A History Of Guns Through The Ages
Guns developed through a series of logical steps, but are relatively new forms of protection considering that our early ancestors had to make do with sticks, stones and then later with spears and swords. The Chinese can be thanked for the discovery of gunpowder, but it was the Europeans who saw its potential as a weapon for war.
Fast forward to the sixteenth century and the invention of the matchlock gun. A burning fuse was lit to ignite the gunpowder poured into the flash pan of a gun. This resulted in the ignition of the powder in the gun barrel, which forced the lead shot down the barrel and towards its potential target.
Unfortunately this was a rather dangerous system, what with the volatile nature of gunpowder, but it led to the development of the wheel lock mechanism, which was much safer. A spring loaded wheel with a series of serrations along the edge was held in place until its release caused sparks, which in turn ignited the powder stored in the barrel.
Further developments finally birthed the flintlock, which used a piece of flint attached to a hammer style mechanism that was operated by your thumb. The name flintlock originated from the lock that was placed over powder in the pan to prevent it being ignited prematurely. This was a single shot weapon, but over time multi-barreled pistols have been developed.
Always looking for improvements in efficiency, a revolver was first registered at the patent office by Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson in 1854. A revolving cartridge could hold up to six bullets for firing in quick succession. The design was an instant success and was adopted by the lawmen of their day and is still popular today.
The next evolutionary step was the design of the semi-automatic weapon, a gun that automatically loaded the next shot into the barrel by using the recoiling action of the last shot. Most weapons use this method though some, like the Desert Eagle, have a gas powered mechanism.
The most recent development in gun technology is the fully automatic handgun. The Mauser C96 and pistols like the Glock 18 are lightweight handguns that allow for rapid fire or can be used as traditional single shot weapons. Still the personal weapon of choice for any person engaged in hand to hand combat it is also used universally as a means of self-protection.
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