air burst above the target. Time fuzes are set to the tenth of a second. Proximity or variable time fuzes contain a simple radio transceiver activated a set time after firing to detonate the projectile when the signal reflected from the ground reaches a certain strength, designed to be 7 meters above the ground. Fuzes are usually armed by the rotation of the projectile imparted by the rifling in the tube, and usually arm after a few hundred rotations.

[edit]Storage

of ammunition ammunition

See ammunition dump for discussion of modern ammunition storage facilities. [edit]Firearms

Various rifle cartridges

Ammunition for infantry refers to the ammunition carried by a typical foot (infantry) soldier. Someone serving in the infantry generally carries, in pouches, bandoliers, etc., one hundred rounds of small-arms ammunition (S.A.A.), and it is usual to supplement this, when an action is imminent, from the regimental reserve (see below). Like any trade, the proper tools are necessary for the task at hand. Infantry need to be provided with the weapons and ammunition to deal with the expected threat, be it another foot soldier, a mounted combatant, armoured vehicle or aircraft. Every reduction in the caliber (size) of the rifle'sammunition means an increase in the number of rounds carried. One hundred rounds of theMartiniHenry ammunition weighed 10 pounds 10 ounces (4.8 kg);

the same weight gives 155 rounds of 0.303 in (7.7 mm) ammunition and at 0.256 in (6.5 mm) the number of rounds is still greater. The regimental reserves were historically carried in six S.A.A. carts and on eight pack animals. The six carts are distributed, one as reserve to the machine gun, three as reserve to the battalion itself, and two as part of the brigade reserve, which consists therefore of eight carts. The brigade reserve communicates directly with the brigade ammunition columns of the artillery (see below). The eight pack animals follow the eight companies of their battalion. These, with two out of the three battalion carts, endeavour to keep close to the firing line, the remaining cart being with the reserve companies. Men also are employed as carriers, and this duty is so onerous that picked men only are detailed. Gallantry displayed in bringing up ammunition is considered indeed to justify special rewards. The amount of S.A.A. in regimental charge is 100 rounds in the possession of each soldier, 2000 to 2200 on each pack animal, and 16,000 to 17,600 in each of four carts, with, in addition, about 4000 rounds with the machine gun and 16,000 more in the fifth cart. Currently, every army of an internationally recognized country (except those who rely on others for defense, such as Andorra) has adopted assault rifles as the main infantry weapon. In western (NATO) forces, the 7.62 mm NATO round has been mostly replaced by the lighter 5.56 mm NATO round, which is better suited for automatic fire than the larger round and allows each soldier to carry more ammunition. The larger caliber ammunition is still retained where range and weight of shot is important, e.g. machine guns and sniper rifles.

Other nations, especially forces with former ties to the Soviet Union tend to use rifles related to or developed from the AK-47 with similar sized rounds to the NATO ones. In 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mmfor assault rifles and 7.62x54mmR for sniper rifles and light machine guns. [edit]Ordnance

ammunition

Main article: Shell (projectile)

Modern 120 mm tank gun shells

Modern artillery ordnance ammunition is generally of two types: separate loading and semi-fixed. Semi-fixed ammunition (rounds) appear in the form of a projectile mated with a cartridge case which contains the propellant and they resemble small arms rounds. The canister is outfitted with a primer on its base which fires upon contact from the firing pin. Gunpowder, precision machined to burn evenly, is contained inside of cloth bags that are numbered. US/NATO 105 mm howitzers use semi-fixed ammunition, containing seven

powder bags referred to as increments or charges. Putting the powder in bags allows the howitzer crew to remove the increments when firing at closer targets. The unused increments are disposed of by analysing burning in a powder pit at a safe distance from the guns. Above a certain size, semi-fixed rounds are impracticable; the weight of the whole assembly is too much to be carried effectively. In this case separate loading ammunition is used: the projectile and propelling charge are supplied and loaded separately. The projectile is rammed home in the chamber, the powder charge(s) are loaded (usually by hand), then the breech is closed and the primer is inserted into the primer holder on the back the breech. Separate loading ammunition is typically used on 155 mm and larger howitzers. Several propellant types are available for 155 mm howitzer. All normal projectiles arrive at the weapon with a plug in the fuze well on the nose of the projectile. Using a special fuze wrench, the plug is unscrewed and a fuze is screwed in. The decision as to which type of fuze to use is made by the fire direction center and carried out by the gun crew. The armaments fitted to early tanks were contemporary field or naval artillery pieces and used the same ammunition. When tank versus tank combat became more important, and specific tank guns did not exist, it became common to adapt anti-aircraft guns (artillery) which fired shells of high velocity, which were needed for high altitude targets. As the armour applied to tanks increased, ammunition for tank use paralleled that of anti-tank guns. Current tank gun ammunition is a single fixed round ("shell" and charge combined in a single piece) for quick loading, the propellant is in a combustible case, thus negating empty shell casings. The primary anti-armor (anti-

tank) warhead is the sabot round, a shaped charge or sensor fuzed warhead. The tank made horse cavalry obsolete, and while an infantryman could deal with a horse-mounted enemy, new weapons were needed to defeat a tank or other armored fighting vehicle. The first anti-tank weapons given to the infantrymen were based upon small arms; for example the anti-tank rifle. As even the later designs of tanks carried more armour, the limit of a man-portable rifle that could fire a round with sufficient kinetic energy to penetrate the armour was reached. The introduction of the shaped charge warhead gave the infantryman a weapon that used chemical energy rather than kinetic to penetrate armour in a focused manner, which made them more effective than large grenades. When propelled by a rocket, the shaped charge gained range as well. Weapons such as the US Bazooka and German Panzerfaust, although bulky, were suitable for infantry use - though they were designed to be short ranged weapons, which simplified accuracy for striking a vehicles weak points.

M107 Shells

Post World War 2, the advent of the missile delivered both great range and accuracy and provided infantry with a weapon that could reliably destroy the heaviest tanks at long distances. Today's infantryman can deploy sophisticated multispectral man-portable surface-to-air missiles equipped with the ability to reject decoys and defeat counter-measures. Since aircraft are relatively light in weight, and delicate in construction, this, combined with their highly flammable fuel, made aircraft more susceptible to fatal damage since their first mass usage in World War I; sometimes being brought down by single bullet, when striking something vital in the airplane. The main weaknesses of ammunition provided to infantry to deal with aircraft were limited range and small warheads; both due to the necessity of maintaining man-portable weapons. The premier SAM for infantry is the FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defence System), provided as an all-up round in a canister it is attached to a launcher unit and is ready to expend. Numerous other missiles in this class exist from different nations of origin. Infantry machine guns and rifles may improve their ability against aircraft by utilising tracer ammunition, to allow the aimer to better gauge the lead aim necessary to strike his target. Weapons developed primarily for anti-tank roles can add proximity fusing to increase the probability of a kill by having the warhead detonate nearby the target without having to make contact. [edit]Naval

ammunition

Battleship ammunition

The ranges at which engagements are conducted by warships are typically much greater than that at which land warfare is observed. The targets are also generally machines, not men. Naval ammunition is therefore optimized for great velocity (to reach those great ranges, to hit aircraft flying at altitude and also with the benefit of reducing the lead that has to be applied to hit a distant moving target) and to disable said machines, rather than rending human flesh. Naval gun ammunition of World War II vintage came in two main varieties, armor piercing shells to attack hardened warships or high explosive incendiaryshells (with point detonating fuzes to start fires on ships, or mechanical time fuzes designed to fragment and create clouds of shrapnel to defeat aircraft). With the demise of the armored warship, contemporary naval gun ammunition is solely the high explosive variety, but new fuzing and guidance options are available to increase lethality, especially against high speed missile or aircraft threats. [edit]Supply

of ammunition in the field

With every successive improvement in military arms there has necessarily been a corresponding modification in the

method of supplying ammunition and in the quantity required to be supplied. When hand-to-hand weapons were the principal implements of battle, there was no such need. But in theMiddle Ages, the archers and crossbowmen had to replenish the shafts and bolts expended in action, and during a siege, stone bullets of great size, as well as heavy arrows, were freely used. The missilesof those days were however interchangeable, and at the battle of Towton (1461), part of the Wars of the Roses, the commander of the Yorkist archers induced the enemy to loose arrows in order to obtain them for future use, similarly to a story in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (). This interchangeability of war material was even possible for many centuries after the invention of firearms. At the battle of Liegnitz (1760) a general officer was specially commissioned by Frederick II of Prussia to pack up and send away, for Prussian use, all the muskets and ammunition left on the field of battle by the defeated Austrians. Captured material is utilized whenever possible at the present time. In the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese went so far as to prepare beforehand spare parts for the Chinese guns they expected to capture. It is rare to find a modern army trusting to captures for arms and ammunition; almost the only instance of the practice is that of the Chilean Civil War (1891) in which the army of one belligerent was almost totally dependent upon this means of replenishing stores of arms and cartridges. What was possible with weapons of comparatively rough make is no longer to be thought of in the case of modern arms. The Lee-Metford bullet of 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) diameter can scarcely be used in a rifle of smaller caliber, and in general the minute accuracy of parts in modern weapons makes

interchangeability almost impossible. Further, owing to the rapidity with which, in modern arms, ammunition is expended, and the fact that, as battles are fought at longer ranges than formerly, more shots have to be fired in order to inflict heavy losses, it is necessary that the reserves of ammunition should be as close as possible to the troops who have to use them. This was always the case even with the older firearms, as, owing to the great weight of the ammunition, the soldier could only carry a few rounds. Nevertheless it is only within the past seventy years that there has grown up the elaborate system of ammunition supply which now prevails in all regularly organized armies. That which is described in the present article is the British, as laid down in the official Combined Training (1905) and other manuals. The new system designed for stronger divisions, and others, vary only in details and nomenclature.

Colt Anaconda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colt Anaconda

.44 Magnum Colt Anaconda with six inch barrel

Type Place of origin

Revolver United States

Production history Manufacturer Colt's Manufacturing Company 1990-1999 (Full production) Kodiak

Produced

Variants

Specifications Weight

47 oz. (4 in bbl)

53 oz. (6 in bbl) 59 oz. (8 in bbl) 9 5/8 in (4 in bbl) 11 5/8 in (6 in bbl) 13 5/8 in (8 in bbl) 4 in bbl (102 mm) 6 in bbl (153 mm) 8 in bbl (203 mm) .44 Special .44 Magnum .45 Colt

Length

Barrel length

Cartridge

Action Feed system Sights

Double-action Six round cylinder Adjustable open iron sights

Introduced in 1990, the Colt Anaconda is a large frame double-action revolver featuring a full length under-barrel ejection-rod lug and sixround cylinder, designed and produced by theColt's Manufacturing Company. Chambered for

the powerful .44 Magnum and .45 Colt centerfireammunition cartridges, the Anaconda marked the Hartford, Connecticut firms first foray into the popular large-bore Magnum pistol market.[1]
Contents
[hide]

1 Development 2 Features 3 Variants o 3.1 Kodiak 4 Accuracy Results 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit]Development Built on a new and heavier AA frame, the Anaconda was brought out to compete with .44 Magnum contemporaries such as the Smith & Wesson Model 29, the Sturm, Ruger & Co.Redhawk and Blackhawk, and the Dan Wesson Firearms Model 44. Considering that many of these models had been marketed and sold for fully 35 years upon its introduction, the Anaconda was a very late entry into the large-

bore handgun market.[2] Unlike most other pistols introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, the Anaconda was never offered with a carbon steelblued finish, but was available only in stainless steel.[1] When originally introduced Anacondas were plagued with poor accuracy, but changes to the barrels quickly corrected the problems to the point that Colt billed its new pistol as among the most accurate .44 Magnum revolvers in production.[2][3][4] Anaconda revolvers were primarily marketed for sport enthusiast shooters and hunters, as they are too large and unwieldy for law enforcement, selfdefense, or concealed-carry.[1] Colt firearms announced the discontinuation of the Anaconda and many other double-action revolver models in October of 1999, although made-to-order limited production versions of the gun continued to be available from the Colt custom gun shop until approximately 2003.[1][3]

Anaconda rollmark

[edit]Features

Originally chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, in 1993 the Anaconda began to be offered in .45 Colt as well. With its fine fit and finish and resembling an upsized King Cobramarried to a ventilated-rib barrel reminiscent of the Python's, the Anaconda is regarded as a very beautiful firearm.[2] Initially marketed with a satin brushed stainless finish, a highly-polished mirror-like option known as ultra bright was also cataloged for a time.[3] Anacondas came equipped with four, six, or eight inch barrels, neoprene synthetic rubber fingergrooved combat-style gripswith nickel colored 'Rampant Colt' medallions, large target type hammers and triggers, as well as open iron sights with a red insert front and fully adjustable white outline rear.[2][3][4] Some models were factorydrilled and tapped for telescopic sight mounting, while others shipped with recoil reducing Mag-na-ported barrels.[3][4] The trigger actions on these guns are rated as very highquality, and the heavy-duty solid construction and weight tends to absorb recoil, making the Anaconda relatively easy to shoot with heavy loads.[2][3][4] [edit]Variants [edit]Kodiak

Introduced in 1993, the Kodiak was similar to the Anaconda in that it was constructed entirely of stainless steel, but also offered the additional features of a recoil-reducing factory magna-ported barrel and unfluted cylinder. There were 2000 Kodiaks made as a special run of Anacondas, breaking away from their long history of naming revolvers after snakes. A special run of 1000 King Cobras was also made about the same time, having the same Magna-Ported barrel and unflued cylinder and were called Grizzly. [edit]Accuracy

Results

The following results were achieved firing five shot groups with a red dot sight-mounted Anaconda at 25 yards.[2] Ammunition Black Hills 240 grain JHP Black Hills 300 grain JHP CCI Lawman 240 grain JHP Cor-Bon 260 grain JHP Group size 1 1/2 inches 1 3/8 inches 1 1/4 inches 1 3/4 inches

Federal 180 grain JHP Federal 220 grain FMJ Federal 240 grain JHP Federal 250 grain FMJ

2 3/8 inches 1 3/8 inches 1 1/4 inches 1 1/2 inches

Hornady 240 grain XTP handload 1 1/8 inches (25 grains WW 296 powder) Sierra 240 grain JHP handload (25 grains WW 296) 1 3/4inches

Glock pistol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glock pistol

An early "third generation" Glock 17.

Type Place of origin

Semi-automatic pistol Austria

Service history In service Used by 1982present See Users

Production history Designer Designed Gaston Glock 1982

Manufacturer Glock GmbH Produced Number built Variants 1982present 2,500,000+[1] See Variants

Specifications Cartridge

9x19mm Parabellum (Gl ock 17, 18, 19, 26, 34) 10mm Auto (Glock 20, 29) .45 ACP (Glock 21, 30, 36) .40 S&W (Glock 22, 23, 24, 27, 35) .380 ACP (Glock 25, 28) .357 SIG (Glock 31, 32, 33) .45 GAP (Glock 37, 38, 39)

Action

Feed system

Sights

Short recoil, locked breech, tilting barrel (straight blowback for .380 ACP variants) Box magazine, see Variants for capacities Fixed, adjustable, and self-luminous night sights

The Glock is a series of semi-automatic pistolsdesigned and produced by Glock GmbH, located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearms design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, theGlock 17, was being prototyped. Glock did however have extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, knowledge which was instrumental in the company's design of the first successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Despite initial resistance from the market to accept a 'plastic gun' due to concerns about

their durability and reliability, Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, commanding 65% of the market share of handguns for United States law enforcement agencies[2] as well as supplying numerous national armed forces and security agencies worldwide.
Contents
[hide]

1 History o 1.1 Development o 1.2 Product evolution 1.2.1 Second generation models 1.2.2 Third generation models 1.2.3 Fourth generation models 2 Design details o 2.1 Operating mechanism o 2.2 Features o 2.3 Barrel o 2.4 Safety o 2.5 Feeding o 2.6 Sights o 2.7 Accessories 3 Variants

3.1 9x19mm Parabellum o 3.2 10mm Auto o 3.3 .45 ACP o 3.4 .40 S&W o 3.5 .380 ACP o 3.6 .357 SIG o 3.7 .45 GAP o 3.8 Regional variants o 3.9 Training variants 4 Users 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External links
o

[edit]History [edit]Development In 1980, the Austrian military announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II-era Walther P38 handguns.[3] The Austrian Ministry of Defence formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol:[4]

A "first generation" Glock 17 with the slide locked back.

A "second generation" Glock 17, identified by the checkering on the front and rear straps of the pistol grip and trigger guard.

An early "third generation" Glock 19, identified by the addition of thumb rests, an accessory rail, finger grooves on the front strap of the pistol grip and a single cross pin above the trigger.

A "third generation" Glock 17C, identified by the addition of an extra cross pin above the trigger and a reshaped extractor that also serves as a loaded chamber indicator.

1. The design has to be self-loading. 2. The pistol must fire the NATOstandard 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. 3. The magazines would not require any means of assistance for loading. 4. The magazines must have a minimum capacity of 8 rounds. 5. All actions necessary to prepare the pistol for firing and any actions required after firing must be done single-handed, either right- or left-handed. 6. The pistol must be absolutely secure against accidental discharge from shock, stroke and drops from a height of 2 m onto a steel plate.

7. Disassembly of the main parts for maintenance and reassembling must be possible without the use of any tools. 8. Maintenance and cleaning of the pistol must be accomplished without the use of tools. 9. The pistol's construction may not exceed 58 individual parts (equivalent of a P38). 10. Gauges, measuring and precise testing devices must not be necessary for the longterm maintenance of the pistol. 11. The manufacturer is required to provide the Ministry of Defence with a complete set of engineering drawingsand exploded views. These must be supplied with all the relevant details for the production of the pistol. 12. All components must be fully interchangeable between pistols. 13. No more than 20 malfunctions are permitted during the first 10,000 rounds fired, not even minor jams that can be cleared without the use of any tools.

14. After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol will be inspected for wear. The pistol will then be used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar (72,518 psi) (the normal maximum operating pressure Pmax for the 9 mm NATO is rated at 2,520 bar (36,550 psi)).[5] The critical components must continue to function properly and be up to specifications, otherwise the pistol will be disqualified. 15. When handled properly, under no circumstances may the user be endangered by case ejection. 16. The muzzle energy must be at least 441.5 J when firing a 9mm S-round/P-08 Hirtenberger AG. 17. Pistols scoring less than 70% of the total available points will not be considered for military use. Glock became aware of the Army's planned procurement and in 1982 assembled a team of Europe's leading handgun experts from military, police and civilian sport shooting circles to define the most desirable characteristics in a

combat pistol.[4] Within just three months, Glock developed a working prototype.[6] The new weapon made extensive use of synthetic materials and modern manufacturing technologies in its design, making it a very costeffective candidate. Several samples of the 9x19mm Glock 17 (so named because it was the 17th patent of the company) were submitted for assessment trials in early 1982, and after passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests, Glock emerged as the winner with the Model 17.[7][8][9] The handgun was adopted into service with the Austrian military and police forces in 1982 as the P80 (Pistole 80),[10] with an initial order for 25,000 guns.[6] The Glock 17 outperformed 8 different pistols from five other established manufacturers (Heckler & Koch offered their P7M8, P7M13 and P9S, SIGSauer ofSwitzerland bid with their P220 and P226 models, Beretta of Italy su bmitted their model 92SB-F, FN Herstal proposed an updated variant of the Browning Hi-Power and the home-

grown Steyr entered the competition with the GB).[11] The results of the Austrian trials sparked a wave of interest in Western Europe and overseas, particularly in the United States, where a similar effort to select a service-wide replacement for the M1911 had been ongoing since the late 1970s (known as the Joint Service Small Arms Program). In late 1983, the United States Department of Defense inquired about the Glock pistol and received four samples of the Glock 17 for unofficial evaluation.[12] Glock was then invited to participate in the XM9 Personal Defence Pistol Trials, but declined because the DOD specifications would require extensive retooling of production equipment and providing 35 test samples in an unrealistic time frame.[12] Shortly thereafter, the Glock 17 was accepted into service with the Norwegian, and Swedish Armed Forces, surpassing all prior NATO durability standards.[12] As a result, the Glock 17 became a standard NATO-classified sidearm and was granted a NATO Stock Number (1005/25/133/6775).[12]

By 1992, some 350,000 pistols had been sold in more than 45 countries, including 250,000 in the United States alone.[10] [edit]Product evolution The Glock was modified several times throughout its production history. In 1991, an integrated recoil spring assembly replaced the original two-piece recoil spring and tube design. The magazine was also slightly modified, changing the floorplate and fitting the follower spring with a resistance insert at its base. [edit]Second generation models A mid-life upgrade to the Glock pistols involved the addition of checkering on the front strap and serrations to the back strap. These versions are informally referred to as "second generation" models. To meet American ATF regulations, a steel plate with a stamped serial number was embedded into the dust cover in front of the trigger guard. [edit]Third generation models In the late 1990s, the frame was further modified with an accessory rail (called the

"Universal Glock rail") to allow the mounting of laser sights, tactical lights, and other accessories. Thumb rests on both sides of the frame and finger grooves on the front strap were also added. Glock pistols with these upgrades are informally referred to as (early) "third generation" models. Later third generation models additionally featured a modified extractor that also serves as a loaded chamber indicator, and the locking block was enlarged, along with the addition of an extra cross pin to aid the distribution of forces exerted by the locking block. This cross pin is known as the locking block pin and located above the trigger pin.[13] The polymer frames of third generation models can be black or olive drab. Besides that, nonfiring dummy pistols ("R" models) have a bright red frame and Simunition-adapted practice pistols ("T" models)a bright blue frame for easy identification.[14] In 2009 the Glock 22 RTF2 (Rough Texture Frame 2) (chambered in .40 S&W) was introduced. This pistol featured a new

checkering texture around the grip and new scalloped (fish gill shaped) serrations at the rear of the sides of the slide.[15][16] [edit]Fourth generation models At the 2010 SHOT Show trade show Glock presented the "fourth generation" model. The changes appear mainly centered around ergonomics. Glock Gen4 17 (9x19mm Parabellum) and Gen4 22 (.40 S&W) full-size pistols were displayed with a modified rough texture frame, checkering around the grip and interchangeable backstraps of different sizes. The basic grip size of the generation 4 pistols is smaller compared to the previous Glock models. For mounting an "M" (medium) or "L" (large) backstrap, a punch is provided to remove the basic trigger housing pin and replace it for a longer cross pin needed to attach the "M" or "L" straps. The "M" backstrap yields a grip of similar size compared to the previous generation pistols. The magazine release catches are also significantly enlarged and reversible for left-handed use. To utilize the swappable magazine release feature, generation 4 magazines have two notches on

both sides of the magazine. Mechanically, the Glock Gen4 pistols are fitted with a dual recoil spring assembly to reduce perceived recoil and increase service life expectancy. Due to the larger diameter of this dual recoil spring assembly the slide and shelf on the barrel have been dimensonally modified accordingly. The front portion of the polymer frame just under the slide is wider compared to the previous generation guns and internally enlarged to accommodate the dual recoil spring assembly.[17][18][19][20] [edit]Design

details

[edit]Operating mechanism The Glock 17 is a 9mm short recoil-operated locked breech semi-automatic pistol that uses a modifiedBrowning cam-lock system adapted from the Hi-Power pistol.[21] The firearm's locking mechanism utilizes a linkless, vertically tilting barrel with a rectangular breech that locks into the ejection port cut-out in the slide. During the recoil stroke, the barrel moves rearward initially locked together with the slide approximately 3 mm (0.12 in) until the bullet

leaves the barrel and chamber pressure drops to a safe level. A ramped lug extension at the base of the barrel then interacts with a tapered locking block integrated into the frame, forcing the barrel down and unlocking it from the slide. This camming action terminates the barrel's movement while the slide continues back under recoil, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge casing. The slide's uninterrupted rearward movement and counter-recoil cycle are characteristic of the Browning system.[22] [edit]Features

A subcompact Glock 30 field stripped to its main parts with a .45 ACP round

The slide features a spring-loaded claw extractor and the stamped sheet metal ejector is pinned to the subframe.[10]Post 2002 pistols have a reshaped extractor that also serves as a loaded chamber indicator.

When a cartridge is present in the chamber, a tactile metal edge protrudes slightly out immediately behind the ejection port on the right side of the slide.[23] The striker firing mechanism has a springloaded firing pin that is cocked in two stages, powered by the firing pin spring. When the pistol is charged, the firing pin is in the half-cock position. As the trigger is pulled, the striker is then fully cocked. At the end of its travel, the trigger bar is tilted downward by the disconnector, releasing the striker to fire the cartridge. The disconnector also resets the trigger bar so that the striker will be captured in half-cock at the end of the firing cycle. This is known as a pre-set trigger mechanism, referred to as the "Safe Action" trigger by the manufacturer. The disconnector also ensures the pistol can only fire semi-automatically. The factory standard two-stage trigger has a trigger travel of 12.5 mm (0.5 in) and is rated at 25 N(5.6 lbf), but by using a modified connector it can be increased to 35 N (7.9 lbf) or lowered to 20 N (4.5 lbf). In response to a request made by American law enforcement agencies for a

two-stage trigger with increased trigger pull, Glock introduced the NY1 (New York) trigger module, which features a flat spring in a plastic housing that replaces the trigger bar's standard coil spring. This trigger modification is available in two versions: NY1 and NY2 that are rated at 25 N (5.6 lbf) to 40 N (9.0 lbf) and 32 N (7.2 lbf) to 50 N (11.2 lbf) respectively, which require approximately 20 N (4.5 lbf) to 30 N (6.7 lbf) of force to disengage the safeties and another 10 N (2.2 lbf) to 20 N (4.5 lbf) in the second stage to fire a shot. The Glock's frame, magazine body and several other components are made from a highstrength nylon-based polymer invented by Gaston Glock and called Polymer 2.[24] This plastic was specially formulated to provide increased durability and is more resilient than carbon steel and most steel alloys. Polymer 2 is resistant to shock, caustic liquids and temperature extremes where traditional steel/alloy frames would warp and become brittle.[24] The injection molded frame contains 4 hardened steel guide rails for the slide: two at the rear of the frame, and the

remaining pair above and in front of the trigger guard. The trigger guard itself is squared off at the front and checkered. The grip has a nonslip, stippled surface on the sides and both the front and rear straps. The frame houses the locking block, which is an investment casting that engages a 45 camming surface on the barrel's lower camming lug. It is retained in the frame by a steel axis pin that also holds the trigger and slide catch. The trigger housing is held to the frame by means of a plastic pin. A spring-loaded sheet metal pressing serves as the slide catch, which is secured from unintentional manipulation by a raised guard molded into the frame. The Glock pistol has a relatively low slide profile which holds the barrel axis close to the shooter's hand and makes the pistol more comfortable to shoot by reducing muzzle rise and allowing for faster aim recovery in rapid shooting sequence. The rectangular slide is milled from a single block of ordnance-grade steel using CNC machinery.[25] The barrel and slide are finished with a proprietary nitridingprocess called Tenifer. The

slide and barrel undergo three hardening processes prior to the final coating, applied in a 500C nitrate bath.[24] The Tenifer finish is between 0.4 mm (0.016 in) and 0.5 mm (0.020 in) in thickness is characterized by extreme wear and corrosion resistance; it penetrates the metal and coated parts have similar properties even below the surface to a certain depth.[26] The Tenifer process produces a matte, non-glare surface with a 64 Rockwell C hardness rating (by comparison, an industrial diamond has a rating of 70 HRC) and a 99% resistance to salt water corrosion (which meets or exceedsstainless steel specifications),[25] making the Glock particularly suitable for individuals carrying the pistolconcealed as the highly salt-resistant finish allows the pistol to better endure the effects of perspiration.[26] Glock pistols with their Tenifer finish are also more corrosion-resistant than analogous guns on the market with any other type of finish, including Teflon, bluing, hard chrome plating, phosphates and other alloys.[26]

A current production Glock 17 consists of 34 parts. For maintenance, the pistol disassembles into five main groups: the barrel, slide, frame, magazine and recoil spring assembly. The firearm is designed for the NATOstandard 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge, but can also use high-power (increased pressure) +P and +P+ ammunition with either full metal jacket or jacketed hollow point projectiles. [edit]Barrel

Standard sighting arrangement of a "first generation" Glock 17.

The hammer-forged barrel has a female type polygonal riflingwith a right-hand twist. The stabilization of the round is not by conventional rifling, utilizing lands and grooves, but rather through a polygonal profile consisting of a series of six interconnected non-circular segments. Each depressed segment within the interior of the barrel is the equivalent of a groove in a conventional barrel. Thus the interior of the barrel consists of six smooth arcs of steel rather than six sharply defined slots. The method by which Glock barrels are rifled is somewhat unusual; instead of using a traditional broaching machine to cut the rifling into the bore, the Glock process involves beating a slowly rotating mandrel through the bore to obtain the hexagonal shape.[27] As a result, the barrel's thickness in the area of each groove is not compromised as with conventional square-cut barrels. This also has the advantage of providing a better gas seal around the projectile as the bore has a slightly smaller diameter, which translates into more efficient use of the combustion gases trapped behind the bullet,[27] slightly greater

(consistency in) muzzle velocities, increased accuracy and ease of maintenance.[28] [edit]Safety The Glock features a triple safety "Safe action" system that secures the firearm against accidental discharge and consists of three independent safety mechanisms: an external integrated trigger safety[29]and two automatic internal safetiesa firing pin safety[30] and a drop safety.[31] The external safety is a small inner lever contained in the trigger. Pressing the lever activates the trigger bar and sheet metal connector. One of the internal safeties is a solid hardened steel pin that, in the secured state, blocks the firing pin channel (disabling the firing pin in its longitudinal axis). The firing pin safety is pushed upward to release the firing pin for firing only when the trigger is actuated and the safety is pushed up through the backward movement of the trigger bar; the second, drop safety guides the trigger bar in a precision safety ramp that is released only when a shot is triggered by pulling the trigger right back. The safeties are systematically disengaged one after the other

when the trigger is squeezed and then automatically re-activated when the trigger is released. Passive safeties allow the pistol to be carried with a cartridge in the chamber thus reducing the time required to deploy the pistol. This allows the user to concentrate on tactical considerations, rather than manipulation of traditional on-off levers, hammers or external safeties as found in other conventional handguns.[10][32] In 2003, Glock announced the Internal Locking System (ILS) safety feature. The ILS is a manually activated lock that is located in the back of the pistol's grip. It is cylindrical in design and, according to Glock, each key is unique. When activated, the lock causes a tab to protrude from the rear of the grip giving both a visual and tactile indication as to whether the lock is engaged or not. When activated, the ILS renders the Glock unfireable as well as making it impossible to disassemble. When disengaged, the ILS adds no further safety mechanisms to the Glock pistol. The ILS is available as an option on most Glock pistols. Glock pistols cannot be retrofitted to

accommodate the ILS. The lock must be factory built in Austria and shipped as a special order. [edit]Feeding The Glock 17 feeds from a double stack box magazine with a 17-round capacity, an extended 19-round magazine, or a 33-round magazine. A 10-round single stack magazine is also available for jurisdictions which require a maximum magazine capacity of 10 rounds. The magazines are comprised of a steel body overmolded with plastic. A steel spring drives a plastic follower. After the last cartridge has been fired, the slide remains open on the slide stop. The slide stop release lever is located on the left side of the frame directly beneath the slide and can be manipulated by the thumb of the shooting hand. An interesting feature is that, within the same caliber, Glock magazines are "one-way" interchangeable between models, meaning that a compact or subcompact pistol will accept magazines designed for the larger pistols. Magazines designed for compact and subcompact models will not function in larger

pistols, because they are not tall enough to reach the slide and magazine release. For example, the subcompact Glock 26 will accept magazines for the full-size Glock 17 and the compact Glock 19, but the Glock 17 will not accept magazines for the Glock 19 or the Glock 26. [edit]Sights The Glock 17 has a fixed polymer combattype sighting arrangement that consists of a ramped front sight and a notched rear sight with white contrast elements painted on for increased acquisition speeda white dot on the front post and a rectangular border on the rear notch. The rear sight can be adjusted for windage as it has a degree of lateral movement in the dovetail it is mounted in. Three other factory rear sight configurations are available in addition to the standard 6.5 mm (0.26 in) height sight: a lower impact 6.1 mm (0.24 in) sight and two higher impact versions6.9 mm (0.27 in) and 7.3 mm (0.29 in).[33] [edit]Accessories

Glock 34 with a GTL 22 attachment featuring a dimmable xenon white light and a red laser.

The Glock pistol accessories available from the factory include several devices for tactical illumination, such as a series of front rail mounted "Glock tactical lights" featuring a white tactical light and an optional visible laser sight. An alternate version of the tactical light utilizing an invisibleinfrared light and laser sight is also available, designed to be used with an infrared night vision device. Another lighting accessory is an adapter to mount a flashlight onto the bottom of a magazine. Polymer holsters in various configurations and matching magazine pouches are also available. In addition, Glock produces optional triggers, recoil springs, slide stops, magazine release levers, and underwater spring cups. Magazine floor plates (or "+2 baseplates"), which expand the capacity of the standard

magazines by 2 rounds, are available for pistols chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum, .380 ACP, .40 S&W and .357 SIG cartridges. As alternatives to the standard non-adjustable polymer sight line three alternative sight lines are offered by Glock. These consist of steel, adjustable and self-illuminating tritium night rear sights and factory steel and self-illuminating tritium contrast pointer steel front sights. [edit]Variants Following the introduction of the Glock 17, numerous variants and versions have been offered. Variants that differ in caliber, frame, and slide length are identified by different model numbers with the exception of the discontinued Glock 17L. Other changes not dealing with frame and slide length are identified with suffixes, such as "C", which denotes compensated models. Minor options such as frame color, sights, and included accessories are identified by a separate model code on the box and do not appear anywhere on the firearm.

Glock pistols come in five form factors, all modeled after the original full-size Glock 17. "Standard" models are designed as full-size duty firearm with a large magazine capacity. "Compact" models are slightly smaller with reduced magazine capacity and lighter weight while maintaining a usable grip length. "Subcompact" models are designed for easier carry being lighter and shorter, and are intended to be used with two fingers on the grip below the trigger guard. .45 ACP and 10mm models are slightly larger than smaller cartridge pistols and are available in the sub-compact models Glock 29 (10mm) and Glock 30 (.45ACP). Glock produces a singlestack "Slimline" .45 ACP pistol, the Glock 36. "Competition" versions have longer barrels and slides, adjustable sights, an extended slide and magazine release. Beginning in 2007, Glock introduced several "Short Frame" models designated by the suffix "SF". The short frame was originally designed to compete in the now cancelled U.S. military Joint Combat Pistoltrials for a new .45 ACP pistol to replace the M9 pistol. Glock's

entry featured an optional ambidextrous magazine release and MIL-STD-1913 rail along with a reduction in the size of the backstrap. The Glock 21SF is currently available in three versions: one with a Picatinny rail and ambidextrous magazine release and two with a Universal Glock rail available with or without the ambidextrous magazine release. Current 10mm and .45 ACP Glock magazines are manufactured with ambidextrous magazine release cutouts. As of January 2009, the Glock 20, 21, 29, and 30 were offered in short-framed variations. These models incorporate a 2.5 mm (.10 inch) reduction in trigger reach, and fullsized models also feature a 4 mm (.16 inch) reduction in heel depth. This reduction in heel depth also corresponds to an overall reduction in length for those models.[34][35][36] Some Glock pistols are available as "C" models (for "compensated"), which have slots cut into the top of the barrel and top of the slide to reduce muzzle climb and perceived recoil.[37][38] [edit]9x19mm Parabellum

The Glock 17 is the original 9x19mm Parabellum model, with a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds. Several modified versions of the Glock 17 have also been introduced.

The Glock 17C was introduced in 1996 and incorporated slots cut in the barrel and slide to compensate for muzzle rise and recoil. Many other Glock pistols now come with this option, all with a "C" suffix on the slide. The Glock 17L was introduced in 1988 and incorporates a longer slide and extended barrel. Initially, the Glock 17L had three holes in the top of the barrel and a corresponding slot in the slide; however, later production pistols lack the holes in the barrel. The Glock 17L is effectively discontinued and replaced by the Glock 34. The Glock 17MB is a version with ambidextrous magazine catch. The Glock

19 and Glock 21SF are also available as MB-variants.

The Glock 18, chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, fitted with a detachable shoulder stock being fired in fully-automatic mode.

The Glock 18 is a selective fire variant of the Glock 17, developed at the request of the Austrian counterterroristunit EKO Cobra. This machine pistol-class firearm has a lever-type fire-control selector switch, installed on the left side of the slide, in the rear, serrated portion (selector lever in the bottom positioncontinuous fire, top settingsingle fire). The firearm is typically used with an extended 33round capacity magazine, although other magazines from the Glock 17 will also function, with available capacities of 10, 17, or 19 rounds.

Early Glock 18 models were ported to reduce muzzle rise during automatic fire. Another compensated variant was also produced, known as the Glock 18C. It has a keyhole opening cut into the forward portion of the slide, not unlike the opening on the Glock longslide models, although the Glock 18 has a standard-length slide. The keyhole opening provides an area to allow the four, progressively-larger (from back to front) compensator cuts machined into the barrel to vent the propellant gases upwards, affording more control over the rapid-firing machine pistol. The compensator cuts start about halfway back on the top of the barrel. The two rear cuts are narrower than the two front cuts. The slide is also hollowed, or dished-out, in a rectangular pattern between the rear of the ejection port and the rear sight. The rate of fire in fully automatic mode is approximately 1,1001,200 rounds per minute. Most of the other

characteristics are equivalent to the Glock 17, although the slide, frame, and certain fire-control parts of the Glock 18 are not interchangeable with other Glock models.[39][40]

The compact Glock 19 in 9x19mm Parabellum.

The Glock 19 is effectively a reducedsize Glock 17, called the "Compact" by the manufacturer. It was first produced in 1988, primarily for military and law enforcement. The Glock 19 has a barrel and pistol grip that are shorter by approximately 12 mm (0.5 in) compared to the Glock 17 and uses a magazine with a standard capacity of 15 rounds. The pistol is also compatible with factory magazines from the Glock 17 and Glock 18, with available capacities of 10, 17, 19, and 33 rounds. To preserve the

operational reliability of the short recoil system, the mass of the slide remains the same as in the Glock 17 from which it is derived. With the exception of the slide, frame, barrel, locking block, recoil spring, guide rod, and slide lock spring, all of the other components are interchangeable between the models 17 and 19.

The subcompact Glock 26 with tritium night sights in 9x19mm Parabellum.

The Glock 26 is a 9x19mm "subcompact" variant designed for concealed carry and was introduced in 1995, mainly for the civilian market. It features a smaller frame compared to the Glock 19, with a pistol grip that supports only two fingers, a shorter barrel and slide, and a double-stack magazine with a

standard capacity of 10 rounds. A factory magazine with a +2 baseplate gives a capacity of 12 rounds. In addition, factory magazines from the Glock 17, Glock 18, and Glock 19, with capacities of 15, 17, 19, and 33 rounds, will also function in the Glock 26. More than simply a "shortened" Glock 19, design of the subcompact Glock 26 required extensive rework of the frame, locking block, and spring assembly that features a dual recoil spring.

The Glock 34 is a competition version of the Glock 17. It is similar to its predecessor, the now-discontinued Glock 17L, but with a slightly shorter slide and barrel. It was developed and produced in 1998, and compared to the Glock 17, features a 21 mm (0.8 in) longer barrel and slide. It also has an extended magazine release, extended slide stop lever, 20 N (4.5 lbf) trigger pull, and an adjustable rear sight. The top of the

slide is milled out, creating a hole designed to reduce front-end muzzle weight to better balance the pistol.[41] [edit]10mm Auto

The subcompact Glock 29 in 10mm Auto.

The Glock 20 was developed for the then-growing law enforcement and security forces market for the 10mm Auto, introduced in 1991. The pistol will handle both full-power as well as reduced "FBI" loads that have reduced muzzle velocity. Due to the longer cartridge and higher pressures, the pistol is slightly larger than the Glock 17, having an approximately 2.5 mm (0.1 in) greater width and 7 mm (0.3 in) greater length. Though many small parts interchange with the Glock 17, with a close to 50% parts

commonality, the major assemblies are scaled-up and do not interchange. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 20 is 15 rounds. In 2009, Glock announced they would offer a 152 mm (6 inch) barrel as a drop-in option.[42] The Glock 29 is a 10mm Auto equivalent of the subcompact Glock 26 introduced in 1997 along with the Glock 30. The pistol features a 96 mm (3.8 in) barrel and a standard magazine capacity of 10 rounds. Like other subcompact Glock pistols, the Glock 29 will also function with the factory magazines from its related fullsize model, giving an optional capacity of 15 rounds. [edit].45 ACP

The slim-frame Glock 36 in .45 ACP.

The barrels of all .45 ACP Glock pistols feature octagonalpolygonal rifling rather than the hexagonal shaped bores used for models in different chamberings.[43] Octagonal rifling provides a better gas seal in relatively large diameter rifled bores, since an octagon resembles a circle closer than a hexagon.[28]

The Glock 21 is a .45 ACP version of the Glock 20 designed primarily for the American market.[44] Compared to the Glock 20 chambered in 10mm Auto, the slide of the Glock 21 is lighter to compensate for the lower-energy .45 ACP cartridge. The standard Glock 21 magazine is of the single-positionfeed, staggered-column type with a capacity of 13 rounds. The Glock 30 is a .45 ACP version of the subcompact Glock 29, with a standard magazine capacity of 10 rounds. The factory magazine from the

Glock 21, with a capacity of 13 rounds, will also function in the Glock 30. The Glock 36 is a "slimline" version of the subcompact Glock 30 that features an ultra-compact frame and is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The barrel, slide, and magazine are unique to the model. The Glock 36 is the first Glock pistol to be manufactured with a single-stack magazine,[45] having a standard capacity of 6 rounds. Unlike other subcompact Glock pistols, the Glock 36 cannot use factory magazines from its larger relatives due to its singlestack magazine design. [edit].40 S&W

Glock 22 OD in .40 S&W with olive drabframe and magazine.

The competition-oriented Glock 35 in .40 S&W

The Glock 22 is a .40 S&W version of the full-size Glock 17 introduced in 1990. The pistol uses a modified slide, frame, and barrel to account for the differences in size and power of the .40 S&W cartridge. The standard magazine capacity is 15 rounds. The Glock 23 is a .40 S&W version of the compact Glock 19. It is dimensionally identical to the Glock 19 but is slightly heavier and uses a modified slide, frame, .40 S&W barrel and a standard magazine capacity of 13 rounds. The factory 15-round magazine from the larger Glock 22 will also function in the Glock 23. The Glock 24 is a .40 S&W competition variant of the full-size

Glock 22 similar in concept to the target Glock 17L model. The Glock 24 was officially discontinued upon the release of the Glock 34 and 35.[46]

The Glock 27 is a .40 S&W version of the subcompact Glock 26, with a standard magazine capacity of 9 rounds. The factory magazines from the larger Glock 22 and 23 will also function in the Glock 27, increasing capacity to 13 or 15 rounds.

The Glock 35 is a .40 S&W version of the competition Glock 34. [edit].380 ACP

The Glock 25 is a derivative of the Glock 19, adapted to use the .380 ACP (9x17mm Short) cartridge. The .380 models are primarily intended for markets which prohibit civilian ownership of firearms chambered in military calibers. They are not offered in the United States, due to the characteristics of the gun making it

unable to pass import restrictions.[47] Due to the relatively low bolt thrust of the .380 ACP cartridge, the pistol features an unlocked breech and operates via straight blowback of the slide. This method of operation required modification of the locking surfaces on the barrel as well as a redesign of the former locking block. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 25 is 15 rounds. The Glock 28 is a .380 ACP subcompact version of the blowbackoperated Glock 25, with a standard magazine capacity of 10 rounds. The factory magazine from the Glock 25, with a capacity of 15 rounds, will also function in the Glock 28. [edit].357 SIG

The subcompact Glock 33 in .357 SIG

The Glock 31 is a .357 SIG variant of the full-sized Glock 22. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 31 is 15 rounds. The Glock 32 is a .357 SIG variant of the compact Glock 23. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 32 is 13 rounds.

The Glock 33 is a .357 SIG variant of the subcompact Glock 26. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 33 is 9 rounds. [edit].45 GAP

The Glock 37 is a .45 GAP version of the Glock 17. It uses a wider, beveled slide, larger barrel, and different magazine, but is otherwise similar to the Glock 17. The Glock 37 first appeared in 2003. It was designed to offer ballistic performance comparable with the .45 ACP in the frame size of

the Glock 17. The concern with the size of the Glock 20/21 has also been addressed by the Glock 36, 21SF, and 30SF all of which featured reducedsize frames. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 37 is 10 rounds.

The Glock 38 is a .45 GAP version of the compact Glock 19.[48] The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 38 is 8 rounds. The Glock 39 is a .45 GAP version of the subcompact Glock 26. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 39 is 6 rounds.
Glock handgun models Total length Barrel length

Model Cartridge number

Magazine Capacity[49

(mm) (in) (mm) (in) Standard Opti 17, 17C 9x19mm 186 7.32 114 4.49 17

10, 33

17L

225 8.86 153 6.02

17

10, 33

18, 18C

185 7.28 114 4.49

33

10, 19 10, 19,

19, 19C 20, 20C, 20SF 21, 21C, 21SF 22, 22C

174 6.85 102 4.01

15

10mm Auto 193 7.60 117 4.61 .45 ACP

15

10

13

10

186 7.32 114 4.49

15 13 15

10,

23, 23C .40 S&W 174 6.85 102 4.01 24, 24C 225 8.86 153 6.02

10, 17 10,

25

.380 ACP 174 6.85 102 4.01

15

17,

26

9x19mm

10

12, 17, 33

27

.40 S&W

160 6.30 88 3.46

11, 17 12, 17,

28 29, 29SF 30, 30SF 31, 31C

.380 ACP 10mm Auto 172 6.77 96 3.78 .45 ACP 186 7.32 114 4.49

10

10

15

10 15 13

9, 1 10,

32, 32C .357 SIG 174 6.85 102 4.01 33 160 6.30 88 3.46

10, 17 10, 13,

17 34 35 36 37 38 39 Notes:

9x19mm 207 8.15 135 5.31 .40 S&W .45 ACP 172 6.77 96 3.78 189 7.44 116 4.56 .45 GAP 174 6.85 102 4.01 160 6.30 88 3.46

17 15 6 10 8 6

19, 10,

10

8, 1

Glock pistols designated by "C" after the model number barrels and slides to compensate for muzzle rise.

Glock 18/18C pistols are 9x19mm Parabellum select fire available to the general public in most countries.

Glock pistols designated "SF" are "short-framed". They shorter trigger travel and the heel of the pistol is narrowe the full-sized framed Glock 20 and Glock 21.

Glock 25 or 28 pistols are not available to the general pu

because a small pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartr "sporting purposes" criteria for importation of pistols un 1968, according to the BATFE's point system.[50]

[edit]Regional variants

The Glock Mariner and Glock Tactical are versions of various Glock pistols sold in the Philippines with an adjustable rear sight, extended slide stop, maritime spring cups and an engraved slide with the words MARINER or TACTICAL.[51] The Glock 17A is a variant produced with a 120 mm (4.7 in) extended barrel that protrudes from the slide visibly. It is intended for the Australian market to conform to local laws regarding barrel length created after the Monash University shooting and are supplied with 10-round magazines.[52][53] The Glock 17S is a variant with an external, frame-mounted, manual safety. Small numbers of this

variant were made for the Tasmanian, Israeli, Pakistani and perhaps several South American security forces.[54] They are stamped "17", not "17S". They resemble, but are distinguishable from, standard Glock 17 pistols that have been fitted with the after-market Cominolli safety.[55]

The Glock 17Pro is a version produced exclusively for the Finnish market.[51] It has the following alterations from the standard Glock 17: factory tritium night sights, an extended, threaded barrel, marine spring cups, modified magazine release, extended slide release (factory standard in newer models), extended +2 magazine baseplates, 3.5 lb connector, and factory Glock pouch.[51] The Glock 17DK is a version for Denmark, where handguns must, by law, be at least 210 mm (8.3 in)

long. The Glock 17DK has a 122.5 mm (4.8 in) barrel, making the pistol 210 mm (8.3 in) long overall. The Glock 25 SDN (SDNSecretaria de la Defensa Nacional or "Secretary of National Defense") is a version of the Glock 25 used by Mexican law enforcement with S. D. N. MEXICO DF engraved on the slide.[51] [edit]Training variants

The Glock 17T is a training pistol that fires paint or rubber bullets. There are two versions and they are both easily recognizable from their bright blue frames: the Glock 17T 9 mm FX, which firesSimunition FX cartridges and the Glock 17T 7.8x21 AC, which fires cartridges with paint and rubber bullets powered by replaceable pressurized air cartridges. The Glock 17P is a training dummy for practicing hand-to-hand combat, loading and unloading of the pistol.

The Glock 17P is identical to a standard Glock 17 except for its red frame, an inert barrel (without a chamber, thus preventing the accidental chambering of a live cartridge) and no firing pin hole in the breech face (preventing someone from using a live barrel with the training slide). [edit]Users
Countr y Organization Model

A Glock 17 outfitted with a Austral thumb safety was designed specifically for ia the Tasmania Police[56]

Glock 17

[57][58] Austrian Armed Forces Austria

Glock 17 (designate dPistole 80) -

Canad Numerous local law

enforcement agencies including those ofCalgary, Edmonton, Otta wa, Saskatoon, South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service, and Toronto[58]

Czech Non-standard sidearm Republi issued to personnel on [59] Glock 17 international deployments c National Police[58] Ecuad Various special police units or such as the GOE and GIR[58] Fiji Tactical Response Unit[60] Primary service firearm of the police[61] Defence Forces[62] Glock 17 (designate

Finlan d

d9.00 PIST 2008) Department of Corrections (Vankeinhoitolaitos)[62] Border Guard[62] Certain naval and parachute France units of the French Army[63] Georgi Special forces[58] a Germa GSG 9 of the German Federal Police[58] ny
[64] Greece EKAM

Glock 17

Glock 21

Greenl Siriuspatruljen[65] and

Glock 20

Special Duties Unit[58] Hong Kong Hong Kong Police Force[58] Icelandic National Police[66][67][68] Iceland Vkingasveitin[66][67][68] ICRU[66][67][68]

Glock 17 Glock 17 -

India National Security Guards[58] Glock 17 Iraqi security forces (largest Iraq user, purchased 125,163 Glock 19 pistols)[69][70]
[58] Jordan Presidential Guard

Glock 17

Kosovo Police[71][72]

Kosov o Kosovo Security Force[71][72] Glock 17

[73] Latvia Latvian Military

Glock 17

Lithua Lithuanian Armed Forces[74] Glock 17 nia Unit Spciale de la Luxem Police of the Grand Ducal bourg Police[75][76] Malaysian Armed Forces[77] Malays ia Royal Malaysian Police[77] Glock 17, Glock 26 -

Mexic Secretaria de Marina[58] o Monte Military of Montenegro[78] negro Military of the Nether Netherlands[79]

Glock 17

Glock 17

lands

Dutch police (about 250 pistols in use as a stopgap measure)[80][81][82]

Glock 17

New Zealan New Zealand Police[83] d

Glock 17

Norwa Royal Norwegian Army y Philippine National Police[58] National Bureau of Investigation[58] Philipp ines

[58]

Glock 17 (designate dP-80) -

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency[58] Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency[58]

[84] Polish police Poland

Glock 19

Portuguese Marine Corps[85] Glock 17 National Portug Republican [85] Guard al Public Security Police[85] Ministry of Internal Russia Affairs (MVD)[86][87]
[88] Guardia Civil's UEI Spain

Glock 19 Glock 19 -

Glock 17 Glock 17 (designate dPistol 88), Glock 19 (designate d Pistol 88B)

Swede Swedish Armed Forces[89][90] n

Swedish Customs Service Swedish Coast Guard Switze Police (Gendarmerie) [91] Cantonal of Geneva rland

Glock 19

police (2,238 Thaila National Glock 19 [58] pistols) nd Specialist Firearms Command of United the London Metropolitan Kingdo Police Service[92] m Scottish Police Specialist Glock 17 Firearms Units[93] Department of Treasury IRS Criminal Investigation [94] Division Drug Enforcement United Administration[95] States Thousands of other law enforcement agencies at the national, state, and local levels[2]

Handgun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Pistol" redirects here. For other uses, see Pistol (disambiguation). "Pistols" redirects here. For the football team, see Pueblo Pistols.
Look up handgun in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This article contains too many pictures, charts or diagrams, and is in need ofcleanup. Please help toimprove this article in

accordance with theManual of Style on images.

A Browning 9x19mm Hi-Power, also known as the GP (Grande Puissance) 35.

Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, model 1849, using a Percussion capmechanism.

Derringers are small and can be easily concealed.

A disassembled Taurus Millennium series PT145 pistol.

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand, with the other hand optionally supporting the shooting hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from their larger counterparts: long guns such as rifles and shotguns (which are held in both hands and usually braced against the shoulder), mounted weapons such as machine guns and autocannons, and largerweapons such as artillery. Some handgun subtypes include derringers, single-

shotpistols, revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, pepperboxes, andmachine pistols. The overlapping variations in meaning of the words "pistol" and "handgun" are discussed below.
Contents
[hide]

1 Nomenclature variations o 1.1 Multiple senses of the word "pistol" o 1.2 Etymology of "pistol" 2 Types of handguns o 2.1 Single-shot pistols o 2.2 Multi-barreled pistols o 2.3 Revolvers o 2.4 Lever action pistols o 2.5 Semi-automatic pistols o 2.6 Machine pistols 3 Operating mechanisms 4 Semi-automatic pistols vs. revolvers o 4.1 Advantages of revolvers o 4.2 Advantages of semi-automatics 5 Advantages of handguns versus shoulder firearms

6 Disadvantages of handguns versus shoulder firearms 7 Handguns and gun politics o 7.1 Australia o 7.2 Canada o 7.3 Israel o 7.4 Italy o 7.5 Pakistan o 7.6 United Kingdom o 7.7 United States of America 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit]Nomenclature

variations

[edit]Multiple senses of the word

"pistol"
The word "pistol" is often synonymous with the word "handgun". Some handgun experts make a technical distinction that views pistols as a subset of handguns. Sometimes in American usage, the term "pistol" refers to a handgun whose chamber

is integral with the barrel, making pistols distinct from the other main type of handgun, the revolver, which has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers. However, Commonwealth usage makes no distinction at a technical level "pistol" may refer to revolvers, semiautomatics, or muzzle-loading/cap-&-ball handguns. For example, the official designation of theWebley Mk VI was "Pistol, Revolver, Webley No. 1 Mk VI", and the designation "Pistol No. 2 Mk I" was used to refer to both the Enfield Revolver and the later Browning Hi-Power semiautomatic.[1][2][3][4] The first pistols were made as early as the 15th century, but their creator is unknown.[5] By the 18th century, the term came to be used often to refer to handheld firearms. Practical revolver designs appeared in the 19th century, and it was in that century that the (sometimes-observed) technical differentiation in usage from the

words "pistol" and "revolver" developed, at that time differentiating the newer revolver from the single-shot pistols previously in use.[citation needed] [edit]Etymology of "pistol"

Hand cannon from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

The word "pistol" is derived from the French pistole (orpistolet), which has these possible origins:

From the Czech pistole and this one from the Czechpala (flute or pipe, referring to the shape of a Hussitefirearm), from Middle High German pischulle or fromMiddle French pistole. From the city of Pistoia, Italy, where handheld guns (designed to be fired from

horseback) were first produced in the 1540s.[6] That early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel (or pistallo in medieval French) of a horse's saddle.

[edit]Types

of handguns

The general types of handguns are listed below in their order of historical appearance. Each type can be classified into many subtypes. Some of these types can also be differently classified using the general distinction between muzzle-loading firearms (loading from the front of the barrel) and breech-loading firearms (loading from behind the barrel). [edit]Single-shot pistols

Western European handgun, 1380. 18 cm-long and weighing 1.04 kg, it was fixed to a wooden pole to facilitate manipulation.Muse de l'Arme.

Single-shot pistols are theoretically the simplest pistols. The earliest handguns were single-shot, muzzle-loading guns withignition provided by inserting a smoldering match cord into atouch hole. As such, they were essentially nothing more than miniature cannons, small enough to be handheld. Improvements followed in subsequent centuries, as various types of locks (ignition devices) were invented. In thematchlock, the separate match cord was affixed to a spring-loaded pivot which could be tripped by a trigger. In thewheellock, a mechanism analogous to that used in today'scigarette lighters replaced the smoldering match cord. In the 17th century, the flintlock, which strikes a flint against steel, appeared. (The flintlock, amazingly, remained state-of-theart for some two hundred years.) In the 19th

century, percussion caps were developed, followed shortly by modern integratedprimer cartridges, and hammers therefore traded their flint for firing pins. Single-shot pistols continue to be manufactured today and are often used for handgun hunting game, including big game. The most powerful handguns are capable of taking all game including elephant. [edit]Multi-barreled pistols Not long after the very beginning of firearms, inventors began experimenting with multi-barreled weapons in the quest for the ability to fire more than one shot before needing to reload. Not surprisingly, all types of firearms were included in their efforts, from volley guns to analogously devised handguns. Before anyone had developed a practical capability for delivering multiple loads to one barrel in quick succession (which is how repeating fire is usually

accomplished today), gun smiths were aggregating multiple loaded barrels into one place. Some examples of multi-barreled pistols are: Duck's-foot pistols Derringers Pepper-box guns (variously referred to as pepper-box pistols or pepper-box revolvers) Howdah pistols, often made from doublebarrelled rifles. [edit]Revolvers

Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army

A 1930s vintage Enfield revolver.

With the development of the revolver in the 19th century, gunsmiths had finally achieved the goal of a practical capability for delivering multiple loads to one handgun barrel in quick succession. 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 (singleaction). These nominally cylindrical chambers, usually numbering between five and eight depending on the size of the revolver and the size of 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.

There is a hybrid form of the revolver, known as the automatic revolver, which combines the revolving chamber concept of the conventional revolver with the recoilharnessing, self-cycling ability of the semiautomatic pistol. Weapons of this type are rare, as the technology was quickly rendered obsolete by a combination of the double-action revolver and the semiautomatic pistol. [edit]Lever action pistols

Volcanic Pistol .41 cal

The first lever action pistols were based on a Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson patent of 1854. The Smith & Wesson pistols were made in Norwich, Connecticut 185455. In 1855,Oliver F. Winchester became an active investor and H. Smith and D.B. Wesson both dropped out of the enterprise.

In July 1855, the name was changed to Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, and later to New Haven Arms Company, opening an important chapter in Winchester's history. The production of the Volcanic pistols lasted until 1860. Two models were produced: The Navy Pistol .41 cal. with 6" / 8" / 16 " barrels and a Pocket Pistol .31 cal. with 3 1/2" / 6" barrels. [edit]Semi-automatic pistols

Compact semi-automatic Smith & Wesson.45 ACP Chief's Special Model CS45.

Walther P99, a semi-automatic pistol from the late 1990s.

Luger or P00 Parabellum, used by the Swiss Army from 1900 to 1949 (among other Parabellum models).

The next development in handgun history after a practical revolver was the development of the semi-automatic pistol, which uses the energy of one shot to reload the chamber for the next. Typically recoil energy from a fired round ismechanically harnessed; however, larger calibers may also be gas operated (e.g. Desert Eagle). After a round is fired, the pistol will cycle, ejecting the spent casing and chambering a new round from the magazine, allowing another shot to take place immediately.

Some terms that have been, or still are, used as synonyms for "semi-automatic pistol" are automatic pistol, autopistol,autoloader, selfloading pistol and selfloader. [edit]Machine pistols A machine pistol is generally defined as a firearm designed to be fired with one hand, and capable of fully automatic orselective 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 and heavier submachine gun a better choice in cases where the small size of a machine pistol is not needed. Most machine pistols can attach a shoulder stock (the Heckler & Koch VP70 would only fire single rounds at a time unless the stock was attached); others, such as the Beretta 93R,

add a forward handgrip. Either of these additions technically create a legal nonpistol 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 legalmachine guns. [edit]Operating

mechanisms

Jericho 941 F (DA), 9 mm with magazine removed.

Single-action handguns have a trigger 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 HiPower are typical examples. They must be cocked for the first shot, but subsequent shots are cocked automatically due to the racking of the slide. These types of guns typically have a very light and crisp trigger pull, making for more accurate target shooting. Traditional double-action 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 andBeretta 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 29. These have comparatively long, heavy trigger pulls for all shots unless the revolver is manually cocked. Double-action only 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 a typical revolver is the Smith & Wesson Centennial or the Enfield No 2 Mk I*. 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. Preset triggers may or may not have a secondstrike feature on a dud cartridge. Some automatic pistol models such as the HK USP Universal Self-loading Pistol (or U.S.P.) 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. Glock introduced a new "Safe Action" mechanism that is neither a single nor double action.[7] The weapon is never "cocked" in terms of a hammer being "cocked". The partly tensioned firing pin lock is released by pressing the trigger, resulting in the first and subsequent trigger pulls all being the same. [edit]Semi-automatic

pistols

vs. revolvers
This section may contain original research. Please improve it byverifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may

be available on the talk page. (July 2008) This section is written in the style of a debate rather than an encyclopedic summary. It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards and make it more accessible to a general audience. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. (April
2009)

Clockwise start at the top left: Glock G22, Glock G21, Kimber Custom Raptor, Dan Wesson Commander, Smith & Wesson .357, Ruger Blackhawk .357, Ruger SP-101, Sig Sauer P220 Combat.

Both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols have prominent places in the world of handgun applications today. For over a century, however, a debate has continued as to which one is better for which particular application and why. Each has its place, although personal preference is as large a factor as the following variables: Reliability (likelihood of malfunctions; how to recover from malfunctions; how to recover from misfires) Degree of user training needed Degree and frequency of gun cleaning needed Ammunition capacity Speed and ease of reloading Bulkiness with regard to concealment Weight Center of gravity Storage issues [edit]Advantages of revolvers

Ease of use: Most revolvers have no external safety devices which need to be deactivated before firing nor do they require manual cocking, making revolvers quicker and simpler to put into action. All semi-automatics require manually cocking the slide before firing, and many also have manual safeties which must be disengaged before firing. Reliability: Revolvers are mechanically simpler and contain fewer parts than semi-automatics so are less likely to suffer stoppages or malfunctions. In a double action revolver, a dud round can be cleared with a simple pull of the trigger. In the case of single action semiautomatics, the hammer, if one is present, must be re-cocked in order to re-strike a dud round or the slide racked to remove it. Many double action semi-automatics can re-strike a dud round simply by pulling the trigger, but as with single actions, the slide must be racked otherwise.

Potential for greater stopping power: The largest and most powerful handgun cartridges are designed for revolvers, owing to their more robust design. Revolvers will easily fire blank ammunition. Most semi-automatics will not fully cycle with blank cartridges, causing malfunctions. Semi-automatics must be specially modified to properly cycle with blank ammunition. This modification renders them incapable of firing other types of ammunition. Spent cartridges are kept in the cylinder making them easier to retrieve for hand reloading or clean-up. Semi-automatics eject cartridges some distance, requiring them to be retrieved for hand loading or clean-up. Storage: Revolvers and speedloaders can be stored loaded indefinitely without issue. The magazines used in semiautomatics have springs which sit under tension when loaded. Unless the

magazine is unloaded periodically e.g. one month unloaded to one month loaded, allowing the spring to relax, it may suffer feeding problems.[citation needed] Greater variety of ammunition: Revolvers can handle a wider variety of bullets, including wadcutters, which will malfunction in most semi-automatics. Wadcutters are designed for target practice, making revolvers more appealing to many sporting shooters. Multiple calibers: Many revolvers can load certain interchangeable cartridges, those with identical bore diameters but different case lengths. Interchangeable cartridges include .22 short/long/long rifle, .357 magnum/.38 special, .44 magnum/.44 special, and .45 Colt/.410 shotshells. Note: Please check with the manufacturer. Greater accuracy: Sights are mounted to a fixed barrel, theoretically allowing greater accuracy.

Easier to determine if loaded: In most revolvers, the cartidges are readily apparent when loaded. An unloaded semi-automatic is often visually identical to a loaded one. Easier to clean and maintain: Revolvers have few exposed moving pieces and do not require disassembly. There is no risk of loss or breakage of pieces when cleaning a revolver. Semi-automatics must be disassembled for cleaning, which may be difficult and risks losing or breaking vital pieces in the field or in darkness. Speedloaders: Speedloaders are quicker and easier to fill than magazines. [edit]Advantages of semi

automatics

Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic.

Larger ammunition capacity: semiautomatics typically carry around 7 to 20 rounds; whilst most revolvers carry between 5 and 8 rounds. Compact ammo storage: The flat shape of most magazines make them more convenient to carry than thespeedloaders needed for revolvers. Slimmer profile: Semi-automatics often have a significantly slimmer and easier to conceal frame as they do not suffer from the bulge produced by cylinder of a revolver. Lighter: Some modern semi-automatics have frames made of polymers, making them lighter and more comfortable to carry for long periods. Revolver frames are rarely made of polymers, though the Ruger LCR is an exception to this. Safety: Some semi-automatics incorporate an external safety switch,

which prevents the gun from firing. Most revolvers do not have such a feature, though the same is true of many semiautomatics. There is debate over whether external safety switches are necessary, particularly in models with triggeractivated firing pin blocks, though many users prefer them for peace of mind regardless of whether or not they are safer. Quieter: With similar ammunition, a semiautomatic is typically slightly quieter. Flash and noise can be suppressed. Noise and flash suppressors are ineffective in most revolvers due to noise and flash escaping the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. Suppressors are illegal in many jurisdictions. Less expensive ammunition: semiautomatics often fire standard military ammunition, which is more readily available and cheaper thanks to extensive mass production. However, some revolver

cartridges such as .38 Special are comparable in their cost and availability to popular autoloading cartridges such as 9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP. [edit]Advantages

of handguns versus shoulder firearms

In comparison to long guns (rifles and shotguns), handguns are smaller, lighter, and easier to carry. Since firearms do not rely entirely on the user's strength, they put weaker individuals on an equal defensive footing; when Colt produced the first practical repeating handgun, it gave rise to the saying "God created men, but Colt made them equal".[8],[9] Since using a handgun, at a minimum, requires one hand whereas long guns often require both, that leaves a handgun user with a free hand. One example of where this is an advantage is with tactical lights,

where the light and handgun can be used independently or in coordination; mounted lights, as used on long guns and submachine guns, don't allow the light to be pointed independently of the firearm. In addition, handguns can be more easily used ambidextrously, and therefore the user can switch firing hands depending on the situation. Another important tactical consideration in the context of civilian self-defense is maneuverability. An attacker in close quarters with the defender could more easily wrestle a long gun's muzzle to a position where it is not covering him, or could more easily wrestle the gun away from the defender, whereas a handgun offers little to grab, and would be more likely to still be covering some portion of the attacker during the struggle.[10]

[edit]Disadvantages

of handguns versus shoulder firearms

Handguns are often considered selfdefense weapons for use under 50 yards (46 m). While a handgun in the hands of an experienced shooter may be effective at distances greater than 50 yards (46 m), a handgun cartridge is much more limited in its energy capacity than many long gun cartridges. Many rifles are able to achieve bullet velocities of over 3,000 feet (914 m) per second, but rounds for handguns are rarely capable of achieving velocities over 1,500 feet (457 m) per second. Thus, long guns are generally more powerful at any range, and especially more effective at longer ranges than handguns. A shooter is generally able to achieve considerably greater accuracy with a long

gun than with a handgun. This is due partly to the longer distance between the rear and front sights, partly due to a more stable hold attainable with a long gun, and partly due to the higher muzzle velocity, which reduces the bullet travel time and thus reduces external effects on the bullet such as gravitational drop and wind. [edit]Handguns

and gun

politics
Many handgun models are easily concealed on a persona trait that is useful both to people wishing to bear arms for self-protection and to criminals wishing to carry a handgun for illegal purposes. For these reasons, handguns are a particular focus of debates on gun politics, and in many jurisdictions both keeping and bearing them is much more heavily regulated than with long guns. [edit]Australia

Civilian ownership of handguns in Australia is legal, but heavily restricted. Handguns may not be owned for selfdefense purposes (Target shooting, collecting, and occupational reasons for farmers/gun dealers are, by and large, the only legal reasons for handgun ownership), and anyone wishing to possess a handgun must obtain a firearms license and observe stringent storage regulations. [edit]Canada In Canada, ownership of handguns is restricted and subject to registration. Guns with a barrel length of 105 mm (about 4.14 inches) or less and handguns that fire .25 or .32 caliber ammunition are classified as prohibited. Some users are allowed to possess a handgun or rifle classified as prohibited (automatic and certain semi automatic firearms) if the firearm was owned and registered before the law came into effect on December 1,

1998.[11] A Possession and Acquisition or a Possession Only Licence is required to own all firearms. Permits to carry concealed weapons are rarely, if ever, granted to nonlaw enforcement personnel.[12] [edit]Israel In Israel, handguns are the only type of firearms that most private citizens may own. They are licensed for self-defense purposes to eligible individuals. Current regulations limit licenses to one handgun and 50 cartridges per licensee. Few places are off limits to handguns in Israel. Carrying of loaded handguns, openly or concealed, is slightly more common than other countries. [edit]Italy In Italy, private ownership of handguns is legal and allowed under any gun license, as for any other firearm; as such, handguns can be purchased by all individuals who hold a gun license of any kind, even a hunting license, although handgun

hunting is not allowed in Italy. The law imposes limits to the number of handguns that can be owned, according to their destination of use: the maximum limit is three handguns listed as "Common firearms" (those normally employable for self-defense and other uses) and up to six handguns listed as "Sporting firearms" (those specifically engineered and manufactured for target competitions). Owners of handguns, and any other firearm, under a collector's license may exceed limits and own an unlimited number of handguns, but may not own ammunition for them and may not use them under any situation. The concealed carry of a handgun for personal defense purposes is instead illegal unless the individual is granted a specific license (Porto d'armi per difesa personale, "Self-Defense firearms carry license") which is extremely hard to obtain and is released only to those who can demonstrate to have

a justified reason, and a factual and underogable need, to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense; such license has to be renewed yearly, whereas all other gun licenses, which allow the purchase, ownership and transport, yet not the carry, of handguns, have a 5-years or 6-years expiry date. Owners of handguns under any other license than a concealed carry license are allowed to detain the firearm at home or in any of their premises for property defense, or to transport it unloaded, locked in a container and possibly partially stripped, to a shooting range or to any other location where target practice or recreational shooting can be safely practiced, but are not allowed to carry their firearm for self-defense, either open or concealed, nor to keep it loaded for any reason in any place other than their home or any of their premises, or outside of an authorized shooting range. Some individuals, such as magistrates and

high-rank military and Law Enforcement officials, don't need a license to privately procure and carry a concealed handgun for self-defense; Police officers under such high ranks are authorized to carry their service pistol off-duty, with their Police ID being the sole document needed, while they need a standard Concealed Carry license for the off-duty carry of non-issue firearm (on-duty carry of non-issue firearms is illegal for Police personnel in Italy); it should be noted anyway that even Police personnel is seldom, if ever, granted a Concealed Carry license, they are generally considered to "not need" it, being authorized to carry to the off-duty of their issue handgun. Private security personnel is generally issued a 2-years-valid license allowing to carry firearms (both handguns and long guns) for service and self-defense, authorizing also open carry, which is

otherwise forbidden to civilians in the Country. [edit]Pakistan In Pakistan, citizens in the states of Punjab and Sindh are subject to strict gun control regulations and may only carry a concealed gun, even if it is with a bodyguard. Display of armory in public is banned, with fines of up to 50,000 Rupees. Citizens must also register guns and obtain licenses for them. In addition, for concealed carry, permits are also required which are issued separately by the home ministry of each province. Banned weapons are called prohibited bore weapons which are calibers above 0.44 in handguns and 0.222 in rifles plus all automatic weapons. Licenses are issued for these in specific circumstances but only by the approval of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.[citation needed] [edit]United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom (with the exception of Northern Ireland), civilian ownership of almost any handgun has been outlawed since the Dunblane massacre of 1996; the only exclusions were single shot, rimfire, and muzzleloading pistols/revolvers. So called "Long Barreled" cartridge firing revolvers and semi automatic pistols (.22LR only) are still legal providing that they meet the following requirements: overall length not less than 24", barrel length not less than 12". As with all other legal firearms in the UK, possession requires a Firearm Certificate. The application and vetting process is carried out by the local police force and is very in depth. Good reason (justification) for holding a firearm certificate in the UK would be Target shooting (as part of a Home Office Approved Club) or hunting. "Self Defense" or other reasons of this nature are not allowed. The open carrying of any firearm in a public place is illegal in the UK. Concealed carry of any

firearm in a public place would normally be illegal, unless authorised by the courts. Air pistols are still legal, however, those with energy levels over 6 foot pounds (8.1 joules) (half the limit for air rifles) are classified as firearms.[13][14][15] [edit]United States of America In the United States, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms" is codified by the second amendment of the U.S. constitution. The details, exceptions, and controversies relating to this are beyond the scope of this discussion. Legislation controlling how handguns are carried (concealed or unconcealed) is the responsibility of thestate governments. Open (unconcealed) carry is permitted in 41 states with a mixture of licensing requirements.[16] Most states (currently 48 of 50) 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, arestraining order, or history of mental illness). Generally, in a shall-issue state, any person who can lawfully own a handgun can obtain a concealed weapons permit after meeting training requirements. The remaining 9 states, called "may-issue" states, may deny a permit for any reason, usually at the discretion of local law enforcement. Illinois and Wisconsin are the two states which do not allow individuals to bear concealed arms, though in practice the "may-issue" states range from widely granting permits to solely making exceptions for politicians and other well-connected individuals. In some

states, a person must be 21 years of age to purchase a handgun or ammunition intended for a handgun from afederally licensed dealer, which is higher than the age requirement of 18 for rifles and shotguns. For specific details, debates and controversies please refer the main gun politics article or concealed carryarticle

Heckler & Koch MP5

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"MP5" redirects here. For the prehistoric time period, see Mammal Paleogene zones. For the video game, see Mario Party 5.
MP5

An MP5A3 without magazine

Type Place of origin

Submachine gun West Germany

Service history In service 1966present

Used by

See Users

Production history Designer Tilo Mller, Manfred Guhring, Georg Seidl, Helmut Baureuter 19641966 Heckler & Koch 1966present See Variants

Designed Manufacturer Produced Variants

Specifications Weight 2.54 kg (5.6 lb) (MP5A2, MP5A4) 3.08 kg (6.8 lb) (MP5A3, MP5A5) 2 kg (4.4 lb) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5) 2.78 kg (6.1 lb) (MP5K-PDW)

2.80 kg (6.2 lb) (MP5SD1, MP5SD4) 3.10 kg (6.8 lb) (MP5SD2, MP5SD5) 3.60 kg (7.9 lb) (MP5SD3, MP5SD6) 2.67 kg (5.9 lb) fixed stock / 2.85 kg (6.3 lb) retractable stock (MP5/10) 2.67 kg (5.9 lb) fixed stock / 2.85 kg (6.3 lb) retractable stock (MP5/40) Length Fixed stock: 680 mm (26.8 in) (MP5A2, MP5A4, MP5/10, MP5/40) 790 mm (31.1 in) (MP5SD2, MP5SD5) Telescoping stock:

700 mm (27.6 in) stock extended / 550 mm (21.7 in) stock collapsed (MP5A3, MP5A5) 603 mm (23.7 in) stock extended / 368 mm (14.5 in) stock folded (MP5K-PDW) 805 mm (31.7 in) stock extended / 670 mm (26.4 in) stock collapsed (MP5SD3, MP5SD6) 660 mm (26.0 in) stock extended / 490 mm (19.3 in) stock collapsed (MP5/10, MP5/40) Receiver end cap: 325 mm (12.8 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5) 349 mm (13.7 in)

(MP5K-PDW) 550 mm (21.7 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD4) Barrel length 225 mm (8.9 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5/10, MP5/40) 115 mm (4.5 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5) 140 mm (5.5 in) (MP5K-PDW) 146 mm (5.7 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6) 50 mm (2.0 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4,

Width

MP5KA5, MP5KPDW, MP5/10, MP5/40) 60 mm (2.4 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6) Height 260 mm (10.2 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6, MP5/10, MP5/40) 210 mm (8.3 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5, MP5KPDW)

Cartridge

9x19mm Parabellum 10mm Auto (MP5/10) .40 S&W (MP5/40) Roller-delayed blowback, closed bolt 700 rounds/min (MP5SD series), 800 rounds/min (MP5A series, MP5/10 and MP5/40), 900 rounds/min (MP5K series) 400 m/s (1,312 ft/s) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5) 375 m/s (1,230.3 ft/s) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5, MP5KPDW)

Action

Rate of fire

Muzzle velocity

285 m/s (935.0 ft/s) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6) 425 m/s (1,394.4 ft/s) (MP5/10) 315 m/s (1,033.5 ft/s) (MP5/40) Effective range 25 to 100 m sight adjustments

Maximum range 150 m Feed system 15 or 30-round detachable box magazine, 100round Beta C-Mag drum magazine Rear: rotary drum; front: hooded post

Sights

The Heckler & Koch MP5 (FromMaschinenpistole 5 - German:

"machine pistol model 5") is a 9mm submachine gun of Germandesign, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small armsmanufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) ofOberndorf am Neckar. The MP5 is currently one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world,[1] having been adopted by numerous law enforcement agencies and special forces groups. In the 1990s, Heckler & Koch developed the Heckler & Koch UMP, the MP5's successor, though both remain in production.[2]
Contents
[hide]

1 History 2 Design details o 2.1 Features o 2.2 Operating mechanism o 2.3 Accessories 3 Variants

3.1 Civilian variants o 3.2 Suppressed variants o 3.3 MP5K o 3.4 Larger caliber versions o 3.5 Variants list 4 Users 5 References 6 External links
o

[edit]History This section does notcite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations toreliable sources. Unsourced material may be challengedand removed. (July 2009)

A SEAL Team 8 member armed with an MP5-N variant.

Heckler & Koch, encouraged by the success of the G3 automatic rifle, developed a family of small arms consisting of four types of firearms (all based on a common G3 design layout and operating principle), where the first type was chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, the secondusing the 7.62x39mm M43 round, thirdthe intermediate 5.56x45mm NATO caliber and the fourth type chambering the 9x19mm

Parabellum pistol cartridge. The MP5 was created within the fourth group of firearms and was initially known as the HK54. Work on the MP5 began in 1964 and scarcely two years later it was adopted by the German Federal Police, border guard and army special forces. The MP5 is manufactured under license in several nations including Greece (formerly atEBO - Hellenic Arms Industry, currently at EAS - Hellenic Defense Systems), Iran (Defense Industries Organization), Mexico (SEDENA),Pakistan (Pakistan Ordnance Factories), Saudi Arabia, Sudan (Military Industry Corporation),Turkey (MKEK), and the United Kingdom(initially at Royal Ordnance, later diverted to Heckler & Koch Great Britain).[3] [edit]Design

details

This section does

notcite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations toreliable sources. Unsourced material may be challengedand removed. (July 2009)

The primary version of the MP5 family is the MP5A2, which is a lightweight, aircooled, selective firedelayed blowback operated 9x19mm Parabellum weapon with a roller-delayed bolt. It fires from a closed bolt (bolt forward) position. The fixed, free floating, cold hammer-forged barrel has 6 right-hand grooves with a 1 in 250 mm (1:10 in)rifling twist rate and is pressed and pinned into the receiver. [edit]Features The first MP5 models used a doublecolumn straight box magazine, but since 1977, slightly curved,steel magazines are

used with a 15-round capacity (weighing 0.12 kg) or a 30-round capacity (0.17 kg empty).

A view through the weapon's aperture sight.

The sighting arrangement on the MP5 takes advantage of the natural ability of the eye and brain to easily align concentric circles (circles all having a common center). The mechanically adjustable iron sights (closed type) consist of a rotating rear diopter drum and a front post installed in a hooded ring. The rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation with the use of a special tool; the drum provides four different apertures of varying width used for firing at 25, 50, 75 and 100 m. However, adjusting

the rear drum does not change the elevation or bullet strike of the rounds since the MP5 uses pistol cartridges, which share a similar point of impact between 25 and 100 m when zeroed at 25 m. The MP5 has a hammer firing mechanism. The trigger group is housed inside an interchangeable polymer trigger module (with an integrated pistol grip) and equipped with a 3-position fire mode selector that serves as the manual safety toggle. The S or Sicher position in white denotes weapon safe, E or Einzelfeuer in red represents single fire, and F or Feuersto (also marked in red) designates continuous fire. The SEF symbols appear on both sides of the plastic trigger group. The selector lever is actuated with the thumb of the shooting hand and is located only on the left side of the original SEF trigger group or on both sides of the ambidextrous trigger groups. The safety/selector is rotated into the various firing settings or safety position by

depressing the tail end of the lever. Tactile clicks (stops) are present at each position to provide a positive stop and prevent inadvertent rotation. The "safe" setting disables the trigger by blocking the hammer release with a solid section of the safety axle located inside the trigger housing. The non-reciprocating cocking handle is located above the handguard and protrudes from the cocking handle tube at approx. a 45 angle. This rigid control is attached to a tubular piece within the cocking lever housing called the cocking lever support, which in turn, makes contact with the forward extension of the bolt group. It is not however connected to the bolt carrier and therefore cannot be used as a forward assist to fully seat the bolt group. The cocking handle is held in a forward position by a spring detent located in the front end of the cocking lever support which engages in the cocking lever housing. The lever is locked back by pulling it fully to the rear and

rotating it slightly clockwise where it can be hooked into an indent in the cocking lever tube. [edit]Operating mechanism The bolt rigidly engages the barrel extension a cylindrical component welded to the receiver that the barrel is pinned into. The delay mechanism is of the same design as that used in the G3 rifle. The twopart bolt consists of a bolt head with rollers and a bolt carrier. The heavier bolt carrier lies up against the bolt head when the weapon is ready to fire and inclined planes on the front locking piece lie between the rollers and force them out into recesses in the barrel extension.

The roller-delayed blowback mechanism originated from the aborted StG 45(M)assault rifle prototypes

developed in Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.

When fired, expanding propellant gases produced from the burning powder in the cartridge exert rearward pressure on the bolt head transferred through the base of the cartridge case as it is propelled out of the chamber. A portion of these forces is transmitted through the rollers projecting from the bolt head, which are cammed inward against the inclined flanks of the locking recesses in the barrel extension and to the angled shoulders of the locking piece. The selected angles of the recesses and the incline on the locking piece produce a velocity ratio of about 4:1 between the bolt carrier and the bolt head. This results in a calculated delay, allowing the projectile to exit the barrel and gas pressure to drop to a safe level before the case is extracted from the chamber. The delay results from the amount of time it takes for enough recoil energy to be

transferred through to the bolt carrier in a sufficient quantity for it to be driven to the rear against the force of inertia of the bolt carrier and the forward pressure exerted against the bolt by the recoil spring. As the rollers are forced inward they displace the locking piece and propel the bolt carrier to the rear. The bolt carrier's rearward velocity is four times that of the bolt head since the cartridge remains in the chamber for a short period of time during the initial recoil impulse. After the bolt carrier has traveled rearward 4 mm, the locking piece is withdrawn fully from the bolt head and the rollers are compressed into the bolt head. Only once the locking rollers are fully cammed into the bolt head can the entire bolt group continue its rearward movement in the receiver, breaking the seal in the chamber and continuing the feeding cycle. Since the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge is relatively low powered, the bolt does not have an anti-bounce device like the G3, but

instead the bolt carrier contains tungsten granules that prevent the bolt group from bouncing back after impacting the barrel extension. The weapon has a fluted chamber that enhances extraction reliability by bleeding gases backwards into the shallow flutes running along the length of the chamber to prevent the cartridge case from expanding and sticking to the chamber walls (since the bolt is opened under relatively high barrel pressure). A spring extractor is installed inside the bolt head and holds the case securely until it strikes the ejector arm and is thrown out of the ejection port to the right of the receiver. The lever-type ejector is located inside the trigger housing (activated by the movement of the recoiling bolt). [edit]Accessories Three lugs are provided at the muzzle that are used to work with certain muzzle devices made by Heckler & Koch, including:

a slotted flash suppressor, blank firing attachment (marked with a red painted band denoting use with blank ammunition only), an adaptor for launching rifle grenades (for use with rifle-style grenades with an inside diameter of 22 mm using a special grenade launching cartridge) and a cup-type attachment used to launch tear gas grenades. The receiver housing has notches that permit the attachment of a standard Heckler & Koch quick-detachable scope mount (also used with the G3, HK33 and G3SG/1) that can be used to mount daytime optical sights (telescopic 4x24), night sights or a halogen flashlight. It can be used with reflex sights andlaser pointers. The mount features two spring-actuated bolts, positioned along the base of the mount, which exert pressure on the receiver to hold the mount in the same position at all times assuring zero retention. All versions of the quick-detachable scope mount provide a

sighting tunnel through the mount so that the shooter can continue to use the fixed iron sights with the scope mount attached to the top of the receiver. [edit]Variants

The Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun is widely used by law enforcement, tactical teams and military forces. Seen here is the MP5A3 variant with the early 'slimline' handguard.

The MP5A2 has a fixed stock (made of a synthetic polymer), whereas the compact MP5A3 has a retractable metal stock. In the early 1970s HK introduced a conversion kit for the MP5 that enables it to use sporting ammunition (.22 LR). This unit consists of a barrel insert, a bolt group and

two 20-round magazines. This modification reduces the cyclic rate to 650 rounds/min. The MP5A2 and MP5A3 are available with optional 4-position trigger groups; these are known as the MP5A4 and MP5A5respectively. The trigger groups are marked with bullet pictograms rather than letters or numbers (each symbol represents the number of bullets that will be fired when the trigger is pulled and held rearward with a full magazine inserted in the weapon) and are fully ambidextrous (the selector lever is present on each side of the trigger housing). The additional setting of the fire selector, one place before the fully automatic setting, enables a two or threeshot burst firing mode. H&K offers dedicated training variants of these weapons, designated MP5A4PT and MP5A5PT(PT Plastic Training), modified to fire a plastic 9x19mm PT training cartridge produced

by Dynamit Nobel of Germany. These weapons operate like the standard MP5 but have a floating chamber and the bolt lacks both rollers to function properly when firing the lighter plastic projectiles. To help identify these weapons blue dots were painted on their cocking handles and additional lettering provided. The PT variant can be configured with various buttstocks and trigger groups and was developed for the West German Police and Border Guard.

A U.S. Marine fires an MP5.

The modular design of the MP5 offers multiple trigger groups: three-position "SEF" fire selector (positions: "S"-safe, "E"-semi automatic, "F" fully automatic. Located on left of receiver only); three-position fire selector (positions: safe, semiautomatic and

a 2 or 3-round burst; selector lever is ambidextrous and its settings are marked with pictograms); four-position fire selector (positions: weapon safe, single fire, 2 or 3round burst, full auto; ambidextrous selector; selector settings marked with pictograms); two-position fire control group (positions: weapon safe, single fire only; ambidextrous selector lever with pictograms) and a three-position fire selector group - the so called Navy trigger (settings: weapon safe, semi-automatic, fully automatic fire; ambidextrous selector lever; selector settings marked with bullet symbols again).

A USMC Military Police Special Reaction Team using the MP5-N.

A variant with the last trigger group designated the MP5-N (N Navy) was developed in 1986 for the United States Navy. This model has a collapsible stock, a tritium-illuminated front sight post and a 225 mm (8.9 in) threaded barrel for use with a stainless steel sound suppressor made by Knight's Armament Company together with suppressed subsonic ammunition. [edit]Civilian variants

The MP5SFA2 (SF - single-fire) is the same as the MP5A2 but is fitted with an ambidextrous semi-automatic only trigger group. Versions delivered after December 1991 are assembled with select-fire bolt carriers allowing fully automatic operation when used with the appropriate trigger module. Developed in 1986 in response to the American FBIsolicitation for "9 mm Single-fire Carbines". The MP5SFA3features a retractable metal stock. The two-position trigger unit was used in the single-fire HK94carbine that was produced specifically for the civilian market with a 420 mm (16.5 in) barrel. [edit]Suppressed variants In 1974 H&K initiated design work on a sound-suppressed variant of the MP5, designated the MP5SD(SD Schalldmpfer German for "sound dampener"), which features an integral but

detachablealuminium sound suppressor and a lightweight bolt. The weapon's 146 mm (5.7 in) barrel has 30 2.5 mm (0.1 in) ports drilled forward of the chamber through which escaping gases are diverted to the surrounding sealed tubular casing that is screwed on to threading on the barrels external surface just prior to the ported segment. The suppressor itself is divided into two stages; the initial segment surrounding the ported barrel serves as an expansion chamber for the propellant gases, reducing gas pressure to slow down the acceleration of the projectile. The second, decompression stage occupies the remaining length of the suppressor tube and contains a stamped metal helix separator with several compartments which increase the gas volume and decrease its temperature, deflecting the gases as they exit the muzzle, so muffling the exit report. The bullet leaves the muzzle at subsonic velocity, so it does not generate a

sonic shock wave in flight. As a result of reducing the barrels length and venting propellant gases into the suppressor, the bullets muzzle velocity was lowered anywhere from 16% to 26% (depending on the ammunition used) while maintaining the weapons automation and reliability. The weapon was designed to be used with standard supersonic ammunition with the suppressor on at all times. The MP5SD is produced exclusively by H&K in several versions: the MP5SD1 and MP5SD4 (both have a receiver end cap instead of a buttstock), MP5SD2 and MP5SD5 (equippe d with a fixed synthetic buttstock) and the MP5SD3 and MP5SD6 (fitted with a collapsible metal stock). The MP5SD1, MP5SD2 and MP5SD3 use a standard "SEF" trigger group (from the MP5A2 and MP5A3), while the MP5SD4, MP5SD5 and MP5SD6 a trigger module with a mechanically limited 3-round burst mode

and ambidextrous selector controls (from the MP5A4 and MP5A5). A suppressed version was produced for the U.S. Navy designated the MP5SD-N, which is a version of the MP5SD3 with a retractable metal stock, front sight post with tritiumilluminated dot and a stainless steel suppressor. This model has a modified cocking handle support to account for the slightly larger outside diameter of the suppressor. The design of the suppressor allows the weapon to be fired with water inside, should water enter the device during operation in or near water. [edit]MP5K

U.S. Navy SEALs armed with MP5s on a training exercise.

In 1976 a shortened version of the MP5A2 was introduced; the MP5K (K from the German word Kurz = "short") was designed for close quarters battle use by clandestine operations and special services. The MP5K does not have a shoulder stock (the receiver end was covered with a flat cover), and the bolt and receiver were shortened at the rear. The resultant lighter bolt led to a higher rate of fire than the standard MP5. The barrel, cocking handle and its cover were shortened and a vertical foregrip was used to replace the standard handguard. The barrel ends at the base of the foresight, which prevents the use of any sort of muzzle device. The MP5K is produced (by Heckler & Koch and under license in Iran and Turkey) in four different versions: the MP5K, MP5KA4, MP5KA1, MP5KA5, where the first two variants have adjustable, open-type iron sights (with a notched rotary drum), and the two remaining variants -

fixed open sights, however the front sight post was changed and a notch was cut into the receiver top cover. The MP5K retained the capability to use optical sights through the use of an adapter. A civilian semiautomatic derivative of the MP5K known as the SP89 was produced that had a foregrip with a muzzle guard in place of the vertical grip. In 1991 a further variant of the MP5K was developed, designated the MP5KPDW (PDW Personal Defense Weapon) that retained the compact dimensions of the MP5K but restored the fire handling characteristics of the full-size MP5A2. The MP5K-PDW uses a side-folding synthetic shoulder stock (made by the U.S. company Choate Machine and Tool), a Navy trigger group, a front sight post with a built-in tritium insert and a slightly lengthened threaded, three-lug barrel (analogous to the MP5-N). The stock can be removed and replaced with a receiver endplate; a rotary

drum with apertures from the MP5A2 can also be used. [edit]Larger caliber versions In 1991, Heckler & Koch introduced the MP5/10 (chambered in 10mm Auto) and MP5/40 (chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge), which are based on the MP5A4 and MP5A5. These weapons were assembled in fixed and retractable stock configurations (without a separate designation) and are fed from translucent 30-round polymer box magazines.[4] These weapons include a bolt hold-open device, which captures the bolt group in its rear position after expending the last cartridge from the magazine. The bolt is then released by pressing a lever positioned on the left side of the receiver. Both weapons use a barrel with 6 right-hand grooves and a 380 mm (1:15 in) twist rate, and like the MP5-N, both have a 3-lugged muzzle

device and a tritium-illuminated front sight aiming dot. [edit]Variants list

Cross section diagram of an MP5SD early model suppressor, from 1971 patent. Vented barrel surrounded by metal mesh packing in the expansion chambers, followed by conical baffles in the forward chambers.

MP5K-PDW (early prototype, lacking 'Navy' trigger group and lugged barrel).

The MP5SD3.

HK54: The original model that was produced in the mid 1960s. It later became known as the MP5A1, a very slightly modified version. No buttstock (endplate/receiver cap in place of buttstock), "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group. MP5A2: Fixed buttstock, "SEF" trigger group. MP5SFA2: Fixed buttstock, single-fire (SF) trigger group. MP5A3: Retractable buttstock,"SEF" trigger group. MP5SFA3: Retractable buttstock, singlefire (SF) trigger group. MP5A4: Fixed buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group. MP5A5: Retractable buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group. MP5-N: Model developed specifically for the U.S. Navy. Ambidextrous "Navy" trigger group, 3-lug/threaded barrel for attaching a sound suppressor; retractable stock.

MP5F: Model developed specifically for the French military. Rubber-padded retractable stock, ambidextrous sling loops/bolts and internal modifications to handle high-pressure ammunition. MP5K: Short (Kurz) version, "SEF" trigger group. MP5KA1: MP5K with smooth upper surface and small iron sights; "SEF" trigger group. MP5KA4: MP5K with 3-round burst trigger group. MP5KA5: MP5KA1 with 3-round burst trigger group. MP5K-N: MP5K with "Navy" trigger group and 3-lug/threaded barrel for mounting suppressors or other muzzle attachments. MP5K-PDW: Personal Defense Weapon; MP5K-N with added folding stock and 3-lug/threaded barrel for mounting of suppressors; "Navy" or 3-

round burst trigger group. Introduced in 1991. MP5SD1: No buttstock (endplate/receiver cap in place of buttstock), "SEF" trigger group, integrated suppressor (Schalldmpfer) MP5SD2: Fixed buttstock, "SEF" trigger group, integrated suppressor. MP5SD3: Retractable buttstock, "SEF" trigger group, integrated suppressor. MP5SD4: No buttstock (endplate/receiver cap in place of buttstock), 3-round burst trigger group, integrated suppressor. MP5SD5: Fixed buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group, integrated suppressor. MP5SD6: Retractable buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group, integrated suppressor. MP5SD-N1: Retractable buttstock, "Navy" trigger group, KAC stainless steel suppressor. MP5SD-N2: Fixed buttstock, "Navy" trigger group, KAC stainless steel suppressor.

MP5/10: Chambered in 10mm Auto, available in various stock/trigger group configurations. It was produced from 1992 to 2000. MP5/40: Chambered in .40 S&W, available in various stock/trigger group configurations. It was produced from 1992 to 2000. HK94: American import model of the MP5 with a 16 in barrel and special safe/semiautomatic trigger group, designed for civilian use. It was made from 1983 to 1989, in three different configurations. Some of these were converted to fire in fully automatic by movie armorers and used to stand in for the MP5 in various movies during the 1980s and 1990s, due to most of the real MP5s being imported into the United States at the time being earmarked for military and law enforcement sales. These 'fake' MP5s can often be identified by the lack of the paddle-style magazine release between

the magazine well and trigger guard as well as having smooth barrels with no lugs or threading. SP89: Sport Pistole M1989. Semiautomatic only version of the MP5K designed for civilian use. It had a modified foregrip redesigned into a traditional handguard to make it compliant with the Semi-Auto Weapons Ban of 1989. It was made from 1989 to 1994. As with the HK94 mentioned above, some of these weapons were also used to stand in for their select-fire counterparts in films and television.

[edit]Users

Australia: Royal Australian Air Force Airfield Defence Guards , Special Operations Command (Australia) , and all Police Tactical Groups.[5] Bangladesh: Army, Special Forces, Rapid Action Battalion, and Bangladesh

Navy Special Warfare Diving And Salvage.[6] Canada: Canadian Forces Naval Boarding Party[7], Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[8] Czech Republic: URNA counterterrorist group[9] and other units of the armed forces (MP5A5, MP5SD6, MP5KPDW).[10] Estonia:Estonian Police.[11] Finland: Finnish Defence Forces under designation 9.00 konepistooli 2000.[12] France: GIGN[9] and certain specialized units within the French Army.[13][14] Germany: Bundespolizei, Landespolizei[15 ] , German Army, Feldjger,[16], GSG 9 special operations unit[17] and German Navy.[18] Greece: Manufactured locally by Hellenic Defence Systems (EAS: Ellinika Amyntika Systimata).[19] Used by the EKAM counter-terrorist group.[20]

India: Indian Army, MARCOS, National Security Guards, and Maharashtra State Force One.[21] Ireland: Irish Army Rangers.[22] Jamaica: Jamaica Constabulary Force.[23] Japan: Special Boarding Unit.[24] Luxembourg: Unit Spciale de la Police intervention unit of the Grand Ducal Police.[25] Malaysia: Malaysian Armed Forces, Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysian Coast Guard and other special forces units and national security agencies.[26] Mexico: Manufactured under license.[27] Netherlands: Dutch Royal and Diplomatic security (DKDB) .[28] Norway: Norwegian Defence Force, to be replaced by the MP7.[29] Pakistan: Pakistan Army, built by Pakistan Ordnance Factories.[30]

Philippines: Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine National Police Special Action Force and other police and SWAT units.[31] Poland: GROM special forces group.[32] Romania: Land Forces Special Operations battalions.[33] Spain: Grupo Especial de Operaciones.[34] Sudan: Manufactured by Military Industry Corporation as the Tihraga.[35] Sweden: Swedish Police Service.[36] Taiwan[37] Turkey: Various services, manufactured by MKEK.[38] United Kingdom: Special Air Service,[17] CO19[39], and most Authorised Firearms Officers.[40] United States: Special Operations Forces[41] and FBI Hostage Rescue Team.[42] Also used by various police SWAT units at federal, state, and local levels.[43]

MAC-10
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ingram MAC-10

MAC-10 (.45 ACP) with suppressor and without magazine.

Type Place of origin

Machine Pistol United States

Service history In service Used by 19701975 See Users

Production history

Designer Designed Manufacturer

Gordon B. Ingram 1964 Military Armament Corporation 1970present

Produced

Specifications Weight Length 2.84 kg (Empty w/o suppressor) 269 mm (10.7 inches) with stock removed, 295 mm (11.6 inches) with stock retracted, 548 mm (1 foot 9.6 inches) with stock extended. 545 mm (1 foot 9.45 inches) / 798 mm (2 feet 7.4 inches) with stock retracted /

extended with suppressor. Barrel length Cartridge 146 mm .45 ACP 9x19mm Parabellum 1,090 (9 mm), 1,145 (.45 ACP) rounds/min 366 m/s (1,201 ft/s) for 9mm, 280 m/s (919 ft/s) for .45 ACP 50 m (.45 ACP), 80 m (9mm Parabellum)

Rate of fire

Muzzle velocity

Effective range

Maximum range 100 m (for .45 ACP) Feed system 30Round Detachable Box Magazine .45 ACP 32-

Round Detachable Box Magazine9x19mm Sights Iron sights

The MAC-10 (Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially the M10) is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistoldeveloped by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.
Contents
[hide]

1 Design o 1.1 Suppressor 2 Nomenclature 3 Calibers and variants 4 Manufacturers 5 Users 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Design

The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings. A notched cocking handle protrudes from the top of the receiver, and by turning the handle 90 would lock the bolt, and act as an indicator that the weapon is unable to fire. The M-10 has a telescoping bolt, which wraps around the barrel. This allows a more compact weapon, and balances the weight of the weapon over the pistol grip where the magazine is located. The M-10 fires from an open bolt, and in addition, the light weight of the bolt results in a rapid rate of fire. The barrel is threaded to accept a suppressor, which worked by reducing the discharge's sound, without attempting to reduce the velocity of the bullet. At the suggestion of the United States Army, Ingram added a small bracket with a small strap beneath the muzzle to aid in controlling recoil during fully-automatic fire. [edit]Suppressor

The primary reason for the original M-10 finding recognition was its revolutionary soundsuppressor designed by Mitchell Werbell III ofSionics. This suppressor had a two-stage design, with the first stage being larger than the second. This uniquely shaped suppressor gave the MAC-10 a very distinctive look. It was also very quiet, to the point that the bolt could be heard cycling, along with the suppressed report of the weapons discharge. Later-production variants had a "wipeless" suppressor front cap design that was advanced for the time in that its internal metal parts needed only to be cleaned, not replaced, in contrast to the older-technology "wipe" type suppressors. The suppressor also created a place to hold the weapon; this, combined with the weight it added, made the weapon easier to control. During the 1970s the United States of America placed restrictions on the exportation of suppressors, and a number of countries canceled their orders

of M-10s as the effectiveness of the MAC10's suppressor was one of its main selling points. This was one factor that led to the bankruptcy of Military Armament Company, the main producer, in 1976.[1] The barrel threads were originally intended for this suppressor, but other muzzle attachments can be used including muzzle brakes, barrel extensions, and fore-grips. Also, a single-stage "wipe" type suppressor was marketed by SWD and Cobray in the last years (19831986) of the M-10's manufacture. The original suppressor is 11.44 inches in length, 2.13 inches in overall diameter, and weighs 1.20 pounds. [edit]Nomenclature The term "MAC-10" is commonly used, but unofficial parlance. Ironically, the MAC company never used the nomenclature MAC-10 on any of its catalogs or sales literatureonly "M10", but because "MAC10" became so frequently used by Title II

dealers, gun writers, and collectors, it is now used more frequently than "M10" to identify the guns. [edit]Calibers

and variants

While the original M-10 is chambered for the .45 ACP round, the M-10 is part of a series of machine pistols, the others being: the MAC-10/9 (chambered in 9mm but otherwise identical to the .45 ACP version), the MAC-11 / M-11A1, which is a scaled down version of the M-10 chambered in .380 ACP; and the M-11/9, which is a modified version of the M-11 with a longer receiver chambered in 9mm, later made by SWD (Sylvia and Wayne Daniel) and Leinad. In the United States, full automatic M-10 machineguns are NFA articles, and probably the least expensive (relative; Approximate cost as of Q1 2009 is $3,600 US)[2] automatic weapons on the American market. A large number of

incomplete sheet metal frame flats were given serial numbers before the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, and this made it possible to complete the manufacture of registered M-10s for the civilian market after the 1986 production freeze took effect. There were also a few thousand semi-automatic pistols and carbines that were based on the original M-10 design. These were made in openbolt and later in closed-bolt designs, in response to ATF rule changes that banned semi-auto open bolt designs, beginning in the early 1980s. Masterpiece Arms manufactures a semiautomatic variant of the M-10 called the MPA-10.[3] It differs from the original M10 in firing from a closed bolt, as opposed to the open-bolt mechanism of the original M-10. This allows for more accuracy than open-bolt fire, and the extra cooling offered by open-bolt firing is unnecessary in a semiautomatic

firearm. The MPA-10 comes in several versions, including a rifle-like variant with a 16" barrel, shoulder stock, and an AR-15 forearm. The stock model has 6" barrel (visually identical to the original MAC-10), a highly modified version which has the cocking handle on the side and has a scope mount on top is also available. One model has a 10" barrel and has an AR-15 style forearm. Another variant that is growing in popularity for NFA registered firearms are the slow fire uppers manufactured by Lage Manufacturing which are called "MAX" uppers. The company is based in Chandler, Arizona. The "MAX" upper can reduce the original rate of fire to about 600 RPM (.45 ACP) and 700 RPM (9x19mm). The upper adds a picatinny optic rail, a side cocking charging handle, and a forend. Lage Manufacturing and Practical Solutions are currently marketing a drop-in 22LR

upper variant that uses a modified upper, 22LR barrel, bolt and magazine. Besides Military Armament Corporation, MAC-10s and MAC-10 parts have been produced by RPB Industries,[4] Cobray Company,[5] Jersey Arms Works,[6] MasterPiece Arms,[7] and Section Five Firearms.[8] [edit]Manufacturers MAC-10 type pistols were first manufactured by the Military Armament Corporation, and later by Cobray, SWD, Masterpiece Arms, and others.

Rifle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation).

Top: A Baker rifle, a 19th century rifle Middle: A Springfield rifle, an early 20th century bolt-action rifle Bottom: A SG 550 rifle, a modern assault rifle

Latest rifles of year 1905

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling") cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile (for small arms usage, called a bullet), imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the orientation of the weapon. When the projectile leaves the barrel, the conservation

of angular momentumimproves accuracy and range, in the same way that a properly thrownAmerican football or rugby ball behaves. The word "rifle" originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a "rifled gun." Rifles are used inwarfare, hunting and shooting sports. Typically, a bullet is propelled by the contained deflagration of an explosive compound (originally black powder, later cordite, and now nitrocellulose), although other means such as compressed air are used in air rifles, which are popular for vermin control,hunting small game, formal target shooting and casual shooting ("plinking").

In most armed forces the term "gun" is incorrect when referring to small arms; in the military, the word "gun" means an artillery piece or crewserved machine gun. Furthermore, in many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, even if the weapon is not rifled or does not fire solid projectiles. (e.g. a "laser rifle") Rifles traditionally fired a single projectile with each pull of the trigger. Modern assault rifles are capable of firing in bursts or fully automatic modes, and thus overlap somewhat with machine guns. In fact, many light machine guns (such as the Russian RPK) are adaptations of existing assault rifle designs.

Generally, the difference between an automatic rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight and feed system; rifles, with their relatively light components (which overheat quickly) and small magazines, are incapable of sustained automatic fire in the way that machine guns are. While machine guns may require more than one operator, the rifle is an individual weapon.
Contents
[hide]

1 Historical overview 2 19th century 2.1 Muzzle loading 2.1.1 Mini system - The "Rifled Musket" 2.2 Breech loading
o o

2.3 Cartridge storage 3 20th century 4 Technical aspects 4.1 Rifling 4.2 Barrel wear 4.3 Rate of fire 4.4 Range 4.5 Bullet RPM 5 See also 5.1 Types 6 References 7 External sources
o o o o o o o

Historical overview
[edit]

Rifling in a .35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel.

The origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the fifteenth century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the tail feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. Early muskets produced large quantities of smoke and soot, which had to be cleaned from the action and bore of the musket frequently; either through the

action of repeated bore scrubbing, or a deliberate attempt to create "soot grooves" that would allow for more shots to be fired from the firearm might also have led to a perceived increase in accuracy, although no one knows for sure. True rifling dates from the mid-15th century, although the precision required for its effective manufacture kept it out of the hands of infantrymen for another three and a half centuries, when it largely replaced the unrifled musket as the primary infantry weapon. In the transitional nineteenth century, the term "rifled musket" was used to indicate the novel weapon which combined the accuracy of rifles and the rate of fire of muskets.[citation needed]

Rifles were created as an improvement to smooth bore muskets. In the early 18th century, Benjamin Robins, an English mathematician, realized that an elongated bullet would retain the momentum and kinetic energy of a musket ball, but would slice through the air with greater ease.[1] The black powder used in early muzzle loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Their greater range was also considered to be of little practical use, since the smoke from black powder quickly obscured the battlefield and made it almost impossible to target the enemy from a distance. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and

clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters and non-military uses like hunting. Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of precision manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle, the musket ball was a loose fit in the barrel. Consequently on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired and the final direction on leaving the muzzle was unpredictable. Muskets had to be long so the muzzles of the rear ranks

muskets projected well forward of the faces of the front rank.

Girdled bullet and twin rifle groove of theBrunswick rifle, mid-19th century.

The performance of early muskets was sufficient for the styles of warfare at the time, whereby soldiers tended to stand in long, stationary lines and fire at the opposing forces. Aiming and accuracy were not necessary to hit an opponent. Muskets were used

for comparatively rapid, unaimed volley fire, and the average conscripted soldier could be easily trained to use them. The (muzzleloaded) rifle was originally a sharpshooter's weapon used for targets of opportunity and deliberate aimed fire, first gaining notoriety in warfare during the Seven Years War and American War for Independencethrough their use by American frontiersmen. Later during theNapoleonic Wars, the British 95th Regiment (Green Jackets) and 60th Regiment, (Royal American) as well as American sharpshooters and riflemen during the War of 1812 used the rifle to great effect during skirmishing. Because of a slower loading time than a musket, they

were not adopted by the whole army. Since rifles were used by sharpshooters who didn't routinely fire over other mens shoulders they didnt need to be long, which made for a handier weapon and also meant that the tight-fitting balls didnt have too long a distance to be rammed down the barrel. The invention of the minie balls in the 1840s solved the slow loading problem, and in the 1850s and 1860s rifles quickly replaced muskets on the battlefield. Many rifles, often referred to as rifled muskets, were very similar to the muskets they replaced, but the military also experimented with other designs. Breech loading weapons proved to have a much faster rate of

fire than muzzle loaders, causing military forces to abandon muzzle loaders in favor of breech loading designs in the late 1860s. In the later part of the 19th century, rifles were generally single-shot, breech-loading designed for aimed, discretionary fire by individual soldiers. Then, as now, rifles had a stock, either fixed or folding, to be braced against the shoulder when firing. The adoption of cartridges andbreech-loading in the 19th century was concurrent with the general adoption of rifles. In the early part of the 20th century, soldiers were trained to shoot accurately over long ranges with high-powered cartridges. World War I Lee-Enfields rifles (among others) were equipped with long-range 'volley sights' for

massed firing at ranges of up to 1.6 km (1.0 mile). Individual shots were unlikely to hit, but a platoon firing repeatedly could produce a 'beaten ground' effect similar to light artillery or machine guns; but experience in World War I showed that long-range fire was best left to the machine gun. Currently, rifles are the most common firearm in general use for hunting purposes (with the exception of bird hunting where shotguns are favored). Rifles derived from military designs have long been popular with civilian shooters. [edit]

19th century

Left image: Jean Lepage silex carbine said "du Premier Consul", circa 1800. Right image: Rifling of Lepage carbine.

During the Napoleonic Wars the British army created several experimental units known as "Rifles", armed with the Baker rifle. These Rifle Regiments were deployed as skirmishers during the Peninsular war in Spain and Portugal, and were more effective than skirmishers armed with muskets due to their accuracy and long range. [edit]

Muzzle loading

Main article: Muzzle-loading rifle Gradually, rifles appeared with cylindrical barrels cut with helical grooves, the surfaces between the grooves being "lands". The innovation shortly preceded the mass adoption of breech-loading weapons, as it was not practical to push an overbore bullet down through a rifled barrel, only to then (try to) fire it back out. The dirt and grime from prior shots was pushed down ahead of a tight bullet or ball (which may have been a loose fit in the clean barrel before the first shot), and, of course, loading was far more difficult, as the lead had to be deformed to go down in the first place, reducing the accuracy due to deformation. Several

systems were tried to deal with the problem, usually by resorting to an under-bore bullet that expanded upon firing.

The method developed by Delvigne for his rifles, with the lead bullet being supported by a wooden sabot at its base.

The original muzzle-loading rifle, with a closely fitting ball to take the rifling grooves, was loaded with difficulty, particularly when foul, and for this reason was not generally used for military purposes. Even with the advent of rifling the bullet itself didn't change, but was wrapped in a greased, cloth patch to grip the rifling grooves.

The first half of the nineteenth century saw a distinct change in the shape and function of the bullet. In 1826 Delvigne, a French infantry officer, invented a breech with abrupt shoulders on which a spherical bullet was rammed down until it caught the rifling grooves. Delvigne's method, however, deformed the bullet and was inaccurate. Soon after, the Carabine tige was invented by Louis-Etienne de Thouvenin, which provided for a stem at the bottom at the barrel that would deform and expand the base of the bullet when rammed, therefore enabling accurate contact with the

rifling. However, the area around the stem would clog and get dirty easily. [edit]Mini

system - The "Rifled Musket"

Main articles: Mini ball and Mini rifle

French-made Mini rifle used in Japan during the Boshin war (18681869).

One of the most famous was the Mini system, invented by French Army Captain Claude Etienne Mini, which relied on a conical bullet (known as a Mini ball) with a hollow skirt at the base of the bullet. When fired, the skirt would expand from the

pressure of the exploding charge and grip the rifling as the round was fired. The better seal gave more power, as less gas escaped past the bullet, which combined with the fact that for the same bore (caliber) diameter a long bullet was heavier than a round ball. The extra grip also spun the bullet more consistently, which increased the range from about 50 yards for a smooth bore musket to about 300 yards for a rifle using the Mini system. The expanding skirt of the Mini ball also solved the problem that earlier tight fitting bullets were difficult to load as black powder residue fouled the inside of the barrel. The Mini system allowed conical bullets to be loaded into rifles just as quickly as round balls in

smooth bores, which allowed rifle muskets to replace muskets on the battlefield. Mini system rifles, notably the U.S. Springfield and the British Enfield of the early 1860s, featured prominently in the U.S. Civil War, due to the enhanced power and accuracy. Over the 19th century, bullet design also evolved, the bullets becoming gradually smaller and lighter. By 1910 the standard blunt-nosed bullet had been replaced with the pointed, 'spitzer' bullet, an innovation that increased range and penetration. Cartridge design evolved from simple paper tubes containing black powder and shot, to sealed brass cases with

integral primers for ignition, while black powder itself was replaced with cordite, and then other nitrocellulose-based smokeless powder mixtures, propelling bullets to higher velocities than before.[2] The increased velocity meant that new problems arrived, and so bullets went from being soft lead to harder lead, then to copper jacketed, in order to better engage the spiraled grooves without "stripping" them in the same way that a screw or bolt thread would be stripped if subjected to extreme forces. [edit] Main article: Breech-loading weapon

Breech loading

Loading mechanism of the Chassepot.

From 1836, breech-loading rifles were introduced with the Gerrman Dreyse Needle gun, and followed by the FrenchTabatire in 1864 and the British Snider-Enfield. Primitive chamber-locking mechanisms were soon replaced by boltaction mechanisms, examplified by the Chassepot in 1866. [edit] An important area of development was the way that cartridges were stored and used in the weapon. The Spencer repeating rifle was a breech-loading manually

Cartridge storage

operated lever action rifle, that was adopted by the United States. Over 20,000 were used during the Civil War. It marked the first adoption of a removable magazine-fed infantry rifle by any country. The design was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860.[citation needed] It used copper rimfire cartridges stored in a removable seven round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another. When the magazine was empty, it could be exchanged for another. [edit]

20th century

World War I and World War II had significant impacts on the design and use of the rifle. By the time of the first

world war, the rifle had already been established as the stock weapon for modern infantry. Until the early 20th century rifles tended to be very long; an 1890 Martini-Henry was almost 2 m (6 ft) in length with a fixed bayonet. The demand for more compact weapons for cavalrymen led to the carbine, or shortened rifle. The advent of massed, rapid firepower and of the machine gun and the rifled artillery piece was so quick as to outstrip the development of any way to attack a trench defended by riflemen and machine gunners. The carnage of World War I was perhaps the

greatest vindication and vilification of the rifle as a military weapon. Experience in World War I led German military researchers to conclude that long-range aimed fire was less significant at typical battle ranges of 300 m. As mechanisms became smaller, lighter and more reliable, semi-automatic rifles, including the M1 Garand, appeared. World War II saw the first mass-fielding of such rifles, which culminated in the Sturmgewehr 44, the first assault rifle and one of the most significant developments of 20th century small-arms. During and after World War II it became accepted that most infantry engagements occur at ranges of less

than 300 m; the range and power of the large rifles was "overkill"; and the weapons were heavier than the ideal. This led to Germany's development of the 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz (short) round, the Karabiner 98, the MKb-42, and ultimately, the assault rifle. Today, an infantryman's rifle is optimised for ranges of 300 m or less, and soldiers are trained to deliver individual rounds or bursts of fire within these distances. The United States Marine Corps, however, continues to train all of its riflemen to accurately engage targets out to 500m. Typically, the application of accurate, long-range fire is the domain of the sniper in warfare, and of enthusiastic target shooters in peacetime. The modern

sniper rifle is usually capable of accuracy better than 0.3 mrad at 100 yards (1 arcminute).

Modern hunting rifle.

By contrast, civilian rifle design has not significantly advanced since the early part of the 20th century. Modern hunting rifles have fiberglass and carbon fiber stocks and more advanced recoil pads, but are fundamentally the same as infantry rifles from 1910. Many modernsniper rifles can trace their ancestry back for well over a century, and the Russian 7.62 x 54 mm cartridge, as used in the front-line Dragunov Sniper Rifle (SVD), dates from 1891.

Many video games include rifles in their weaponry arsenals, beginning with the Magnavox Odyssey Shooting Gallery game accessory, created in 1968.

Technical aspects
[edit] [edit] Main article: Rifling Some early rifled guns were created with special barrels that had a twisted polygonal shape, in particular the Whitworth rifle was the first to be made with the intention of spinning the round for the use of as a "rifle".

Rifling

Specially-made bullets were designed to match the shape so the bullet would grip the rifle bore and take a spin that way. These were generally limited to large caliber weapons and the ammunition still did not fit tightly in the barrel. Many experimental designs used different shapes and degrees of spiraling; one widely-produced example was the Metford rifling in the Pattern 1888 Lee-Metford service rifle. Although uncommon, polygonal rifling is still used in some weapons today with one example being theGlock line of pistols (which fire standard bullets). Unfortunately, many early attempts resulted in dangerous backfiring, which could

lead to destruction of the weapon and serious injury to the person firing. [edit] As the bullet enters the barrel, it inserts itself into the rifling, a process that gradually wears down the barrel, and also causes the barrel to heat up more rapidly. Therefore, some machine-guns are equipped with quick-change barrels that can be swapped every few thousand rounds, or in earlier designs, were watercooled. Unlike older carbon steel barrels, which were limited to around 1,000 shots before the extreme heat caused accuracy to fade, modern stainless steel barrels for target rifles are much more resistant to wear, allowing many

Barrel wear

thousands of rounds to be fired before accuracy drops. (Many shotguns and small arms have chrome-lined barrels to reduce wear and enhance corrosion resistance. This is rare on rifles designed for extreme accuracy, as the plating process is difficult and liable to reduce the effect of the rifling.) Modern ammunition has hardened leadcore with a softer outer cladding or jacket, typically of an alloy of copper and nickel - cupronickel. Some ammunition is even coated with molybdenum-disulfide to further reduce internal friction - the [citation so-called 'moly-coated' bullet.
needed]

[edit]

Rate of fire

Main article: Rate of fire Rifles were initially single-shot, muzzle-loading weapons. During the 18th century, breech-loading weapons were designed, which allowed the rifleman to reload while under cover, but defects in manufacturing and the difficulty in forming a reliable gas-tight seal prevented widespread adoption. During the 19th century, multishot repeating rifles using lever, pump or linear bolt actions became standard, further increasing the rate of fire and minimizing the fuss involved in loading a firearm. The problem of proper seal creation had been solved with the use of brass cartridge cases,

which expanded in an elasticfashion at the point of firing and effectively sealed the breech while the pressure remained high, then relaxed back enough to allow for easy removal. By the end of the 19th century, the leading bolt-action design was that of Paul Mauser, whose action wedded to a reliable design possessing a five-shot magazine became a world standard through two world wars and beyond. The Mauser rifle was paralleled by Britain's ten-shot Lee-Enfield and America's 1903 Springfield Rifle models (the latter pictured above). The American M1903 closely copied Mauser's original design. [edit]

Range

Barrel rifling dramatically increased the range and accuracy of the musket. Indeed, throughout its development, the rifle's history has been marked by increases in range and accuracy. From the Mini rifle and beyond, the rifle has become ever more potent at long range strikes. In recent decades, large-caliber antimateriel rifles, typically firing 12.7 mm and 20 mm caliber cartridges, have been developed. The US Barrett M82A1 is probably the best-known such rifle. These weapons are typically used to strike critical, vulnerable targets such as computerized command and control vehicles, radio trucks, radar

antennae, vehicle engine blocks and the jet engines of enemy aircraft. Anti-materiel rifles can be used against human targets, but the much higher weight of rifle and ammunition, and the massive recoil and muzzle blast, usually make them less than practical for such use. The Barrett M82 is credited with a maximum effective range of 1800 m (1.1 mile); and it was with a .50BMG caliber McMillan TAC-50 rifle that Canadian Master Corporal Rob Furlong made the longest recorded confirmed sniper kill in history, when he shot a Taliban fighter at a range of 2,430 meters (1.51 miles) in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda in 2002.[3]

[edit] Bullets leaving a rifled barrel can spin at over 300,000rpm depending on the muzzle velocity of the bullet and the pitch of the rifling. The rotational speed of the bullet can be calculated by using the formula below where MV is muzzle velocity. A bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3000 feet per second leaving a barrel that twists once per foot would rotate at [4] 180,000rpm. MV x (12/twist rate in inches) x 60 = Bullet RPM Example [Barrel is a 1/8 Twist, the bullets MV is 3000]

Bullet RPM

3000 x (12/8) x 60 = 270,000

Excessive rotational speed can exceed the bullet's designed limits and the resulting centrifugal force can cause the bullet to disintegrate in a radial fashion.[5] [edit]

See also

British military rifles Handgun Shotgun Antique guns Shooting range Gun safety Shooting sports Shooting at the Summer Olympics

Rifle grenade List of rifle cartridges Rifling Service rifle Shooting List of assault rifles List of battle rifles List of service rifles of national

armies Advanced Combat Rifle Objective Individual Combat Weapon program

[edit] Lloyd rifle Musket Naval rifle Repeating rifle Recoilless rifle Sniper

Types

rifle (list) Scout rifle Long rifle Leveraction

Shotgun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the firearm. For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation).

A pump-action Remington 870, two semi-automatic action Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons.

A shotgun (also known as a scattergun and peppergun,[1]or historically as a fowling piece) is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns come in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 5.5 mm (.22 inch) boreup to 5 cm (2 inch) bore, and in a range of firearm operating mechanisms, including breech loading, singlebarreled,double or Combination gun, pump-action, bolt-, and lever-action, semi-automatic, and even fully-automatic variants. A shotgun is generally a smoothbore firearm, which means that the inside of the barrel is not rifled. Preceding smoothbore firearms, such as the musket, were widely used by armies in the 18th century. The

direct ancestor to the shotgun, the blunderbuss, was also used in a similar variety of roles from self defence to riot control. It was often used by cavalry troops due to its generally shorter length and ease of use, as well as by coachmen for its substantial power. However, in the 19th century, these weapons were largely replaced on the battlefield with breechloading rifled firearms, which were more accurate over longer ranges. The military value of shotguns was rediscovered in the First World War, when American forces used 12gauge pump action shotguns in close-quarterstrench fighting to great effect. Since then, it has been used in a variety of roles in civilian, law enforcement, and military applications. The shot pellets from a shotgun spread upon leaving the barrel, and the power of the burning charge is divided among the pellets, which means that the energy of any one ball of shot is fairly low. In a hunting context, this makes shotguns useful primarily for hunting birds and other small game. However, in a military or law enforcement context, the large number of projectiles makes the shotgun useful as a close quarters combat weapon or a defensive weapon. Shotguns are also used for target shooting sports such as skeet, trap, and sporting clays. These involve shooting clay

disks, known as clay pigeons, thrown in various ways.

Contents
[hide]

1 Characteristics 2 Uses o 2.1 Sporting o 2.2 Hunting o 2.3 Law enforcement o 2.4 Military o 2.5 Home/personal defense 3 Design features for various uses 4 Types 5 History o 5.1 19th Century o 5.2 Hammerless shotguns o 5.3 Daniel Myron LeFever o 5.4 John Moses Browning o 5.5 World wars o 5.6 Late 20th century to present 6 Design factors o 6.1 Action 6.1.1 Break-action 6.1.2 Pump-action 6.1.3 Lever-action 6.1.4 Semi-automatic 6.1.5 Bolt-action

6.1.6 Other o 6.2 Gauge o 6.3 Shot o 6.4 Pattern and choke o 6.5 Barrel length 7 Ammunition o 7.1 Specialty ammunition 7.1.1 Hunting, defensive, and military 7.1.2 Less Lethal rounds, for riot and animal control 7.1.3 Novelty and other 8 Legal issues o 8.1 Australia o 8.2 Canada o 8.3 UK o 8.4 US 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Characteristics
Shotguns come in a wide variety of forms, from very small up to massive punt guns, and in nearly every type of firearm operating mechanism. The common characteristics that make a shotgun unique center around the requirements of firing shot. These features are the features typical of a shotgun shell, namely a relatively short, wide cartridge, with

straight walls, and operating at a relatively low pressure. Ammunition for shotguns is referred to in the USA as shotgun shells, shotshells, or just shells (when it is not likely to be confused with artillery shells). The term cartridges is standard usage in the United Kingdom. The shot is usually fired from a smoothbore barrel; another configuration is the rifled slug barrel, which fires more accurate solitary projectiles (though some slugs can also be fired from smoothbore weapons).

Uses

Series of individual 1/1,000,000 second exposures showing shotgun firing shot & wadding separation.

The typical use of a shotgun is against small and/or fast moving targets, often taken while in the air. The spreading of the shot allows the user to point the shotgun close to the target, rather than having to aim precisely as in the case of a single projectile. The disadvantages of shot are limited range and limited penetration of the shot, which is why shotguns are used at short ranges, and typically against smaller targets. Larger shot size, up to the

extreme case of the single projectile slug load, results in increased penetration, but at the expense of fewer projectiles and lower probability of hitting the target. Aside from the most common use against small, fast moving targets, the shotgun has several advantages when used against still targets. First, it has enormous stopping power at short range, more than nearly all handguns and many rifles. The wide spread of shot produced by the gun makes it easier to aim and to be used by inexperienced marksmen. A typical self-defense load of buckshot contains 8-27 large lead pellets, resulting in many wound tracks in the target. Also, unlike a rifle bullet, each pellet of shot is less likely to penetrate walls and hit bystanders. It is favored by law enforcement for its low penetration and high stopping power. On the other hand, the hit potential of a defensive shotgun is often overstated. The typical defensive shot is taken at very close ranges, at which the shot charge expands no more than a few centimeters. This means the shotgun must still be aimed at the target with some care. Balancing this is the fact that shot spreads further upon entering the target, and the multiple wound channels of a defensive load are far more likely to produce a disabling wound than a rifle or handgun.[2]

Sporting
Some of the most common uses of shotguns are the sports of skeet shooting, trap shooting, andsporting clays. These involve shooting clay disks, also known as clay pigeons, thrown in various ways. Both skeet and trap competitions are featured at the Olympic Games. Skeet shooting usually deals with 25 shots, while sporting clays can be a course up to 50 shots.

Hunting
The shotgun is used for bird hunting, although it is also increasingly used in deer hunting in semipopulated areas where the range of the rifle bullet may pose too great a hazard. Many modern smooth bore shotguns using rifled slugs are extremely accurate out to 100 m (110 yards) or more, while the rifled barrel shotgun with the use of sabot slugs are typically accurate to 100 m (110 yards) and beyondwell within the range of the majority of kill shots by experienced deer hunters using shotguns. However, given the relatively low muzzle velocity of slug ammunition typically around 500 m/s (about 1600 feet per second) and blunt, poorly streamlined shape of typical slugs (which cause them to lose velocity very rapidly, compared to rifle bullets), a hunter must pay close attention to the ballistics of the particular make of ammunition to ensure a

humane killing shot on a deer. Shotguns are often used to hunt whitetail deer in the thick brush and briars of the southeastern and upper midwestern US, where, due to the dense cover, ranges tend to be very close - 25 m or less. At any reasonable range, shotgun slugs make effective lethal wounds due to their tremendous mass, reducing the length of time that an animal might suffer. A typical 12 gauge shotgun slug is a blunt piece of metal that could be described as a 18 mm (.729 inch) caliber that weighs 28 grams (432 grains). For comparison, a common deer-hunting rifle round is a 7.62 mm (.308 inch) slug weighing 9.7 grams (150 grains), but the dynamics of the rifle cartridge allow for a different type of wound, and a much further reach.

Law enforcement

A Gurkha Contingenttrooper in Singapore armed with a folding stock pump shotgun

In the US and Canada, shotguns are widely used as a heavy weapon by police forces. One of the

rationales for issuing shotguns is that even without much training, an officer will probably be able to hit targets at close to intermediate range, due to the "spreading" effect of buckshot. Some police forces are replacing shotguns in this role with carbine rifles such as M-16 type weapons. Shotguns are also used in roadblock situations, where police are blocking a highway to search cars for suspects. In the US, law enforcement agencies often use riot shotguns, especially for crowd and riot control where they may be loaded with less-lethal rounds such as rubber bullets or bean bags. Shotguns are also often used as breaching devices to defeat locks.

Military
Shotguns are common weapons in military use, particularly for special purposes: see combat shotgun. Shotguns are found aboard Naval vessels for shipboard security, because the weapon is very effective at close range as a way of repelling enemy boarding parties. In a naval setting, stainless steel shotguns are often used, because regular steel is prone to corrosion in the marine environment. Shotguns are also used by military police units. US Marines have used shotguns since their inception at the squad level, often in the hands of NCOs, while the US Army often issued them to a squad's point man. Shotguns were modified for and used in the

trench warfare of WWI, in the jungle combat of WWII and Vietnam and are being used today in Iraq, being popular with soldiers and Marines in urban combat environments. Some US units in Iraq use shotguns with special frangible breaching rounds to blow the locks off doors when they are making a surprise entry into a dwelling.

Home/personal defense
Most pump-action and semi-automatic riot shotguns in common law enforcement use are also available on the civilian market, and such shotguns are a very popular means of home defense for many of the same reasons they are preferred for closequarters tasks in law enforcement and the military. They are also gaining preference for their economy; though the per-shell cost of firing a shotgun is greater than a handgun or rifle, the per-projectile cost of "double-ought" buckshot rounds common for defense is far less than pistol cartridges such as the popular 9mm Parabellum or .45ACP calibers. Pumpaction shotguns marketed for home defense use are also generally cheaper than handguns or rifles of comparable quality (shotguns often retail for $350 or less).[3]

Design features for various uses

Compared to handguns, shotguns are heavier, larger, and not as maneuverable in close quarters (which also presents a greater retention problem), but do have these advantages:

They are generally much more powerful. They are easier for most shooters to hit with. They are generally perceived as more intimidating. On average, a quality pump-action shotgun is generally less expensive than a quality handgun (self-loading shotguns are generally more expensive than their pump-action counterparts). Shotguns are, in general, not as heavily regulated by legislation as handguns are. When loaded with smaller shot, a shotgun will not penetrate walls as readily as rifle and pistol rounds, making it safer for non-combatants when fired in or around populated structures. This comes at a price, however, as smaller shot may not penetrate deeply enough to cause a disabling wound; those who recommend birdshot for minimizing wall penetration also suggest backing it up with a larger buckshot if the first shot fails to stop the threat.[4]

Types

A U.S. Marine fires a Benelli M4 shotgun during training in Arta, Djibouti, December 23, 2006.

The wide range of forms the shotgun can take leads to some significant differences between what is technically a shotgun and what is legally considered a shotgun. A fairly broad attempt to define a shotgun is made in theUnited States Code (18 USC 921), which defines the shotgun as "a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger." A rifled slug, with finned rifling designed to enable the projectile to be safely fired through a choked barrel, is an example of a single projectile. Some shotguns have rifled barrels and are designed to be used with a "saboted" bullet, one which is typically encased in a two-piece plastic ring (sabot) designed to peel away after it exits the barrel, leaving the

bullet, now spinning after passing through the rifled barrel, to continue toward the target. These shotguns, although they have rifled barrels, still use a shotgun-style shell instead of a rifle cartridge and may in fact still fire regular multipellet shotgun shells, but the rifling in the barrel will affect the shot pattern. The use of a rifled barrel blurs the distinction between rifle and shotgun, and in fact the early rifled shotgun barrels went by the name Paradox for just that reason.[5]Hunting laws may differentiate between smooth barreled and rifled barreled guns. Also, many people would likely call a fully automatic shotgun a shotgun, even though legally it would fall into a different category. Amongst the general populace, any gun that fires shotgun shells could be considered a shotgun. This might include the rare shot-pistol (a pistol designed to fire a standard shotgun shell).[6] Riot gun has long been a synonym for a shotgun, especially a short-barrelled shotgun. During the 19th and early 20th century, these were used to disperse rioters and revolutionaries. The wide spray of theshot ensured a large group would be hit, but the light shot would ensure more wounds than fatalities. When the ground was paved, police officers would often ricochet the shot off the ground, slowing down the shot and spreading pattern even further. To this

day specialized police and defensive shotguns are called riot shotguns. The introduction of rubber bullets and bean bag rounds ended the practice of using shot for the most part, but riot shotguns are still used to fire a variety of less lethal rounds for riot control. A sawed-off shotgun (or "sawn-off") refers to a shotgun whose barrel has been shortened, leaving it more maneuverable, easier to use at short range and more readily concealed. Many countries establish a legal minimum barrel length that precludes easy concealment (this length is 18" (457 mm) in the U.S.). The sawed-off shotgun is sometimes known as a "Lupara" (in Italian a generic reference to the word "Lupo" ("Wolf")) in Southern Italy and Sicily. Coach guns are similar to sawn-off shotguns, except they are manufactured with an 46 cm (18") barrel and are legal for civilian ownership in some jurisdictions. Coach guns are also more commonly associated with the American Old West or Australian Colonial period, and often used for hunting in bush, scrub, or marshland where a longer barrel would be unwieldy or impractical. A backpacker shotgun has a short barrel and either a full-size stock or pistol grip, depending on legislation in intended markets. The overall length of

these weapons is frequently less than 90 cm (36 inches), with some measuring up at less than 63 cm (25 inches). These weapons are typically break-action .410 "gauge" (caliber), single-barrel designs with no magazine and no automatic ejection capability. They typically employ a cylinder bore, but infrequently are available in modified choke as well. One example of a backpacker shotgun is the Verney-Carron Snake Charmer or the pistol grip Snake Charmer II. Backpacker shotguns are popular for "home defense" purposes and as "survival" weapons. Other examples include a variety of .410 / rifle "survival" guns manufactured in over/under designs. In the drillingarrangement, a rimfire or centrefire rifle barrel is located beneath the barrel of a .410 gauge shotgun. Generally, there is one manually-cocked external hammer and an external selection lever to select which caliber of cartridge to fire. A notable example is the Springfield Armory M6 Scout, a .410 / .22 issued to United States Air Force personnel as a "survival" gun in the event of a forced landing or accident in a wilderness area. Variants have been used by Israeli, Canadian, and American armed forces. Shotgun/rifle combination guns with two, three, and occasionally even four barrels are available from a number of makers, primarily

European. These provided flexibility, enabling the hunter to effectively shoot at flushing birds or more distant small mammals while only carrying one gun.

History

Confederate cavalryman

Since early firearms, such as the blunderbuss, arquebus andmusket tended to have large diameter, smoothbore barrels, they would function with shot as well as solid balls. A firearm intended for use in wing shooting of birds was known as afowling piece. The 1728 Cyclopaedia defines a fowling pieceas: Fowling Piece, a portable Fire Arm for the shooting of Birds. See Fire Arm. Of Fowling Pieces, those are reputed the best, which have the longest Barrel, vis. from 5 1/2

foot to 6; with an indifferent Bore, under Harquebus: Tho' for different Occasions they shou'd be of different Sorts, and Sizes. But in all, 'tis essential the Barrel be well polish'd and smooth within; and the Bore all of a Bigness, from one End to another...[7] For example, the contemporary Brown Bess musket, in service with the British military from 1722 to 1838, 19 mm (.75 inch) smoothbore barrel, roughly the same as a 10 gauge shotgun, and was 157 cm (62 inches) long, just short of the above recommended 168 cm (5 1/2 feet). On the other hand, records from thePlymouth colony show a maximum length of 137 cm (4 1/2 feet) for fowling pieces,[8] shorter than the typical musket. Shot was also used in warfare; the buck and ball loading, mixing a musket ball with three or six buckshot, was used throughout the history of the smoothbore musket. The first recorded use of the termshotgun was in 1776 in Kentucky. It was noted as part of the "frontier language of the West" by James Fenimore Cooper. With the adoption of the smaller bores and rifled barrels, the shotgun began to emerge as a separate entity. Shotguns have long been the

preferred method for sport hunting of birds, and the largest shotguns, the punt guns, were used for commercial hunting. The double-barreled shotgun, for example, has changed little since the development of the boxlock action in 1875. Modern innovations such as interchangeable chokes and subgauge inserts make the double barreled shotgun the shotgun of choice in skeet, trap shooting, and sporting clays, as well as with many hunters. A double from a well respected maker, such as Krieghoff or Perazzi, can cost US$5,000 to start, and reach prices of US$100,000 for presentation grade examples.[9] During its long history, it has been favored by bird hunters, guards and law enforcement officials. The shotgun has fallen in and out of favor with military forces several times in its long history. Shotguns and similar weapons are simpler than long-range rifles, and were developed earlier. The development of more accurate and deadlier long-range rifles minimized the usefulness of the shotgun on the open battlefields of European wars. But armies have "rediscovered" the shotgun for specialty uses many times.

19th Century

During the 1800s, shotguns were mainly employed by cavalry units. Both sides of the American Civil War employed shotguns. American cavalry went on to use the shotgun extensively during the Indian Wars throughout the latter half of the 19th Century. Mounted units favored the shotgun for its moving target effectiveness, and devastating close-range firepower. The shotgun was also favored by citizen militias and similar groups. The shotgun was used in the defense of the Alamo during Texas' War of Independence with Mexico. With the exception of cavalry units, the shotgun saw less and less use throughout the 19th Century on the battlefield. As a defense weapon it remained popular with guards and lawmen, however, and the shotgun became one of many symbols of the American Old West. The famous[citation needed] lawmanCody Lyons killed two men with a shotgun; his friend Doc Holliday's only confirmed kill was with a shotgun. The weapon both these men used was the short-barreled version favored by private strongbox guards on stages and trains. These guards, called express messengers, became known as shotgun messengers, since

they rode with the weapon (loaded with buckshot) for defense against bandits. Passenger carriages carrying a strongbox usually had at least one private guard armed with a shotgun riding in front of the coach, next to the driver. This practice has survived in American slang; the term"riding shotgun" is used for the passenger who sits in the front passenger seat. The shotgun was a popular weapon for personal protection in the American Old West, requiring less skill on the part of the user than a revolver.

Hammerless shotguns
The origins of the hammerless shotgun are obscure and European. The earliest breechloading shotguns originated in France and Belgium in the early nineteenth century (see also the history of the Pinfire) and a number of them such as those by Robert and Chateauvillard from the 1830s and 1840s did not use hammers. In fact during these decades a wide variety of ingenious weapons, including rifles, adopted what is now often known as a needle-fire method of igniting the charge, where a firing pin or a longer sharper needle provided the necessary impact. The most widely used British hammerless needle-fire

shotgun was the unusual hinged-chamber fixed-barrel breech-loader by Joseph Needham, produced from the 1850s. By the 1860s hammerless guns were increasingly used in Europe both in war and sport although hammer guns were still very much in the majority. The first significant encroachment on hammer guns was a hammerless patent which could be used with a conventional side-lock. This was British gunmaker T Murcotts 1871 action nicknamed the mousetrap on account of its loud snap action. However the most successful hammerless innovation of the 1870s was Anson and Deeleys boxlockpatent of 1875. This simple but ingenious design only used four moving parts allowing the production of cheaper and reliable shotguns.

Daniel Myron LeFever

Daniel Myron LeFever is credited with the invention of the American hammerless shotgun. Working for Barber & LeFever in Syracuse, N.Y. he introduced his first hammerless shotgun in 1878. This gun was cocked with external cocking levers on the side of the breech. He formed his own company, The LeFever Arms Co., in 1880 and went on to patent the first truly automatic hammerless

shotgun in 1883. This gun automatically cocked itself when the breech was closed. He later developed the mechanism to automatically eject the shells when the breech was opened. The LeFever Arms Co. went on to make some of the finest double barrel shotguns in America until they were bought by The Ithaca Gun Co. in 1916.

John Moses Browning

One of the men most responsible for the modern development of the shotgun was prolific gun designerJohn Browning. While working for Winchester Firearms, Browning revolutionized shotgun design. In 1887, Browning introduced the Model 1887 Lever Action Repeating Shotgun, which loaded a fresh cartridge from its internal magazine by the operation of the action lever. Before this time most shotguns were the 'break open' type. This development was greatly overshadowed by two further innovations he introduced at the end of the 19th century. In 1893, Browning produced the Model 1893 Pump Action Shotgun, introducing the now familiar pump action to the market. And in 1900, he patented the Browning Auto-5, the world's first semi-

automatic shotgun. The Browning Auto-5 remained in production until 1998.

World wars
The decline in military use of shotguns reversed in World War I. American forces under General Pershingemployed 12-gauge pump action shotguns when they were deployed to the Western front in 1917. These shotguns were fitted with bayonets and a heat shield so the barrel could be gripped while the bayonet was deployed. Shotguns fitted in this fashion became known as trench guns by the United States Army. Those without such modifications were known as riot guns. After World War I, the United States military began referring to all shotguns as riot guns. Due to the cramped conditions of trench warfare, the American shotguns were extremely effective.Germany even filed an official diplomatic protest against their use, alleging they violated the laws of warfare. The Judge Advocate General reviewed the protest, and it was rejected because the Germans protested use of lead shot (which would have been illegal) but military shot was plated. This is the only occasion the legality of

the shotgun's use in warfare has been questioned.[10]

United States Marine carrying a Winchester M97 shotgun during World War II

During World War II, the shotgun was not heavily used in the war in Europe by official military forces. However, the shotgun was a favorite weapon of Allied-supported partisans, such as the French Resistance. By contrast, in the Pacific theater, thick jungles and heavilyfortified positions made the shotgun a favorite weapon of the United States Marines. Marines tended to use pump shotguns, since the pump action was less likely to jam in the humid and dirty conditions of the Pacific campaign.

Similarly, the United States Navy used pump shotguns as well to guard ships when in port in Chinese harbors (e.g., Shanghai). The United States Army Air Forces similarly used pump shotguns to guard bombers and other aircraft against saboteurs when parked on airbases across the Pacific and on the West Coast of the United States. Pump and semi-automatic shotguns were used in marksmanship training, particularly for bomber gunners. The most common pump shotguns used for these duties were the 12 gauge Winchester Model 97 and Model 12. The break-open action, single barrel shotgun was used by the BritishHome Guard and U.S. home security forces. Notably, industrial centers (such as the Gopher State Steel Works) were guarded by National Guard soldiers with Winchester Model 37 12 gauge shotguns.

Late 20th century to present

Since the end of World War II, the shotgun has remained a specialty weapon for modern armies. It has been deployed for specialized tasks where its strengths were put to particularly good use. It was used to defend machine gun emplacements during the Korean War, American and French jungle

patrols used shotguns during the Vietnam War, and shotguns saw extensive use as door breaching and close quarter weapons in the early stages of the Iraq War, and saw limited use in tank crews.[11] Many modern naviesmake extensive use of shotguns by personnel engaged in boarding hostile ships, as any shots fired will almost certainly be over a short range. Shotguns are far from being as common amongst military forces as rifles, carbines, or submachineguns. On the other hand, the shotgun has become a standard in law enforcement use. A variety of specialty less-lethal or non-lethal ammunitions, such as tear gas shells, bean bags, flares, explosive sonic stun rounds, and rubber projectiles, all packaged into 12 gauge shotgun shells, are produced specifically for the law enforcement market. Recently, Taser International introduced a self-contained electronic weapon which is fired from a standard 12 gauge shotgun.[12] The shotgun remains a standard firearm for hunting throughout the world for all sorts of game from birds and small game to large game such as deer. The versatility of the shotgun as a hunting weapon has steadily increased as

slug rounds and more advanced rifled barrels have given shotguns longer range and higher killing power. The shotgun has become a ubiquitous firearm in the hunting community. The prevalence of the shotgun's use in hunting can be easily shown by the number of hunting incidents reported to wildlife and game officials. Of the thirty-four hunting accidents reported in Wisconsin in 2005, sixteen involved shotguns, making them the most common hunting firearm. The second most common was rifles of various calibers. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2005[13] ) In 1994, shotguns made up 9.7% of gun traces relating to criminal investigations in the United States and were the weapon of choice in 5% of homicides according to United States Justice Department statistics.[citation needed] Shotguns are not the preferred weapons for criminal activity, since criminals prefer weapons which are more easily concealed, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. However, the comparatively easy availability of doublebarrelled shotguns compared to pistols in theUnited Kingdom and Australia, coupled with the ease with which their barrels and stocks can be shortened, has made the sawn-off

shotgun a popular weapon of armed robbers in these countries.[citation needed]

Design factors
Action
Action is the term for the operating mechanism of a gun. There are many types of shotguns, typically categorized by the number of barrels or the way the gun is reloaded.

A view of the break-actionof a typical double-barrelled shotgun, shown with the action open

Break-action
For most of the history of the shotgun, the break-action breech loadingdouble was the most common type, typically divided into two subtypes: the traditional "side by side" shotgun features two barrels mounted one beside the other (as the name suggests), whereas the "over and under" shotgun has the two barrels

mounted one on top of the other. Side by side shotguns were traditionally used for hunting and other sporting pursuits (early long barreled side-by side shotguns were known asFowling Pieces for their use hunting ducks and other birds), whereas over and under shotguns are more commonly associated with sporting use (such as clay pigeon/skeet shooting). Both types of double-barrel shotgun are used for hunting and sporting use, with the individual configuration largely being a matter of personal preference. Another, less commonly encountered type of break-action shotgun is thecombination gun, which is an over and under design with one shotgun barrel and one rifle barrel (more often rifle on top, but rifle on bottom was not uncommon). There is also a class of break action guns called drillings, which contain three barrels, usually 2 shotgun barrels of the same gauge and a rifle barrel, though the only common theme is that at least one barrel be a shotgun barrel. The most common arrangement was essentially a side by side shotgun with the rifle barrel below and centered. Usually a drilling containing more than one rifle barrel would have both rifle

barrels in the same caliber, but examples do exist with different caliber barrels, usually a .22 Long Rifle and a centerfire cartridge. Although very rare, drillings with three and even four (avierling) shotgun barrels were made.

Pump-action

A Winchester M1897, one of the first successful pumpaction shotgun designs

In pump-action shotguns, a sliding forearm handle (the pump) works the action, extracting the spent shell and inserting a new one while cocking the hammer or striker as the pump is worked. A pump gun is typically fed from a tubular magazine underneath the barrel, which also serves as a guide for the pump. The rounds are fed in one by one through a port in the receiver, where they are lifted by a lever called the elevatorand pushed forward into the chamber by the bolt. A pair of latches at the rear of the magazine hold the rounds in place and facilitate feeding of one shell at a time. If it is desired to load the gun fully, a round may be loaded through the ejection port directly into the chamber, or cycled from the magazine, which is then topped off with another round.

Well-known examples include the Winchester Model 1897,Remington 870 and Mossberg 500/590. Pump-action shotguns are common hunting, fowling and sporting shotguns. Hunting models generally have a barrel between 600700 mm (24"-28"). Tube-fed models designed for hunting often come with a dowel rod or other stop that is inserted into the magazine and reduces the capacity of the gun to three shells (two in the magazine and one chambered) as is mandated by U.S. federal law when hunting migratory birds. They can also easily be used with an empty magazine as a single-shot weapon, by simply dropping the next round to be fired into the open ejection port after the spent round is ejected. For this reason, pumpactions are commonly used to teach novice shooters under supervision, as the trainer can load each round more quickly than with a break-action, while unlike a break-action the student can maintain his grip on the gun and concentrate on proper handling and firing of the weapon. Pump action shotguns with shorter barrels and no barrel choke (or very little) are highly popular for use in home defense, military and

law enforcement, and are commonly known as riot guns. The minimum barrel length for shotguns in most of the U.S. is 18" (457 mm), and this barrel length (sometimes 18.5"-20" (470500 mm) to increase magazine capacity and/or ensure the gun is legal regardless of measuring differences[14]) is the primary choice for riot shotguns. The shorter barrel makes the weapon easier to maneuver around corners and in tight spaces, though slightly longer barrels are sometimes used outdoors for a tighter spread pattern or increased accuracy of slug projectiles. Home-defense/law enforcement shotguns are usually chambered for 12-gauge shells, providing maximum shot power and the use of a variety of projectiles such as buckshot, rubber, sandbag and slug shells, but 20-gauge (common in bird-hunting shotguns) or .410 (common in youth-size shotguns) are also available in defense-type shotgun models allowing easier use by novice shooters. A riot shotgun has many advantages over a handgun or rifle. Compared to "defensecaliber" handguns (chambered for 9mm Parabellum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .45ACP and similar), a shotgun has far

more power and damage potential (up to 10 times the muzzle energy of a .45ACP cartridge), allowing a "one-shot stop" that is more difficult to achieve with typical handgun loads. Compared to a rifle, riot shotguns are easier to maneuver due to the shorter barrel, still provide better damage potential at indoor distances (generally 3-5 meters/yards), and reduce the risk of "overpenetration"; that is, the bullet or shot passing completely through the target and continuing beyond, which poses a risk to those behind the target through walls. The wide spread of the shot reduces the importance of shot placement compared to a single projectile, which increases the effectiveness of "point shooting" - rapidly aiming simply by pointing the weapon in the direction of the target. This allows easy, fast use by novices.

Lever-action

A modern reproduction of the Winchester M1887 leveraction shotgun

Early attempts at repeating shotguns invariably centred around either bolt-or lever-

actiondesigns, drawing inspiration from contemporary repeating rifles, with the earliest successful repeating shotgun being the leveractionWinchester M1887, designed by John Browning at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Lever shotguns, while less common, were popular in the late 1800s with the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1901 being prime examples. Initially very popular, demand waned after the introduction of pump-action shotguns at the turn of the century, and production was eventually discontinued in 1920. One major issue with lever-actions (and to a lesser extent pump-actions) was that early shotgun shells were often made of paper or similar fragile materials (modern hulls are plastic or metal). As a result the loading of shells, or working of the action of the shotgun, could often result in cartridges getting crushed and becoming unusable, or even damaging the gun. Lever shotguns have seen a return to the gun market in recent years, however, with Winchester producing the Model 9410 (chambering the .410 gauge shotgun shell and

using the action of the Winchester Model 94 series lever-action rifle, hence the name), and a handful of other firearm manufacturers (primarily Norinco of China and ADI Ltd. of Australia) producing versions of the Winchester Model 1887/1901 designed for modern 12gauge smokeless shotshells with more durable plastic casings. There has been a notable uptick in lever-action shotgun sales in Australia since 1997, when pump-actions were effectively outlawed.

Semi-automatic

A Browning A-5 semi-automatic shotgun

Gas, inertia, or recoil operated actions are other popular methods of increasing the rate of fire of a shotgun; these are generally referred to asautoloaders or semi-automatics. Instead of having the action manually operated by a pump or lever, the action automatically cycles each time the shotgun is fired, ejecting the spent shell and reloading a fresh one into the chamber. The first successful semi-automatic shotgun was John Browning's Auto-5, first produced by Fabrique Nationalebeginning in

1902. Other well-known examples include the Remington 1100, Benelli M1, and Saiga12. Some, such as the Franchi SPAS12 and Benelli M3, are capable of switching between semi-automatic and pump action. These are popular for two reasons; first, some jurisdictions forbid the use of semi-automatic actions for hunting, and second, lowerpowered rounds, like "reduced-recoil" buckshot shells and many less lethal cartridges, have insufficient power to reliably cycle a semiautomatic shotgun.

Bolt-action
Bolt-action shotguns, while uncommon, do exist. One of the best known examples is a 12 gauge manufactured by Mossberg featuring a 3-round magazine, marketed in Australia just after changes to the gun laws in 1997 heavily restricted the ownership and use of pumpaction and semi-automatic shotguns. They were not a huge success, as they were somewhat slow and awkward to operate, and the rate of fire was noticeably slower (on average) than a double-barrelled gun. The Ishapore Arsenal in India also manufactured a single-shot .410 bore shotgun

based on the SMLE Mk III* rifle. The Russian Berdana shotgun was effectively a single-shot bolt-action rifle that became obsolete, and was subsequently modified to chamber 16 gauge shotgun shells for civilian sale. Also, the M-26 used by the U.S. military is a bolt action weapon. Bolt-action shotguns have also been used in the "goose gun" application, intended to kill birds such as geese at greater range. Typically, goose guns have long barrels (up to 36 inches), and small bolt-fed magazines. Boltaction shotguns are also used in conjunction with slug shells for the maximum possible accuracy from a shotgun.[15]

Other
In addition to the commonly encountered shotgun actions already listed, there are also shotguns based on the Martini-Henry rifle design, originally designed by British arms maker W.W. Greener. Some of the more interesting advances in shotgun technology include the versatile NeoStead 2000 and fully automatics such as the Pancor Jackhammer or AutoAssault 12. In 1925, Rodolfo Cosmi produced the first working hybrid prototype semi-automatic

shotgun, which had an 8 round magazine located in the stock. While it reloaded automatically after each shot like a semiautomatic, it had a break-action to load the first shell. This design has only been repeated once, by Beretta with their UGB25 automatic shotgun. The user loads the first shell by breaking the gun in the manner of a breakaction shotgun, then closes it and inserts the second shell into a clip on the gun's right side. The spent hulls are ejected downwards. The guns combine the advantages of the break action (they can be proven to be safe by breaking open, there are no flying hulls) with those of the semi-automatic (low recoil, low barrel axis position hence low muzzle flip).

Gauge

Soldier armed with a shotgun

Main article: Gauge (bore diameter)

The caliber of shotguns is measured in terms of gauge (U.S.) or bore (U.K.). The gauge number is the determined by the weight, in fractions of a pound, of a solid sphere of lead with a diameter equal to the inside diameter of the barrel. So a 10 gauge shotgun nominally should have an inside diameter equal to that of a sphere made from one-tenth of a pound of lead. By far the most common gauges are 12 (0.729 in, 18.5 mm diameter) and 20 (0.614 in, 15.6 mm), although .410 (= 67), 32, 28, 24, 16, and 10 (19.7 mm) gauge and 9 mm (.355 in.) and .22 (5.5 mm) rimfire calibres have also been produced. Larger gauges, too powerful to shoulder, have been built but were generally affixed to small boats and referred to as punt guns. These were used for commercial water fowl hunting, to kill large numbers of birds resting on the water. Although relatively rare, single and double derringers have also been produced that are capable of firing either .45 (Long) Colt or .410 shotgun shells from the same chamber; they are commonly known as 'snake guns', and are popular among some outdoorsmen in the South and Southwest regions of the United States. There are also some revolvers, such as the Taurus Judge, that are capable of shooting the .45LC/.410

rounds; but as with derringers, these are handguns that shoot .410 shotgun shells, and are not necessarily considered shotguns. The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is unusual, being measured in inches, and would be approximately 67 "real" gauge, though its short hull versions are nominally called 36 gauge in Europe. It uses a relatively small charge of shot. It is used for hunting and for skeet. Because of its very light recoil (approx 10 N), it is often used as a beginners gun. However, the small charge and typically tight choke make it more difficult to hit targets. It is also frequently used by expert shooters because of the difficulty, especially in expensive side by side and over/under models for hunting small bird game such as quail and doves.[16]Inexpensive bolt-action .410 shotguns are a very common first hunting shotgun among young pre-teen hunters, as they are used mostly for hunting squirrels, while additionally teaching bolt-action manipulation skills that will transfer easily later to adult-sized hunting rifles. Most of these young hunters move up to a 20-gauge within a few years, and to 12 gauge shotguns and fullsize hunting rifles by their late teens. Still, many who are particularly recoil-averse choose

to stay with 20-gauge shotguns all their adult life, as it is a very suitable gauge for many popular hunting uses. A recent innovation is the back-boring of barrels, in which the barrels are bored out slightly larger than their actual gauge. This reduces the compression forces on the shot when it transitions from the chamber to the barrel. This leads to a slight reduction in perceived recoil, and an improvement in shot pattern due to reduced deformation of the shot.

Shot
Most shotguns are used to fire "a number of ball shot", in addition to slugs and sabots. The ball shot or pellets is for the most part made of lead but this has been partially replaced by bismuth, steel, tungsten-iron, tungsten-nickeliron and even tungsten polymer loads. Nontoxic loads are required by Federal law for waterfowl hunting in the US, as the shot may be ingested by the waterfowl, which some authorities believe can lead to health problems due to the lead exposure. Shot is termed either birdshot or buckshotdepending on the shot size. Informally, birdshot pellets have a diameter smaller than 5 mm (0.20 inches) and buckshot are larger than that. Pellet size is

indicated by a number, for bird shot this ranges from the smallest 12 (1.2 mm, 0.05 in) to 2 (3.8 mm, 0.15 in) and then BB (4.6 mm, 0.18 in). For buckshot the numbers usually start at 4 (6.1 mm, 0.24 in) and go down to 1, 0, 00 ("double aught"), 000, and finally 0000 (9.7 mm, .38 in). A different informal distinction is that "bird shot" pellets are small enough that they can be measured into the cartridge by weight, and simply poured in, whereas "buckshot" pellets are so large they must be stacked inside the cartridge in a fixed geometric arrangement in order to fit. The diameter in hundredths of an inch of bird shot sizes from #9 to #1 can be obtained by subtracting the shot size from 17. Thus, #4 bird shot is 17 - 4 = 13 = 0.13 inches (3.3 mm) in diameter. Different terminology is used outside the United States. In England and Australia, for example, 00 buckshot cartridges are commonly referred to as "S.G." (small game) cartridges. Table of American Standard Birdshot Size Size Diameter Pellets/10 g Lead Pellets/10 g Steel

TT

5.84 mm (.230") 5.59 mm (.220") 5.33 mm (.210") 5.08 mm (.200") 4.83 mm (.190") 4.57 mm (.180") 4.32 mm (.170") 4.06 mm (.160")

12

10

14

FF

11

16

13

19

BBB

15

22

BB

18

25

21

30

25

36

3.81 mm (.150") 3.56 mm (.140") 3.30 mm (.130") 3.05 mm (.120") 2.79 mm (.110") 2.41 mm (.100") 2.29 mm (.090") 2.03 mm (.080")

30

44

37

54

47

68

59

86

78

112

120

174

140

202

201

290

Table of Buckshot Size Size 000 or LG ("tripleaught") 00 ("double-aught") Diameter 9.1 mm (.36") 8.4 mm (.33") 8.1 mm (.32") 7.9 mm (.31") 7.6 mm (.30") 6.9 mm (.27") 6.4 mm Pellets/10 g Lead 2.2

2.9

0 or SG("one-aught")

3.1

SSG

3.4

3.8

2 3

5.2 6.6

(.25") 4 6.1 mm (.24") 7.4

Pattern and choke

Shot, small and round and delivered without spin, is ballistically inefficient. As the shot leaves the barrel it begins to disperse in the air. The resulting cloud of pellets is known as the shot pattern, or shotgun shot spread. The ideal pattern would be a circle with an even distribution of shot throughout, with a density sufficient to ensure enough pellets will intersect the target to achieve the desired result, such as a kill when hunting or a break when shooting clay targets. In reality the pattern is closer to a Gaussian, or normal distribution, with a higher density in the center that tapers off at the edges. Patterns are usually measured by firing at a 30 inch (76 cm) diameter circle on a large sheet of paper placed at varying distances. The hits inside the circle are counted, and compared to the total number of pellets, and the density of the pattern inside the circle is examined. An "ideal" pattern would put nearly 100% of the pellets in

the circle and would have no voidsany region where a target silhouette will fit and not cover 3 or more holes is considered a potential problem. A constriction in the end of the barrel known as the choke is used to tailor the pattern for different purposes. Chokes may either be formed as part of the barrel at the time of manufacture, by squeezing the end of the bore down over a mandrel, or by threading the barrel and screwing in an interchangeable choke tube. The choke typically consists of a conical section that smoothly tapers from the bore diameter down to the choke diameter, followed by a cylindrical section of the choke diameter. Briley Manufacturing, a maker of interchangeable shotgun chokes, uses a conical portion about 3 times the bore diameter in length, so the shot is gradually squeezed down with minimal deformation. The cylindrical section is shorter, usually 0.6 to 0.75 inches (15 to 19 mm). There is no good mathematical model that describes how chokes work, making the design and manufacture for chokes more art than science. The use of interchangeable chokes has made it easy to tune the performance of a given combination of shotgun

and shotshell to achieve the desired performance. The choke should be tailored to the range and size of the targets. A skeet shooter, shooting at close targets might use 127 micrometres (0.005 inches) of constriction to produce a 76 cm (30 inch) diameter pattern at a distance of 19 m (21 yards). A trap shooter, shooting at distant targets might use 762 micrometres (0.030 inches) of constriction to produce a 76 cm (30 inch) diameter pattern at 37 m (40 yards). Special chokes for turkey hunting, which requires long range shots at the small head and neck of the bird, can go as high as 1500 micrometres (0.060 inches). The use of too much choke and a small pattern increases the difficulty of hitting the target, the use of too little choke produces large patterns with insufficient pellet density to reliably break targets or kill game. "Cylinder barrels" have no constriction. See also: Slug barrel Table of shotgun chokes for a 12 gauge shotgun using lead shot Constri Constr Ame perce Tot Tot Effe Effe ction iction rican ntage al al ctive ctive

(micro (inches Nam of metres) ) e shot in a 76 cm (30 in ) circle at 37 m (40 yd) 0 127 .000 Cylin der 40 45

spr ead at 37 m (cm )

spr rang rang ead e e at (m) (yd) 40 yds (in)

150 59 132 52

18 21

20 23

.005 Skeet Impr oved .010 Cylin der Light .015 Modi fied

254

50

124 49

23

25

381

508

.020

Modi fied

60

117 46

32

35

635

Impr oved .025 Modi fied .030 Light Full 70 109 43 37 40

762 889 1143

.035 Full .045 Extra Full Super Full

1270

.050

Other specialized choke tubes exist as well. Some turkey hunting tubes have constrictions greater than "Super Full", or additional features like porting to reduce recoil, or "straight rifling" that is designed to stop any spin that the shot column might acquire when traveling down the barrel. These tubes are often extended tubes,

meaning they project beyond the end of the bore, giving more room for things like a longer conical section. Shot spreaders or diffusion chokes work opposite of normal chokesthey are designed to spread the shot more than a cylinder bore, generating wider patterns for very short range use. A number of recent spreader chokes, such as the Briley "Diffusion" line, actually use rifling in the choke to spin the shot slightly, creating a wider spread. The Briley Diffusion uses a 1 in 36 cm twist, as does the FABARM Lion Paradox shotgun. Oval chokes, which are designed to provide a shot pattern wider than it is tall, are sometimes found oncombat shotguns, primarily those of the Vietnam War era. Military versions of the Ithaca 37 with duckbillchoke were used in limited numbers during the Vietnam War by US Navy Seals. It arguably increased effectiveness in close range engagements against multiple targets. Two major disadvantages plagued the system. One was erratic patterning. The second was that the shot would spread too quickly providing a very limited effective zone. Offset chokes, where the pattern is intentionally slightly off of center, are used to

change the point of impact. For instance, an offset choke can be used to make a double barrelled shotgun with poorly aligned barrels hit the same spot with both barrels.

Barrel length
Shotguns generally have longer barrels than modern rifles. Unlike rifles, however, the long shotgun barrel is not for ballistic purposes; shotgun shells use small powder charges in large diameter bores, and this leads to very low muzzle pressures (see internal ballistics) and very little velocity change with increasing barrel length. According to Remington, modern powder in a shotgun burns completely in 25 to 36 cm barrels. Since shotguns are generally used for shooting at small, fast moving targets, it is important to lead the target by firing slightly ahead of the target, so that when the shot reaches the range of the target, the target will have moved into the pattern. On uphill shooting, this means to shoot above the target. Conversely, on downhill shooting, this means to shoot below the target, which is somewhat counterintuitive for many beginning hunters. Of course, depending on the barrel length, the amount oflead employed will vary for different

barrel lengths, and must be learned by experience. Shotguns made for close ranges, where the angular speed of the targets is great (such as skeet or upland bird hunting) tend to have shorter barrels, around 24 to 28 inches (610 to 710 mm). Shotguns for longer range shooting, where angular speeds are less (trap shooting; quail, pheasant, and waterfowl hunting) tend to have longer barrels, 28 to 34 inches (860 mm). The longer barrels have more inertia, and will therefore swing more slowly but more steadily. The short, low inertia barrels swing faster, but are less steady. These lengths are for pump or semi-auto shotguns; break open guns have shorter overall lengths for the same barrel length, and so will use longer barrels. The break open design saves between 9 and 15 cm (3.5 and 6 inches) in overall length, but in most cases pays for this by having two barrels, which adds weight at the muzzle, and so usually only adds a couple of centimetres. Barrels for shotguns have been getting longer as modern steels and production methods make the barrels stronger and lighter; a longer, lighter barrel gives the same inertia for less overall weight.

Shotguns for use against larger, slower targets generally have even shorter barrels. Small game shotguns, for hunting game like rabbits and squirrels, or shotguns for use with buckshot for deer, are often 56 to 61 cm (22 to 24 inches). Shotguns intended for all-round hunting are a compromise, of course, but a 72 to 74 cm (2829 inch) barrel pump-action 12-gauge shotgun with a modified choke can serve admirably for use as one-gun intended for general all-round hunting of small-game such as quails, rabbits, pheasants, doves, and squirrels in semi-open wooded or farmland areas in many parts of the eastern US (Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee) where dense brush is less of a hindrance and the ability to have more reach is important. For hunting in dense brush, shorter barrel lengths are often preferred when hunting the same types of game.

Ammunition
Main article: Shotgun shell

Loading 12-gauge shells

The extremely large caliber of shotgun shells has led to a wide variety of different ammunition. Standard types include:

Shotshells are the most commonly used round, filled with lead or lead substitute pellets. Of this general class, the most common subset isbirdshot, which uses a large number (from dozens to hundreds) of small pellets, meant to create a wide "kill spread" to hunt birds in flight. Shot shells are described by the size and number of the pellets within, and numbered in reverse order (the smaller the number, the bigger the pellet size, similar to bore gauge). Size nine (#9) shot is the smallest size normally used for hunting and is used on small upland game birds such as dove and quail. Larger sizes are used for hunting larger upland game birds

and waterfowl. In Europe and in other countries that use the metric system of measurement, except Canada, the shot size is simply the diameter of the pellet given in millimeters. Buckshot is similar to but larger than birdshot, and was originally designed for hunting larger game, such as deer (hence the name). While the advent of new, more accurate slug technologies is making buckshot less attractive for hunting, it is still the most common choice for police, military, and home defense uses. Like birdshot, buckshot is described by pellet size, with larger numbers indicating smaller shot. From the smallest to the largest, buckshot sizes are: #4, (called "number four"), #1, 0 ("one-aught"), 00 ("doubleaught"), 000 ("triple-aught") and 0000 ("four-aught"). A typical round for defensive use would be a 12 gauge 2 3/4" (7 cm) length 00 buck shell, which contains 9 pellets roughly 8.4 mm (.33 inch) in diameter, each comparable to a .38 Specialbullet in damage potential. New "tactical" buckshot rounds, designed specifically for defensive use, use slightly fewer shot at lower velocity to reduce recoil

and increase controllability of the shotgun. There are some shotgun rounds designed specifically for police use that shoot effectively from 50 yards (46 m) with a 20" diameter grouping of the balls.

Slug rounds are rounds that fire a single solid slug. They are used for hunting large game, and in certain military and law enforcement applications. Modern slugs are moderately accurate, especially when fired from special rifled slug barrels. They are often used in "shotgun-only" hunting zones near inhabited areas, where rifles are prohibited due to their excessive range. Sabots are a common type of slug round. While some slugs are exactly that - a 12gauge metal projectile in a cartridge - a sabot is a smaller but more aerodynamic projectile surrounded by a "shoe" of some other material. This "sabot" jacket seals the barrel, increasing pressure and acceleration, while also inducing spin on the projectile in a rifled barrel. Once the projectile clears the barrel, the sabot material falls away, leaving an unmarked, aerodynamic bullet to continue toward the target. The advantages over a traditional

slug are increased shot power, increased bullet velocity due to the lighter-mass bullet, and increased accuracy due to the velocity and the reduction in deformation of the slug itself. Disadvantages versus a traditional slug include lower muzzle momentum due to reduced mass, and reduced damage due to smaller bullet diameter.

Specialty ammunition
The unique properties of the shotgun, such as large case capacity, large bore, and the lack of rifling, has led to the development of a large variety of specialty shells, ranging from novelties to high tech military rounds.

Hunting, defensive, and military

Brenneke and Foster type slugs have the same basic configuration as normal slugs, but have increased accuracy. The hollowed rear of the Foster slug improves accuracy by placing more mass in the front of the projectile, therefore inhibiting the "tumble" that normal slugs may generate. The Brenneke slug takes this concept a bit further, with the addition of a wad that stays connected to the projectile after discharge,

increasing accuracy. Both slugs are commonly found with fins or rib, which are meant to allow the projectile to safely squeeze down during passage through chokes, but they do not increase stability in flight.

Flechette rounds contain aerodynamic darts, typically from 8 to 20 in number. The flechette provide greatly extended range due to their aerodynamic shape, and improved penetration of light armor. American troops during the Vietnam War packed their own flechette shotgun rounds, called beehive rounds, after the similar artillery rounds. However, terminal performance was poor due to the very light weight of the flechettes, and their use was quickly dropped. Frag-12 shotgun round is a series of special purpose shotgun grenades, including high explosive blast, fragmentation, and HEAP grenades intended to be fired from any 12-ga shotgun. It has been proposed as an armament for modern UAVs and is currently being tested for military deployment.[17] Grenade rounds use exploding projectiles to increase long range lethality. These are

currently experimental, but the British FRAG12, which comes in both armor penetrating and fragmentary forms, is under consideration by military forces[18]

Less Lethal rounds, for riot and animal control

Two rounds of Fiocchi 12 gauge rubber buckshot

Flexible baton rounds, commonly called bean bags, fire a fabric bag filled with birdshot or a similar loose, dense substance. The 'punch' effect of the bag is useful for knocking down targets; the rounds are used by police to subdue violent suspects. The bean bag round is by far the most common Less Lethal round used. Due to the large surface area of these rounds, they lose velocity rapidly, and must be used at fairly short ranges to be effective, though use at extremely short ranges, under 3 m (10 ft), can result in broken bones or other serious or lethal injuries. The rounds can also fly in a frisbee-like fashion and cut the person or

animal being fired at. For this reason, these types of rounds are referred to as Less Lethal, as opposed to less-than-lethal.[19]

Gas shells spray a cone of gas for several meters. These are primarily used by riot police. They normally contain pepper gas or tear gas. Other variations launch a gas-grenade-like projectile. Rock salt shells are hand loaded with rock salt, replacing the standard lead or steel shot. Rock salt shells could be seen as the forerunners of modern less-lethal rounds. In the United States, rock salt shells were and are sometimes used by rural civilians to defend their property. The brittle salt was unlikely to cause serious injury at long ranges, but would cause painful stinging injuries and served as a warning. Some Spanish police forces, like the Guardia Civil and Cuerpo Nacional de Polica, use special rock salt shells called SAL-90 in their riot control units.[citation needed] Rubber slugs or rubber buckshot are similar in principle to the bean bag rounds. Composed of flexible rubber or plastic and fired at low velocities, these rounds are

probably the most common choice for riot control. Shapes range from full bore diameter cylinders to round balls of varying sizes, to a patent pending design "star round" that resembles a small koosh ball.[citation needed]

TASER International announced in 2007 a new 12 gauge eXtended Range Electronic Projectile orXREP, which contains a small electroshock weapon unit in a carrier that can be fired from a standard 12 gauge shotgun. The XREP projectile is fin stabilized, and travels at an initial velocity of 100 m/s (300 ft/s). Barbs on the front attach the electroshock unit to the target, with a tassel deploying from the rear to widen the circuit. A twenty second burst of electrical energy is delivered to the target. This product is expected to be released to market in 2008[20] Breaching rounds, often called Disintegrator or Hatton rounds, are designed to destroy door locking mechanisms without risking lives. Bird bombs are low-powered rounds that fire a firecracker that is fused to explode a short time after firing.[21] They are designed

to scare animals, such as birds that congregate on airport runways.

Screechers fire a pyrotechnic whistle that emits a loud whistling sound for the duration of its flight.[21] These are also used to scare animals. Blank shells contain only a small amount of powder and no actual load. When fired, the blanks provide the sound and flash of a real load, but with no projectile.[21] These may be used for simulation of gunfire, scaring wildlife, or as power for a launching device. Stinger is a type of shotgun shell which contains 16-00 buck balls made of zytel, and is designed as a non-lethal ammunition ideally used in small spaces.

Dragon's Breath.

Novelty and other

Bolo rounds are made of two or more slugs molded onto steel wire. When fired, the slugs separate, pulling the wire taut creating a flying blade, which could

theoretically decapitate people and animals or amputate limbs. However, many active shotgun users consider this to be overstated, and view bolo shells as being less effective than conventional ammunition. Bolo shell rounds are banned in many locations (including the US states of Florida[22] and Illinois[23]) due to concerns about their potential lethality. The round is named in reference to bolas, which use two or more weighted balls on a rope to trap cattle or game.

Dragon's Breath usually refers to a zirconium-based pyrotechnic shotgun round. When fired, a gout of flame erupts from the barrel of the gun (up to 20 ft). The visual effect it produces is impressive, similar to that of a short ranged flamethrower. However it has few tactical uses, mainly distraction/disorientation. Flare rounds are sometimes carried by hunters for safety and rescue purposes. They are available in low and high altitude versions. Some brands claim they can reach a height of up to 200 m (600 ft).

Legal issues

A homemade Lupara

Globally, shotguns are generally not as heavily regulated as rifles or handguns, likely because they lack the range of rifles and are not easily concealable as handguns are; thus, they are perceived as a lesser threat by legislative authorities. The one exception is a sawed-off shotgun, especially a Lupara, as it is more easily concealed than a normal shotgun.

Australia
Within Australia, all shotguns manufactured after January 1, 1901 are considered firearms and are subject to registration and licensing. Most shotguns (including break-action, boltaction and lever-actionshotguns) are classed as "Category A" weapons and, as such, are comparatively easy to obtain a licence for, given a legally-recognised 'legitimate reason' (compare to the British requirement for 'good reason' for a FAC), such as target shooting or hunting. However, pump-action and semiautomatic shotguns are classed as "Category C" weapons; a licence for this type of firearm

is, generally speaking, not available to the average citizen. For more information, see Gun politics in Australia.

Canada
Canada has three classifications of firearms: non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited. Shotguns are found in all three classes. All non-restricted shotguns must have an overall length of 660 mm (26 inches). Semiautomatic shotguns must also have a barrel length of more than 470 mm (18.5 inches) and have a capacity of less than 5 shells in the magazine to remain non-restricted. All other shotgun action types (pump/slide, break open, lever, bolt) do not have a magazine limit restriction or a minimum barrel length provided the overall length of the firearm remains more than 660 mm (26 inches) and the barrel was produced by an approved manufacturer. Shotgun barrels may only be reduced in length to a minimum of 457 mm (18 inches). Nonrestricted shotguns may be possessed with any Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) orPossession-Only License (POL) and may be transported throughout the country without special authorization and may used for hunting certain species at certain times of the year.

Semi-automatic shotguns with a barrel length of less than 470 mm (18.5 inches) are considered restricted and any shotgun that has been altered so its barrel length is less than 457 mm (18 inches) or if its overall length is less than 660 mm (26 inches) is considered prohibited.[24] Restricted and prohibited shotguns may be possessed with a PAL or POL than has been endorsed for restricted or prohibitedgrandfathered firearms. These shotguns require special Authorization to Transport (ATT).[25] The Canadian Firearms Registry is a government-run registry of all legally-owned firearms in Canada. As of May 2008, the government has provided amnesty from prosecution to shotgun and rifle owners if they fail to register non-restricted shotguns and rifles.[26] See http://www.cfccafc.gc.ca/factsheets/r&p_e.asp for an official Canadian list of non-restricted and restricted and prohibited firearms.

UK
In the United Kingdom, a Shotgun Certificate (SGC) is required to possess a

shotgun. These cost 50 and can only be denied if the chief of police in the area believes and can prove that the applicant poses a real danger to the public, or if the applicant has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of three years or more or if the applicant cannot securely store a shotgun (gun clamps, wire locks and locking gun cabinets are considered secure). The round number restrictions apply only to the magazine, not the chamber, so it is legal to have a single-barreled semi-auto or pumpaction shotgun that holds three rounds in total, or a shotgun with separate chambers (which would need to also be multi-barrelled). For a shotgun to be held on an SGC, it must be a smooth-bore gun (not an air-gun) which: (a) has a barrel not less than 24 inches (610 mm) in length and does not have any barrel with a bore more than 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter; (b) either has no magazine or has a nondetachable magazine not capable of holding more than two cartridges; (c) is not a revolver gun. Prior to a SGC being issued an interview is conducted with the local Firearms Officer, in

the past this was a duty undertaken by the local police although more recently this function has been "contracted out" to civilian staff. The officer will check the location and suitability of the gun safe that is to be used for storage and conduct a general interview to establish the reasons behind the applicant requiring a SGC. An SGC holder can own any number of shotguns meeting these requirements so long as he can store them securely. No certificate is required to own shotgun ammunition, but one is required to buy it. There is no restriction on the amount of shotgun ammunition that can be bought or owned. There are also no rules regarding the storage of ammunition. However, shotgun ammunition which contains fewer than 6 projectiles requires the appropriate Firearms Certificate (FAC). Shotguns with a magazine capacity greater than 2 rounds also require the appropriate Firearms Certificate to own. An FAC costs 50 but is much more restrictive than an SGC. A new 'variation' is required for each new caliber of gun to be owned, limits are set on how much ammunition a person can own at any one time, and an FAC can be denied if the applicant

does not have sufficient 'good reason'. 'Good reason' generally means hunting, collecting, or target shooting - though other reasons may be acceptable, defence is not an acceptable reason.

US
In the US, federal law prohibits shotguns from being capable of holding more than three shells including the round in the chamber when used for hunting migratory gamebirds such as doves, ducks, and geese. For other uses, a capacity of any number of shells is generally permitted. Most magazine-fed shotguns come with a removable magazine plug to limit capacity to 2, plus one in the chamber, for hunting migratory gamebirds. Certain states have restrictions on magazine capacity or design features under hunting or assault weapon laws. Shotguns intended for defensive use have barrels as short as 18 inches (46 cm) for private use (the minimum shotgun barrel length allowed by law in the United States without special permits; most manufactures use a minimum length of 18.5 inches, to give leeway in the case of a measuring dispute). Barrel lengths of less than 18 inches (46 cm) as

measured from the breechface to the muzzle when the weapon is in battery with its action closed and ready to fire, or have an overall length of less than 26 inches (66 cm) are classified as short barreled shotguns ("sawn-off shotguns") under the 1934National Firearms Act and are heavily regulated. Shotguns used by military, police, and other government agencies are exempted from regulation under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and often have barrels as short as 12 to 14 inches (30 to 36 cm), so that they are easier to handle in confined spaces. Non-prohibited private citizens may own short-barreled shotguns by purchasing a $200 tax stamp from the Federal government and passing an extensive background check (state and local laws may be more restrictive). Defensive shotguns sometimes have no buttstock or will have a folding stock to reduce overall length even more when required.