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Guns of the Old West by Charles Edward Chapel - 1995
The Gun and it's Development by W. W. Greener - 1995
Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers by Major General Julian S. Hatcher - 1995
Shotguns by Keith by Elmer Keith - 1995
The Rifle in America by Philip B. Sharpe - 1995
African Rifles and Cartridges by John Taylor - 1995
A History of the Colt Revolver by Frank A. Belden & Charles T. Haven - 1996
Gunsmithing by Roy F. Dunlap - 1996
Firearms of the Confederacy by Claud E. Fuller & Richard Stewart - 1996
Hatcher's Notebook by Major General Julian S. Hatcher - 1996
Sixguns and Bullseyes and Automatic Pistols by William Reichenbach - 1996
The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle by Ned H. Roberts - 1996
Firearms Curiosa by Lewis Winant - 1996
The Book of the Springfield by Edward C. Crossman - 1997
The Bullet's Flight by F. W. Mann - 1997
Smith & Wesson Hand Guns by Roy C. McHenry and Walter F. Roper - 1997
Pistols and Revolvers by Walter H. B. Smith - 2 volumes - 1997
Rifles by Walter H. B. Smith - 2 volumes - 1997
Gun Collecting by Charles Edward Chapel - 1998
Military Sporting and Rifle Shooting by Edward C. Crossman - 1998
The Kentucky Rifles by Captain John G. W. Dillin - 1998
Ordnance Went up Front by Roy F. Dunlap - 1998
Textbook of Firearms Investigation, Identification and Evidence by Major Julian S. Hatcher - 1998
Big Game Rifles and Cartridges and Sixgun Cartridges and Loads by Elmer Keith - 1998
English Pistols and Revolvers by J. N. George - 1999
English Guns and Rifles by J. N. George - 1999
.22 Caliber Rifle Shooting by C. S. Landis - 1999
Walther Pistols and Mauser Rifles by Walter H. B. Smith - 1999
The Hunting Rifle by Colonel Townsend Whelen - 1999
Textbook of Automatic Pistols by R. K. Wilson - 1999
The American Shotgun by Charles Askins - 2000
A Rifleman Went to War by Herbert W. McBride - 2000
Our Rifles, Firearms in American History by Charles Winthrop Sawyer - 3 volumes - 2000
Small Arms Design and Ballistics by Colonel Townsend Whelen - 2 volumes - 2000
The Art of Handgun Shooting by Charles Askins - 2001
Rifles and Rifle Shooting by Charles Askins - 2001
The Muzzle Loading Rifle Then and Now by Walter Cline - 2001
Keith's Rifles for Large Game by Elmer Keith - 2001
Mannlicher Rifle and Pistols by Walter H. B. Smith - 2001
Pepperbox Firearms by Lewis Winant - 2001
Modern Gunsmithing by Clyde Baker - 2002
The Identification of Firearms and Forensic Ballistics by Gerald Burrard - 2002
Shots Fired in Anger by Lt. Colonel John B. George - 2002
Modern American Pistols and Revolvers by A. C. Gould - 2002
Modern American Rifles by A. C. Gould - 2002
With British Snipers to the Reich by Clifford Shore - 2002
Small Bore Rifle Shooting by Edward C. Crossman - 2003
Triggernometry by Eugene Cunningham - 2003
Common Sense Shotgun Shooting by Fred Etchen - 2003
Pistol and Revolver Shooting by A. L. A. Himmelwright - 2003
Twenty-two (.22) Caliber Varment Rifle by Charles S. Landis - 2003
Handloader's Manual by Earl Naramore - 2003
The Amateur Guncraftsman by James Virgil Howe - 2004
Sporting Firearms and The Hawken Rifle: Rifles for Big Game, and The Hunting Rifle by Horace Kephart - 2004
Riflecraft and the Shooter's Guide by Charles Singer Landis - 2004
Practical Dope on The .22 by F. C. Ness - 2004
Practical Dope on The Big Bores by F. C. Ness - 2004
The American Rifle by Townsend Whelen - 2004
The Modern Pistol by Walter Winans - 2004
Modern Shotguns and Loads by Charles Askins - 2005
Rifles and Machine Guns by Captain Melvin M. Johnson - 2005
Book of Pistols and Revolvers by Hugh B.C. Pollard - 2005
Experiments of a Handgunner by Walter F. Roper - 2005
Telescopic Rifle Sights by Townsend Whelen - 2005
Deane's Manual of Firearms by Deane Brothers - 2006
Rimfire Rifleman by Edward Brown - 2006
Sporting Rifles and Rifle Shooting by John Caswell - 2006
The Book of the Garand by Julian S. Hatcher - 2006
Modern Rifle Shooting from the American Standpoint by W. G. Hudson - 2006
A History of Firearms by Hugh B.C. Pollard - 2006
From Flint Lock to M1 by Joseph W. Shields, Jr. - 2006
Truesdell's The Rifle by S. R. Truesdell - 2006
Suggestions to Military Riflemen by Lieutenant Townsend Whelen - 2006
Ultimate in Rifle Precision by Colonel Townsend Whelen -2006
Why Not Load Your Own! by Colonel Townsend Whelen - 2006
The Rifle and How to Use It by Hans Busk - 2007
Instructions to Young Marksmen, How I Became a Crack Shot by Chapman and Farrow - 2007
Wing and Trap Shooting by Charles Askins - 2008
Guns and Gunning by Captain Paul A. Curtis - 2008
A Forgotten Heritage by Harry P. Davis - 2008
Elementary Gunsmithing by Perry D. Frazer - 2008
The Wilderness Hunter by President Theodore Roosevelt - 2008
Hints to Riflemen by H. W. S. Cleveland - 2009
Mastering the Rifle, Pistol and Revolver by Morris Fisher - 2009
For Permanent Victory by Melvin M Johnson, Jr and Charles T Haven - 2009
The Art of Shooting by H. St. John Halford - 2009
Rifles and Shotguns by Warren H. Miller - 2009
Pistols and Revolver Shooting by Walter F. Roper - 2009
America Breech Loading by Charles B. Norton - 2010
Sniping in France by Major H. Hesketh-Prichard - 2010
Purdey Shotgun by Purdey, T. D. S. and Capt. J. A. Purdey - 2010
Sport and Travel, East and West by Frederick Courteney Selous - 2010
Complete Guide to Handloading Parts by Philip B. Sharpe - 3 volumes - 2010
War-Path and Bivouac by John Frederick Finerty - 2011
American Pistol Shooting by Major William D. Frazer - 2011
United States Martial Pistols and Revolvers by Arcadi Gluckman - 2011
The Identification of Firearms by Jack Disbrow Gunther and Charles O. Gunther - 2011
The Gunsmith's Manual by J.P. Steele and Wm B Harrison - 2011
Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting by Ed McGivern - 2011
The Crack Shot by Edward C. Barber - 2012
The Complete Guide to Gunsmithing by Charles Edward Chapel - 2012
Automatic Arms by Melvin M. Johnson, Jr. and Charles T. Haven - 2012
What the Citizen Should Know About Our Arms and Weapons by James E Hicks and Andre Jandot - 2012
Small Wars Manual by U.S. Marine Corps - 2 volumes - 2012
Fieldcraft, Sniping and Intelligence by Nevill A. D. Armstrong - 2013
Weapons of World War II by G. M. Barnes - 2013
Sporting Firearms of Today in Use by Paul A. Curtis, Jr. - 2013
Gunsmithing Simplified by Harold E. Macfarland - 2013
Fieldcraft, Sniping and Intelligence by Major Nevill A.D. Armstrong - 2014
The Luger Pistol (Pistole Parabellum) by Fred A. Datig - 2014
Practical Manual of Guns by Maurice H. Decker - 2014
Gun Care and Repair by Charles Edward Chapel - 2014
Our Arms and Weapons by James E. Hicks - 2014
A spectacular collection of famous (and often hard to find) firearms classics that every thinking American should display with pride. Each volume is an exact facsimile of the original edition, custom bound in imported bonded leather.
A firearm is a tool that launches one or more projectile(s) at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically black powder, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore firearms) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
Beginning around 700 A.D., scientists and inventors in Ancient China developed different grades of gunpowder and different types of firearms, including single-shot smooth-bore fire lances, multi-barreled guns, multiple-launch artillery rockets and the first cannon in the world made from cast bronze. Several centuries later, in late Dark Age Europe, the term "firearm" was used in Old English to denote the arm in which the match was held that was used to light the touch hole on the hand cannon. The term was a variation on the contemporary terms of bow arm and drawing arm still used in archery. Due to the effects of firing the ordnance (barrel) at the time, the gunner had to be located somewhat behind the firearm, steadying brace with the other hand. Eventually, the term "firearm" became synonymous with the guns themselves.
Although the modern term "gun" is often used as a synonym for firearm, in specialist or military use it has a restricted sense referring only to an artillery piece with a relatively high muzzle velocity, such as a field gun, a tank gun, or a gun used in the delivery of naval gunfire; or in sporting use for a shotgun. Machine guns fire small-caliber ammunition (generally 12.7 mm (0.50 in) (.50 Cal) or smaller), and many machine guns are crew-served infantry support weapons, requiring the services of more than one crewman, just like artillery guns. Hand-held firearms such as rifles, carbines, pistols and other small firearms, are rarely called "guns" in the restricted sense among specialists. Artillery guns are much larger than these firearms, mounted on movable carriages, having bores of up to 18 inches (46 cm) and weighing up to many tons. Generally, an automatic firearm designed for a single user is referred to as an automatic rifle. Other terms, including "firearm" itself, have been defined in specialized ad hoc ways by various legislation; air guns, for example, are sometimes so classified.
Since their inception firearms have become widely used. Modern warfare since the late Renaissance has relied upon firearms, with wide-ranging effects on military history and history in general. This changed the nature of combat and of military units.
For handguns and long guns, the projectile is a bullet or, in historical hand cannons, a shot. The shot was initially made from lead already used as ammunition for the slings, and begun with the ballistic shape of a modern bullet, but was rapidly replaced by the cast iron ball. The projectile is fired by the burning of the propellant; small arms projectiles very rarely contain explosives, and such ammunition is banned by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The use of expanding (e.g. hollow-point) small-arms ammunition in warfare is also banned by the Convention for similar reasons (it aggravates the severity of wounds from small-arms fire). Explosive shells replaced solid ammunition artillery from the nineteenth century.
Until the mid-19th century, projectiles and propellant (black powder) were generally separate components used in a muzzle-loading firearm such as a rifle, pistol, or cannon. Sometimes for convenience a suitable amount of powder and a bullet were wrapped in a paper package, known as a cartridge. This evolved into the form of a tubular metal casing enclosing a primary igniter (primer) and the powder charge, with the projectile press-fit into the end of the casing opposite the primer. Cartridge ammunition was widely adopted, and as of World War I it had become the primary form of ammunition for small arms, tanks, and lighter artillery. Mortars use a similar concept of encapsulation; however the projectile and casing are generally a single piece that is launched from the mortar. Some short-range naval guns use cased ammunition, but many battleship and cruiser main guns use a shell and separate bagged powder measures, which are selected according to the desired ballistic path.
Firearms such as rifles, muskets, and occasionally submachine guns can have bayonets affixed to them, becoming in effect spears or pikes. With some notable exceptions, the stock of a long gun can be used as a club. It is also possible to strike someone with the barrel of a firearm or grasp it by the barrel or grip and strike someone with the butt, which is informally called "pistol-whipping".
A problem for firearms is the accumulation of waste products from the partial combustion of propellants, metallic residue from the bullet itself, and small flecks of the cartridge case, collectively known as fouling or gunshot residue. These waste products can interfere with the internal functions of the firearm. As a result, regularly used firearms must periodically be partially disassembled, cleaned and lubricated to ensure the firearm's reliability.
Firearms may sometimes be referred to as small arms. Small arms are firearms which can be carried by a single individual. According to international conventions governing the laws of war, small arms are defined (with some exceptions) as firearms which fire a projectile not in excess of 15 mm (0.60 inches) in diameter.[citation needed] Small arms are aimed visually at their targets by hand using either iron sights or optical sights. The accurate range of pistols is generally limited to 50 metres (55 yd), while most rifles are accurate to 500 metres (550 yd) using iron sights, or longer ranges using optical sights. (Firearm rounds may be dangerous or lethal well beyond their accurate range; minimum distance for safety is much greater than specified range.) Some purpose-built sniper rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,000 metres (2,200 yd). A successful sniper attack has been made from slightly more than 1.5 mi (2.4 km).
History
The earliest depiction of a firearm is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan, China. The sculpture dates to the 12th century and is of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombard, with flames and a cannonball coming out of it. The oldest surviving gun, 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. The firearm had a 6.9 inch barrel of a 1 inch diameter, a 2.6 inch chamber for the gunpowder and a socket for the firearm's handle. It is 13.4 inches long and 7.8 pounds without the handle, which would have been made of wood.
The Europeans, Arabs, and Koreans all obtained firearms in the 14th century. The Turks, Iranians, and Indians all had firearms no later than the 15th century, in each case directly or indirectly from the Europeans. The Japanese did not acquire firearms until the 16th century, and then from the Portuguese rather than the Chinese.
The development behind firearms accelerated during the 1800s and 1900s. Breech-loading became more or less a universal standard for the reloading of most hand-held firearms and continues to be so with some notable exceptions (such as mortars). Instead of loading individual rounds into firearms, magazines holding multiple munitions were adopted - these aided rapid reloading. Automatic and semi-automatic firing mechanisms meant that a single soldier could fire many more rounds in a minute than a vintage firearms could fire over the course of a battle. Polymers and alloys in firearm construction made firearms progressively lighter and thus easier to deploy. Ammunition changed over the centuries from simple metallic ball-shaped projectiles that rattled down the barrel to bullets and cartridges manufactured to high tolerances. Especially in the past century has particular attention been devoted to accuracy and sighting to make firearms altogether far more accurate than ever before. More than any single factor though, firearms have proliferated due to the advent of mass production - enabling arms manufacturers to produce large quantities to a consistent standard.
That said, the basic principle behind firearm operation remains unchanged to this day. A musket of several centuries ago is still similar in principle to a modern-day semi-automatic rifle - using the expansion of gases to propel projectiles over long distances - albeit less accurately and rapidly.
Firearm types
Handguns
The smallest of all small arms is the handgun. There are three common types of handguns: single-shot pistols (more common historically), revolvers, and semi-automatic pistols. Revolvers have a number of firing chambers or "charge holes" in a revolving cylinder; each chamber in the cylinder is loaded with a single cartridge. Semi-automatic pistols have a single fixed firing chamber machined into the rear of the barrel, and a magazine, usually removable, so they can be used to fire more than one round. The Italian-made Mateba Autorevolver is a rare "hybrid," a semi-automatic revolver. Each press of the trigger fires a cartridge, using the energy of the cartridge to rotate the cylinder so that the next cartridge may be fired immediately. This is opposed to "double-action" revolvers which accomplish the same end using a mechanical action linked to the trigger pull. The British firearms firm Webley & Scott also made an "automatic revolver" around the turn of the 20th century.
Handguns differ from rifles and shotguns in that they are smaller, lack a shoulder stock (though some pistols like the Luger and Browning Hi-Power accept a removable stock allowing its use as a carbine), are usually chambered for less-powerful cartridges, and are designed to be fired with one or two hands. While the term "pistol" can be properly used to describe any handgun, it is common to refer to a single-shot or auto-loading handgun as a "pistol" and a revolver as a "revolver".
The term "automatic pistol" is sometimes used and is somewhat misleading in that the term 'automatic' does not refer to the firing mechanism, but rather the reloading mechanism. When fired, an automatic pistol uses recoil and/or propellant gases to automatically extract the spent cartridge and insert a fresh one from a magazine. Usually (but not always) the firing mechanism is automatically cocked as well. An automatic pistol fires one shot per trigger pull, unlike an automatic firearm such as a machine gun, which fires as long as the trigger is held down and there are unspent cartridges in the chamber or magazine. There are, however, some fully automatic handguns (often referred to as machine pistols) so, to avoid such ambiguity and confusion, "semi-automatic", "autoloader" or "self-loading" are preferred when referring to a firearm that fires only one shot per trigger pull.
Prior to the 19th century, all handguns were single-shot muzzleloaders. With the invention of the revolver in 1818, handguns capable of holding multiple rounds became popular. Certain designs of auto-loading pistol appeared beginning in the 1870s and had largely supplanted revolvers in military applications by the end of World War I. By the end of the 20th century, most handguns carried regularly by military, police and civilians were semi-automatic, although revolvers were still widely used. Generally speaking, military and police forces use semi-automatic pistols due to their high magazine capacities (10 to 17 or, in some cases, over 25 rounds of ammunition) and ability to rapidly reload by simply removing the empty magazine and inserting a loaded one. Revolvers are very common among handgun hunters because revolver cartridges are usually more powerful than similar caliber semi-automatic pistol cartridges (which are designed for self-defense) and the strength, simplicity and durability of the revolver design is well-suited to outdoor use. Revolvers, especially in .22LR and 38 Special/357 Magnum, are also common concealed firearms in jurisdictions allowing this practice because their simple mechanics make them smaller than many autoloaders while remaining reliable. Both designs are common among civilian gun owners, depending on the owner's intention (self-defense, hunting, target shooting, competitions, collecting, etc.).
Handguns come in many shapes and sizes. For example, the "derringer" (a generic term based on the mid-19th century "Deringer" brand name) is a very small, short-barreled handgun, usually with one or two barrels but sometimes more (some 19th-century derringers had four barrels) that have to be manually reloaded after being fired. Carefully matched single-shot duelling pistols were used primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries to settle serious differences among "gentlemen." Revolvers and auto-loading pistols are produced in a wide variety of sizes, with autoloaders generally categorized as one of four sizes: full-size, compact, sub-compact and ultra-compact. Each size has merits and shortcomings; a smaller handgun usually sacrifices ammunition capacity, recoil damping and/or long-range accuracy for increased concealability and ease of use by smaller-framed shooters. Fully automatic, relatively easily concealed machine pistols, have been around since the beginning of the 1900s in the form of such firearms as the Steyr M1912 and modified Mauser C96s. Modern examples of machine pistols include the MAC-10, Glock 18, and the Beretta 93R and Uzi variants.
Handguns are small and usually made to be carried in a holster, thus leaving both hands free. Small handguns can be easily concealed, thus making them a very common choice for personal protection. In the military, handguns are usually issued to those who are not expected to need more potent firearms, such as general and staff officers, and to those for whom there is no room for a full-sized rifle, such as vehicle crews. In this last role, they often compete with the carbine, a short, light rifle, which is also usually issued to airborne infantry because of its small size. Handguns were historically issued to riflemen as a secondary option, however the reliability and firepower of the modern military rifle (and the increasing amount and cost of equipment carried by a soldier) has made this practice less common as of the end of the 20th century. Outside the military, handguns are the usual armament for police and, where legal, for private citizens.
Private citizens in most jurisdictions usually carry only concealed handguns in public except when hunting, since an unconcealed firearm could attract undue attention, and could therefore be less secure. However, 42 States in the U.S. permit open carry of handguns, sometimes subject to licensing or location restrictions. Eight states and the District of Columbia ban open carry outright or restrict it to the point that it is infeasible for everyday practice (2 states restrict open carry to rural areas, while 6 others and Washington DC allow it only for outdoor sport such as hunting, or ban it completely). 48 U.S. states permit concealed carry, and several states have well over 200,000 permit holders.
Handguns are also used for many sporting purposes and hunting, although hunting usage is usually viewed as somewhat atypical due to the limited range and accuracy of handguns. Some hunters, however, do their hunting in areas of dense cover where long guns would be awkward, or they relish the increased challenge involved in handgun hunting due to the necessity of approaching the game animal more closely. Handgun ammunition is also generally less expensive than rifle cartridges, and is usually sufficient for many larger pest animals such as feral hogs, coyotes and wolves. Small-bore (e.g. .22 Long Rifle) handguns have long been very popular for competitive target shooting, partially due to the low cost of both the firearms and the ammunition, and there is also a rapidly growing number of sporting competitions for larger calibers, including "practical shooting", the guidelines of which usually require a handgun of caliber in 9mm or greater.
Long guns
A long gun is generally any small arm that is larger than a handgun and is designed to be held and fired with both hands, either from the hip or the shoulder. Long guns typically have a barrel between 10 and 30 inches (there are restrictions on minimum barrel length in many jurisdictions; maximum barrel length is usually a matter of practicality), that along with the receiver and trigger group is mounted into a wood, plastic, metal or composite stock, composed of one or more pieces that form a foregrip, rear grip, and optionally (but typically) a shoulder mount called the butt. Early long arms, from the Renaissance up to the mid-1800s, were generally smoothbore firearms that fired one or more ball shot, called muskets.Rifles and shotguns
Most modern long guns are either rifles or shotguns. Both are the successors of the musket, diverging from their parent firearm in distinct ways. A rifle is so named for the spiral fluting carved into the inner surface of its barrel, which imparts a self-stabilizing spin to the single bullets it fires. A shotgun usually retains its ancestor's smooth bore, and while originally designed to fire a packet of relatively small shot pellets, is also capable of firing larger slugs, or specialty (often "less lethal") rounds such as bean bags, tear gas or breaching rounds. Rifles have a very small impact area but a long range and high accuracy. Shotguns have a large impact area with considerably less range and accuracy. However, the larger impact area can compensate for reduced accuracy, since shot spreads during flight; consequently, in hunting, shotguns are generally used for flying game.
Rifles and shotguns are commonly used for hunting and often to defend a home or place of business. Usually, large game are hunted with rifles (although shotguns can be used, particularly with slugs), while birds are hunted with shotguns. Shotguns are sometimes preferred for defending a home or business due to their wide impact area, multiple wound tracks (when using buckshot), shorter range, and reduced penetration of walls (when using lighter shot), which significantly reduces the likelihood of unintended harm, although the handgun is also common.
There are a variety of types of rifles and shotguns based on the method they are reloaded. Bolt-action and lever-action rifles are manually operated. Manipulation of the bolt or the lever causes the spent cartridge to be removed, the firing mechanism recocked, and a fresh cartridge inserted. These two types of action are almost exclusively used by rifles. Slide-action (commonly called 'pump-action') rifles and shotguns are manually cycled by shuttling the foregrip of the firearm back and forth. This type of action is typically used by shotguns, but several major manufacturers make rifles that use this action.
Both rifles and shotguns also come in break-action varieties that do not have any kind of reloading mechanism at all but must be hand-loaded after each shot. Both rifles and shotguns come in single- and double-barreled varieties; however due to the expense and difficulty of manufacturing, double-barreled rifles are rare. Double-barreled rifles are typically intended for African big-game hunts where the animals are dangerous, ranges are short, and speed is of the essence. Very large and powerful calibers are normal for these firearms.
Rifles have been in nationally featured marksmanship events in Europe and the United States since at least the 18th century, when rifles were first becoming widely available. One of the earliest purely "American" rifle-shooting competitions took place in 1775, when Daniel Morgan was recruiting sharpshooters in Virginia for the impending American Revolutionary War. In some countries, rifle marksmanship is still a matter of national pride. Some specialized rifles in the larger calibers are claimed to have an accurate range of up to about 1 mile (1,600 m), although most have considerably less. In the second half of the 20th century, competitive shotgun sports became perhaps even more popular than riflery, largely due to the motion and immediate feedback in activities such as skeet, trap and sporting clays.
In military use, bolt-action rifles with high-power scopes are common as sniper rifles, however by the Korean War the traditional bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles used by infantrymen had been supplemented by select-fire designs known as "automatic rifles" (see "Automatic Rifle" below).
Carbines
A carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle in form and intended usage, but generally shorter or smaller than the typical "full-size" hunting or battle rifle of similar time period, and sometimes using a smaller or less-powerful cartridge. Carbines were and are typically used by members of the military in roles that are expected to engage in combat, but where a full-size rifle would be an impediment to the primary duties of that soldier (vehicle drivers, field commanders and support staff, airbornes, engineers, etc.). Carbines are also common in law enforcement and among civilian owners where similar size, space and/or power concerns may exist. Carbines, like rifles, can be single-shot, repeating-action, semi-automatic or select-fire/fully automatic, generally depending on the time period and intended market. Common historical examples include the Winchester Model 1892, Lee-Enfield "Jungle Carbine", Mauser K98 Kurz, SKS, M1 carbine (no relation to the larger M1 Garand) and M4 carbine (a more compact variant of the current M16 rifle). Modern U.S. civilian carbines include compact customizations of the AR-15, Ruger Mini-14, Beretta Cx4 Storm, Kel-Tec SUB-2000, bolt-action rifles generally falling under the specifications of a scout rifle, and aftermarket conversion kits for popular pistols including the M1911 and Glock models.Automatic firearms
An automatic firearm is generally defined as a firearm which continues to load and fire cartridges from its magazine as long as the trigger is depressed (or until the magazine is depleted). The first firearm generally considered in this category is the Gatling gun, originally a carriage-mounted, crank-operated firearm with multiple rotating barrels that was fielded in the American Civil War. The modern trigger-actuated machine gun began with various designs developed in the late 1800s and fielded in World War I, such as the Maxim gun, Lewis Gun, and MG 08 "Spandau". Most automatic firearms are classed as long guns (as the ammunition used is of similar type as for rifles, and the recoil of the gun's rapid fire is better controlled with two hands), but handgun-sized automatic firearms also exist, generally in the "submachine gun" or "machine pistol" class.An automatic rifle is a magazine-fed long gun, wielded by a single infantryman, that is chambered for rifle cartridges and capable of automatic fire. The M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle was the first U.S. infantry weapon of this type, and was generally used for suppressive or support fire in the role now usually filled by the light machine gun. Other early automatic rifles include the Fedorov Avtomat and the Huot Automatic Rifle. Later, the German forces fielded the Sturmgewehr 44 during World War II, a light automatic rifle firing a reduced power "intermediate cartridge". This design was to become the model basis for the "assault rifle" subclass of automatic firearms, as contrasted with "battle rifles" which generally fire a traditional "full-power" rifle cartridge.
Machine guns
A machine gun is a fully automatic emplaceable firearm, most often separated from other classes of automatic firearm by the use of belt-fed ammunition (though some designs employ drum, pan or hopper magazines), generally in a rifle-inspired caliber ranging between 5.56×45mm NATO (.223 Remington) for a light machine gun to as large as .50 BMG or even more larger for crewed or aircraft guns. Although not widely fielded until World War I, early machine guns were being used by militaries in the second half of the 19th century. Notables in the U.S. arsenal during the 20th century included the M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun and M1919 Browning .30 caliber medium machine gun, and the M60 7.62×51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun which came into use around the Vietnam War. Machine guns of this type were originally defensive firearms crewed by at least two men, mainly because of the difficulties involved in moving and placing them, their ammunition, and their tripod. In contrast, modern light machine guns such as the FN Minimi are often wielded by a single infantryman. They provide a large ammunition capacity and a high rate of fire, and are typically used to give suppressing fire during infantry movement. Accuracy on machine guns varies based on a wide number of factors from design to manufacturing tolerances, most of which have been improved over time. Machine guns are often mounted on vehicles or helicopters, and have been used since World War I as offensive firearms in fighter aircraft and tanks (e.g. for air combat or suppressing fire for ground troop support).The definition of machine gun is different in U.S. law. The National Firearms Act and Firearm Owners Protection Act define a "machine gun" in the United States code Title 26, Subtitle E, Chapter 53, Subchapter B, Part 1, § 5845 as: "... any firearm which shoots ... automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger". "Machine gun" is therefore synonymous with "automatic firearms" in the U.S. civilian parlance, covering all automatic firearms.
Submachine guns
A submachine gun is a magazine-fed firearm, usually smaller than other automatic firearms, that fires pistol-caliber ammunition; for this reason submachine guns are also commonly called machine pistols, especially when referring to handgun-sized designs such as the Škorpion vz. 61 and Glock 18. Well-known examples are the Israeli Uzi and Heckler & Koch MP5 which use the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, and the American Thompson submachine gun which fires .45 ACP. Because of their small size and limited projectile penetration compared to high-power rifle rounds, submachine guns are commonly favored by military, paramilitary and police forces for close-quarters engagements such as inside buildings, in urban areas or in trench complexes.
Submachine guns were originally about the size of carbines. Because they fire pistol ammunition, they have limited long-range use, but in close combat can be used in fully automatic in a controllable manner due to the lighter recoil of the pistol ammunition. They are also extremely inexpensive and simple to build in time of war, enabling a nation to quickly arm its military. In the latter half of the 20th century, submachine guns were being miniaturized to the point of being only slightly larger than some large handguns. The most widely used submachine gun at the end of the 20th century was the Heckler & Koch MP5. The MP5 is actually designated as a "machine pistol" by Heckler & Koch (MP5 stands for Maschinenpistole 5, or Machine Pistol 5), although some reserve this designation for even smaller submachine guns such as the MAC-10 and Glock 18, which are about the size and shape of pistols.
Additional information and source: Firearm