Guns

A detailed Summary of Guns


A gun is a weapon that uses the force of an explosive propellant to project a missile. The rifle and the shotgun are both long-barreled weapons used for long-range shooting; the pistol has a shorter barrel and is accurate only at relatively short ranges. The revolver has a revolving barrel that allows repeat firing. The machine gun is an automatic firearm, the first of a line of weapons including assault rifles and submachine guns.

The precise origin of these weapons is unknown, although they were known to already be in use by the early 14th century and were fairly common in Europe by mid-century. These early guns were little more than large-caliber tubes of wrought iron or cast bronze, closed at one end and loaded by placing gunpowder and projectile in the muzzle. They were fired by touching a burning wick, or match, to the powder at a "touch-hole" bored in the top of the barrel. To make sure that the powder would catch fire, a rec


The first major improvement in small guns was the introduction of a mechanical firing mechanism, or lock, which lowered the match to the touch hole with a pull of the trigger. The matchlock improved accuracy by permitting the gunner to concentrate on aiming the weapon, rather than having to guide the match to the primer. The principle of self-ignition was introduced in the early 16th century with the invention of the wheel-lock, which fired the powder by mechanically generated sparks. Wheel-locks were the weapon of choice for the cavalry men of the time.

Later types of machine guns, which fired rifle bullets with great rapidity and whose firing mechanism worked by either the power of the gun's recoil or the force of the expanding gases, were developed by Hiram Maxim, B. Hotchkiss, I. N. Lewis, and J. M. Browning. Machine guns were used with terrible effectiveness in many colonial wars, especially by the British, Germans, and Americ

Some common words found in the essay are:
, World War, Brown Bess, American M-16, War Thompson, Browning Machine, British Sten, Israeli Uzi, Germans Americans, Soviet Union, world war, submachine gun, machine guns, war ii, submachine guns, world war ii, firing mechanism,

Approximate Word count = 632
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Guns ... means of hunting or sport. As we near the end of the 20th century the use of guns has changed significantly. Because of fast and ... 496 words
  • Guns The History of Guns The history of guns dates back to the Chinese when they found that gun power could be used in rocket also know as fireworks. ... 502 words
  • Guns There is no hiding the fact that guns are everywhere almost every time some one turns on the news or reads a paper there is something about a shooting. ... 1119 words
  • guns ONLY WOMEN SHOULD BE ALOUD TO OWN GUNS Topic: Gun Control General Purpose: To Persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience on the negative effects of gun ... 1111 words
  • Guns ... The families of the victims are the same way, saying that if the manufacturers wouldnamp39t have put these guns out they wouldnamp39t have a family member who was ... 1809 words

Professional Essays

  • Guns in Gangster Films ... finds relationships between what he calls the ampquottwo most successful creations of American movies,ampquot the gangster and the Westerner, ampquotmen with gunsampquot Warshow 654 ... 1671 words
  • Banning Handguns ampamp Other Guns Walkeramp39s Proposition 30 states that attempts to ban all handguns, or certain kinds of guns, are not likely to result in a reduction in serious crime. ... 7132 words
  • Politics, Guns, and Immigration ... Both the NRA and the Brady Campaign have very different policy goals both relating to guns in America and they seek to shape public opinion, federal and state ... 1003 words
  • Stun Guns and Patrol Car Surveillance ... offenses. These technologies include but are not limited to stun guns or tasers and patrol car video surveillance mechanisms. This ... 1027 words
  • GALLEONS, GUNS, AND RIVALRY The Sources of Europe GALLEONS, GUNS, AND RIVALRY The Sources of European Predominance, 14001850 In 1400, several civilizations across Eurasia and Africa the world stood on a ... 1287 words
  • Gun Control Legislation ... Such action should be taken at the federal level because guns, like the issue, cross state lines and make a mockery of the patchwork, statebystate approach ... 1008 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.