A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by the use of a SINGLE hand. Although it is possible to fire other guns with one hand, only a handgun is DESIGNED for one. A gun designed for two hands, but that can be fired with one hand, DOES NOT qualify as a handgun. The hand that initially holds the weapon is referred to as the strong hand, or shooting hand, and the second hand placed in acquiring the grip is referred to as the support hand. A handgun is specifically designed for one hand (although, it is recommended that you use two).
The terms handgun and pistol are often used interchangeably, but they do not have the same meaning. A pistol is a specific type of handgun, where the chamber is part of the barrel.
Handgun: Revolver
A Revolver is a type of handgun that has a rotating cylinder containing a number of firing chambers, usually six. The direction of the cylinder rotation varies by manufacturer; Colt weapons rotate clockwise; Ruger and Smith & Wesson weapons rotate counterclockwise. It is the rotation of the cylinder that brings a fresh cartridge into line with the barrel.
Revolvers can be either single or double action, with Single action requiring the hammer to be manually cocked before pulling the trigger. Double action are both cocked and fired by pulling the trigger; some double action revolvers allow the hammer to be manually cocked and fired in the single action mode. One might choose this option to make the trigger pull lighter which can increase accuracy. Revolvers are loaded one round at a time unless a speed loading device is used.
Handgun: Semi-Automatic
A semi-automatic handgun is a repeating firearm that requires a trigger pull for EACH round fired. Upon firing, it extracts and ejects the empty case and then loads a new round into the chamber from the magazine.
The semi-automatic handgun can be either single action (SA), double action (DA), or a combination of the two. Single Action is when the hammer is cocked either manually or by operating the slide. Double action is when a single pull of the trigger cocks and releases the hammer. A handgun can be both DA/SA when the first trigger pull is DA, and the cycle of operation occurs; the weapon cocks the hammer causing only the hammer to fall when the trigger is pulled for subsequent firing, instead of the hammer cocking and hammer falling each time.
Some weapons that do not fit in this category: rifle, shotgun, grenade launcher, machine gun, musket, autocannon, artillery guns, tank guns. Next week: What is a Rifle?
Safe Shooting,
C. L. Bovee
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