Pistol

For other uses, see Pistol (disambiguation).

M1911A1

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.

History

Further information: Gunpowder warfare and Handguns

The pistol originates in the 16th century, when early handguns were produced in Europe. The English word was introduced in ca. 1570 from the Middle French pistolet (ca. 1550).

The etymology of the French word pistolet is unclear. It may be from a Czech word for early hand cannons, píšťala "flute", or alternatively from Italian pistolese, after Pistoia, a city renowned for Renaissance-era gunsmithing, where hand-held guns (designed to be fired from horseback) were first produced in the 1540s.

The first suggestion derives the word from Czech píšťala, a type of hand-cannon used in the Hussite Wars during the 1420s. The Czech word was adopted in German as pitschale, pitschole, petsole, and variants.

Action

The most common types of pistol are the single shot, revolver and semi-automatic.

Single shot

These types of handgun were mainly seen during the era of flintlock and musket weaponry where the pistol was loaded with a lead ball and fired by a percussion cap. However, as technology improved, so did the single shot pistol. New operating mechanisms were created, and due to this, they are still made today. They are often used to hunt wild game.

Multi-barreled

These were common during the same time as single shot pistols. As designers looked for ways to increase fire rates, multiple barrels were added to all guns including pistols. Some examples of multi-barreled pistols are Derringers and Duck's foot pistols.

Harmonica pistol

Around 1850, pistols such as the Jarre harmonica pistol were produced that had a sliding magazine. The sliding magazine contained pinfire cartridges or speedloaders. The magazine needed to be moved manually in many designs, hence distinguishing them from semi-automatic pistols.

Semi-automatic

Main article: Semi-automatic pistol

This was the next development of the pistol. By avoiding multiple barrels—which need to be individually reloaded—semi-automatic pistols delivered faster rates of fire and require only a few seconds to reload (depending on the skill of the shooter). In blowback-type semi-automatics, the recoil force is used to push the slide back and eject the case (if any) so that the magazine spring can push another round up, then as the slide returns it chambers the round. An example of a modern blowback action semi-automatic pistol is the HK VP70.

Machine pistol

A Machine Pistol is an (fully) automatic pistol, mechanically similar to a semi-automatic pistol but where the trigger mechanism is designed so that it will continue to fire unless the trigger is released or the magazine is empty. Since machine pistols typically have such a high rate of fire, a larger capacity magazine or drum magazine is desirable.