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A History Of Guns Through The Ages

Guns are a relatively recent invention when compared to early mans first use of weaponry, which ranged from rocks to sticks and then later moved on to swords and spears. The Chinese invented gunpowder, but chose to use it to create pretty fireworks for festivals. It was only when European man discovered this explosive black powder that he thought up a more diabolical use for it.

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.

The flintlock evolved as a hammer with a piece of flint attached to the head which, when struck against the metal after the hammer was released, created the sparks necessary to ignite the gunpowder. The lock ensured that the powder was covered to protect against accidental ignition of the powder. To solve the problem of a single shot weapon that took time to reload, a double barreled version was designed.

The revolver solved the problem of multiple barrels, by replacing it with a spinning cylinder able to accommodate up to six bullets at one time. This design found its way to the patent office in 1854, the brainchild of Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson. The lever action pistol was the weapon of choice for officers of the law and outlaws alike.

The next design evolution was the semi-automatic gun, which used the energy of the firing mechanism to rotate the cylinder, lining up the next bullet in the barrel. Most guns used the recoil energy to implement this movement, but other designs, like the Desert Eagle hand gun, employ a gas powered action to do this.

Moving on from there, some guns are now fully automatic and include models like the Mauser C96 and the Glock 18, amongst others. These can be used either as traditional single shot weapons or can be set for the rapid fire of full automatic mode. These are lightweight, small weapons that are easy to carry and have become the preferred choice of civilians and soldiers the world over.

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