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Pepperbox Revolver
The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox (also "pepper-pot", from its resemblance to the household pepper shakers) is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels in a coaxially revolving mechanism. Each barrel holds a single shot, and the shooter can manually rotate the whole barrel assembly to sequentially index each barrel into alignment with the lock or hammer, similar to rotation of a revolver's cylinder. Pepperbox guns have existed for all types of firelock firearms and metal cased ammunition systems used in breechloading firearms: matchlock, wheellock, flintlock, snaplock, caplock, pinfire, rimfire and centerfire. While they are usually sidearms, a few long guns were also made. For example, Samuel Colt owned a three-barrel pepperbox matchlock musket from British India, and an eight-barrel pepperbox shotgun was designed in 1967 but never went into production. Early years This type of firearm was popular in Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheellock
A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is from its rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed in Europe around 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and later the snaplock (1540s), the snaphance (1560s) and the flintlock (c. 1610s). Design The wheellock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The pyrite is clamped in vise jaws on a spring-loaded arm (or 'dog'), which rests on the pan cover. When the trigger is pulled, the pan cover is opened, and the wheel is rotated, with the pyrite pressed into contact. A close modern analogy of the wheellock mechanism is the operation of a lighte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colt Defender Mark I
Colt Defender Mark I was an American multi-barreled shotgun intended for law enforcement or military use, completed in 1967. The shotgun was essentially a volley gun with eight single-shot barrels — each chambered for the 20-gauge 3-inch magnum shell — arranged in a octagonal fashion around the central axis, and could fire eight individual times like a semi-automatic action without the complexity of actually being a semi-automatic firearm. The action ran on a revolver-like rotating striker mechanism. The gun had a detachable buttstock and a pistol grip with a double-action trigger, and had a separate foregrip up front for instinctive shooting. The shotgun was extremely simple to operate and very robust. The designer, Robert Hillberg, thoroughly tested the weapon before seeking out a manufacturer. The design proved to be so correct, that only a couple of minor changes were made for manufacturing. When Colt Industries was contacted, they showed considerable int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods: *Between 1612 and 1757 the East India Company set up factories (trading posts) in several locations, mostly in coastal India, with the consent of the Mughal emperors, Maratha Empire or local rulers. Its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France. By the mid-18th century, three ''presidency towns'': Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, had grown in size. *During the period of Company rule in India (1757–1858), the company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called "presidencies". However, it also increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but ''musket'' continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century. In turn, this style of musket was retired in the 19th century when rifled muskets (simply called rifles in modern terminology) using the Minié ball (invented by Claude-Étienne Minié in 1849) became common. The development of breech-loading firearms using self-contained cartridges (introduced by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835) and the first reliable repeating rifles produced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 also led to their demise. By the time that repeating rifles became common, they were known as simply "rifles", ending the era of the musket. Etymology According to the Online Ety ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Colt's first two business ventures were producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and making underwater mines; both ended in disappointment. His business affairs improved rapidly after 1847, when the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers during the American war with Mexico. Later, his firearms were used widely during the settling of the western frontier. Colt died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America. Colt's manufacturing methods were sophisticated. His use of interchangeable parts helped him become one of the first to use the assembly line efficiently. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer of advertising, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Gun
A long gun is a category of firearms with long barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held with a single hand. In the context of cannons and mounted firearms, an artillery ''long gun'' would be contrasted with a field gun or howitzer. Small arms The actual length of the barrels of a long gun is subject to various laws in many jurisdictions, mainly concerning minimum length, sometimes as measured in a specific position or configuration. The National Firearms Act in the United States sets a minimum length of for rifle barrels and for shotgun barrels. Canada sets a minimum of for either. In addition, Canada sets a minimum fireable length for long guns with detachable or folding stocks . In the United States, the minimum length for long guns with detachable or folding stocks is with the stock in the extended position. Examples of various c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidearm (weapon)
A sidearm is a weapon, usually a handgun, but sometimes a knife, dagger, sword, bayonet, or other melee weapon, which is worn on the body in a holster (in the case of a pistol or revolver) or sheath (in the case of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet) to permit immediate access and use. A sidearm is typically required equipment for military officers and may be carried by law enforcement personnel. Usually, uniformed personnel of these services wear their weapons openly, while plainclothes personnel have their sidearms concealed under their clothes. A sidearm may be carried alone, or as a back-up to a primary weapon such as a rifle, shotgun, or submachine gun. Uses In many contemporary armies, the issue of a sidearm in the form of a service pistol is a clear sign of authority and is the mark of a commissioned officer or senior NCO. In the protocol of courtesy, the surrender of a commander's sidearm is the final act in the general surrender of a unit. If no ill will is meant, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centerfire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rimfire cartridges, the centerfire primer is typically a separate component seated into a recessed cavity (known as the ''primer pocket'') in the case head and is replaceable by reloading. Centerfire cartridges have supplanted the rimfire variety in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. The majority of today's handguns, rifles, and shotguns use centerfire ammunition, with the exception of a few .17 caliber, .20 caliber, and .22 caliber handgun and rifle cartridges, small-bore shotgun shells (intended for pest control), and a handful of antique (and mostly obsolete) cartridges. History An early form of centerfire ammunition, without a percussion cap, was invented between 1808 and 1812 by Jean Samuel Pauly. This was also the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rimfire Ammunition
Rimfire ammunition is a type of firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located within a hollow circumferential rim protruding from the base of its casing. When fired, the gun's firing pin will strike and crush the rim against the edge of the barrel breech, sparking the primer compound within the rim, and in turn ignite the propellant within the case. Invented in 1845, by Louis-Nicolas Flobert, the first rimfire metallic cartridge was the .22 BB Cap (a.k.a. 6mm Flobert) cartridge, which consisted of a percussion cap with a bullet attached to the top. While many other different cartridge priming methods have been tried since the 19th century, only rimfire and the later centerfire cartridges survive to the present day with regular usages. The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge, introduced in 1887, is by far the most common ammunition in the world today in terms of units sold. Characteristics Rimfire ammunition is so named because the firing pin strikes and crushes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinfire
A pinfire cartridge is an obsolete type of metallic firearm cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin which protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge. Invented by Frenchman Casimir Lefaucheux in the 1830s but not patented until 1835, it was one of the earliest practical designs of a metallic cartridge. Its history is closely associated with the development of the breechloader which replaced muzzle-loading weapons. History The Swiss gun maker Samuel Joannes Pauly patented the first breechloading cartridge in 1812. This was for use in a shotgun with fixed barrels which was loaded by lifting a breech block on the top. French gun maker Henri Roux attempted to improve this cartridge in the 1820s but a constantly primed cartridge was felt by many to be too dangerous and many breechloading guns reverted to using an unprimed cartridge. This was fired by a separate percussion cap which was used on the still dominant muzzle-loading guns ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
