Firearm

The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance,[4] operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the siege of De'an in 1132.

Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.

The subset of light firearms that only use kinetic projectiles and are compact enough to be operated to full capacity by a single infantryman (individual-served) are also referred to as small arms.

[6] Among the world's arms manufacturers, the top firearms manufacturers are Browning, Remington, Colt, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Savage, Mossberg (United States), Heckler & Koch, SIG Sauer, Walther (Germany), ČZUB (Czech Republic), Glock, Steyr Arms (Austria), FN Herstal (Belgium), Beretta (Italy), Norinco (China), Rostec, and Kalashnikov (Russia).

[citation needed] As of 2018[update] the Small Arms Survey reported that there were over one billion firearms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) were in civilian hands.

Shotguns share many qualities with rifles, such as both being descendants of early long guns such as the musket; both having single-shot, break-action, bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, and automatic variants; and both being popular with militaries, police, and civilians for largely the same reasons.

The small size of a carbine provides lighter weight and better maneuverability, making them ideal for close-quarters combat and storage in compact areas.

Examples of personal defense weapons include the FN P90, Heckler & Koch MP7, AAC Honey Badger, and ST Kinetics CPW.

The presence of selective-fire modes on firearms allows more efficient use of ammunition for specific tactical needs, either precision-aimed or suppressive fire.

[27] The oldest surviving gun, a hand cannon made of bronze, has been dated to 1288 because it was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District, Heilongjiang, China, where the Yuan Shi records that battles were fought at that time.

[40]: 41 [41] The Malaccan gunfounders,[check spelling] compared as being in the same level with those of Germany, quickly adapted these new firearms, and thus a new type of arquebus, the istinggar, appeared.

Ammunition changed over the centuries from simple metallic ball-shaped projectiles that rattled down the barrel to bullets and cartridges manufactured to high precision.

More than any single factor though, firearms have proliferated due to the advent of mass production—enabling arms-manufacturers to produce large quantities of weaponry to a consistent standard.

Originally it consisted of paper or bamboo barrels that would contain incendiary gunpowder that could be lit one time and which would project flames at the enemy.

Sometimes Chinese troops would place small projectiles within the barrel that would also be projected when the gunpowder was lit, but most of the explosive force would create flames.

[46]: 31–32 The original predecessor of all firearms, the Chinese hand cannon from the 13th century, was loaded with gunpowder and the projectile (initially lead shot, later replaced by cast iron[citation needed]) through the muzzle, while a fuse was placed at the rear.

In military use, the Chinese hand cannon was tremendously powerful, while also being somewhat erratic[citation needed] due to the relative inability of the gunner to aim the weapon, or to control the ballistic properties of the projectile.

Greatly improved muzzleloaders (usually rifled instead of smooth-bored) are manufactured today and have many enthusiasts, many of whom hunt large and small game with their guns.

Despite its many faults, the wheellock was a significant improvement over the matchlock in terms of both convenience and safety, since it eliminated the need to keep a smoldering match in proximity to loose gunpowder.

It operated using a small wheel (much like that on a cigarette lighter) which was wound up with a key before use and which, when the trigger was pulled, spun against a flint, creating the shower of sparks that ignited the powder in the touch hole.

Supposedly invented by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), the Italian Renaissance man, the wheellock action was an innovation that was not widely adopted due to the high cost of the clockwork mechanism.

[53][54] Flobert then made what he called "parlor guns" for this cartridge, as these rifles and pistols were designed to be shot in indoor shooting-parlors in large homes.

The brass cartridge also opened the way for modern repeating arms, by uniting the bullet, gunpowder, and primer into one assembly that could be fed reliably into the breech by mechanical action in the firearm.

A magazine is a part of the firearm which exists to store ammunition and to assist in its feeding by the action into the breech (such as through the rotation of a revolver's cylinder or by spring-loaded platforms in most pistol and rifle designs).

[66][67] In the 52 high- and middle-income countries, with a combined population of 1,400 million and not engaged in civil conflict, fatalities due to firearm injuries were estimated at 115,000 people per annum, in the 1990s.

[58] To prevent unintentional injury, gun safety training includes education on proper firearm storage and firearm-handling etiquette.

[70] PTSD or Post-traumatic stress disorder is extremely prevalent in the aftermath of different firearm-related events, such as mass shootings, injuries, and police-involved incidents.

In 2004, Hoge et al. found that soldiers that fought in Iraq or Afghanistan who significantly engaged in firefights had a linear association with the risk of PTSD.

For instance, English language laws of big legal entities such as the United States, India, the European Union and Canada use different definitions.

For practical purposes, a firearm, in the U.S., is defined as the part of a weapon- designed to use expanded gas caused by the combustion of explosive material, to propel a projectile- which houses the fire control group (trigger & sear).