Pistol

For the coin, see pistole

Varieties of pistol

Nowadays there are three main varieties of pistol: "automatic" self-loading pistols and revolvers being by far the two most common types, followed distantly by single-shot hunting or target pistols. In a pistol the "chamber," in which the cartridge is held for firing is the rearmost portion of the barrel. Thus the term "pistol" technically excludes revolvers, although this distinction is often ignored in colloquial usage, where revolvers are commonly referred to as "pistols."

Related Topics:
Automatic - Revolver - Chamber - Barrel

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Revolvers

Revolvers feed ammunition via the rotation of a cartridge-filled cylinder, in which each cartridge is contained in its own ignition chamber, and is sequentially brought into alignment with the weapon's barrel by a mechanism linked to the weapon's trigger (double-action) or its hammer (single-action). These nominally cylindrical chambers, usually numbering between five and nine depending on the size of the revolver and the size the cartridge being fired, are bored through the cylinder so that their axes are parallel to the cylinder's axis of rotation; thus, as the cylinder rotates, the chambers revolve about the cylinder's axis.

Related Topics:
Revolver - Ammunition - Cylinder

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Semiautomatic pistols

"Automatic" pistols use the recoil or gas energy of each round to cycle the action, extract the spent case, and load the next cartridge. Automatic pistols are more accurately semiautomatic, in that each pull of the trigger fires a single bullet. There are a number of fully automatic pistols such as the Glock 18 and later models of the Mauser C96, but these generally available only to military or law enforcement personnel.

Related Topics:
"Automatic" pistols - Action - Case - Semiautomatic - Glock 18

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Semiautomatics may be either hammer or striker fired, and generally operate as double/single action, though some of the latest handguns now offer various trigger models, including double-action only or a partially pre-cocked striker.

Related Topics:
Striker - Double - Single

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