A firearm is what most people refer to as a gun. It is a device that’s designed to expel a projectile with immense force. While the mechanics that result in such force are a bit complicated, they generally involve the creation and expansion of gasses. Many types of firearms require some kind of targeting device. This comes in the form of rifle scopes. You can get Trijicon RMR RM09 here, a state-of-the-art gun sight that enables exceptional targeting capabilities.
Firearms are usually manufactured with a specific purpose in mind. For instance, a pistol manufactured for hunting in the woods may not be an effective weapon for a combat soldier on the frontlines of an armed conflict.
Most modern-day firearms are classified based on characteristics like use, firing pin properties, and size.
Classification Based on Size
This is one of the most widely used classifications of firearms. It simply takes into account the firearm’s size which usually dictates how it’ll be fired.
1)Handguns
This typically refers to a firearm that can be held with one arm while being fired. While some individuals may be strong enough to fire a large firearm using only one hand, this doesn’t factor into this classification.
The main types of handguns include;
i) Pistols: These are the prototypical small firearms that most people know. They’re small and easy for almost anyone to operate with one hand. The average-sized pistol is about 7.5 inches long and weighs about half a kilogram. It comes with an enclosed magazine in its grip. A pistol firing mechanism is that firing one round automatically chambers another one, meaning no cocking for each subsequent shot.
ii) Revolvers: Many regular folks consider revolvers as pistols. While both are of similar dimensions as far as size and weight, their firing mechanisms are markedly different. A revolver’s ammunition is housed at its barrel’s rear end. Unlike a pistol, each round has its independent chamber.
2) Shoulder Guns
The rifle is the typical shoulder gun. They tend to fire a single, high-powered ammunition. Rifles have barrels much longer than handguns. The inside of this barrel tends to be grooved. This helps to propel the bullet as it is ejected. The grooved internal surface helps the bullet to spin while on its trajectory, helping to reduce the bullet’s nose-end flight onto its target.
The above classification may not cover some types of firearms neatly. For instance, some shotguns can have reasonably long barrels, certainly longer than those of handguns. However, they’re not considered rifles.
Classification Based on Firing Pins
Firearms can also be classified according to their firing pins. The firing pin is that part that strikes the cartridge’s primer, enabling the chemical combustion that ultimately leads to the ejection of the round. The firing pin’s position is different for the various types of firearms.
i) Centerfire: This type of firing pin is used in shotguns, rifles, and handguns. Here, the primer is located at the center of the cartridge case.
ii) Rimfire: Firearms with these types of primers have them on the cartridge’s rim. They can only produce low-pressure loads.
iii) Pinfire: This type of firing pin has a tiny protrusion that enables it to ignite the primer within the cartridge by striking it.
Classification Based on Bore Size
The bore of a firearm refers to the size of its barrel’s interior surface. This has a significant bearing on a firearm’s accuracy, the caliber of ammunition it’ll require, etc.
- i)Smooth Bore: These types of firearms are usually designed for fireballs (slugs) or pellets (lead shots). A shotgun falls into this category although some of them can also have rifled at their edge. Rifling is the arrangement of the spiral grooves inside a firearm’s barrel.
- ii) Rifled Bore: Such firearms have spiral grooves throughout the entirety of their barrels. These grooves tend to be shallow, designed to stabilize the projectile on its flight toward its target by spinning it. This also imparts more accuracy to the ammunition.
Classification Based on Action
“Action” here refers to the whole mechanism that enables a firearm to load and expel a cartridge.
i) Pump Action: This is how shotguns work. When one slides the lever, a pump action is created that ejects the old cartridge while chambering a new round.
ii) Bolt Action: These firearms have a bolt handle on the weapon’s right side. It’s used to manipulate the bolt manually.
iii) Lever Action: Firearms with this type of mechanism have a lever that’s used for chambering a round while expelling the used cartridge. This is done by sliding it down and then upwards.
iv) Single Action: The trigger function in such firearms is only for dropping the hammer to strike the cartridge during firing.
v) Double Action: Here, the trigger’s functions are to cock the hammer and release it.
The above are the main ways of classifying firearms. Of course, these are only modern firearms. Primitive, centuries-old firearms like the flintlock pistols have similar classifications even though they’re mostly found in museums.
