Hand Gun Terms

Front 1

what is the "action" in a gun?

Back 1

Action:
The working mechanism of the handgun. This determines the process by which the handgun is cocked, fired, and reloaded

Front 2

what is the "barrel" of a gun?

Back 2

Barrel
A tube of varying length through which the bullet is discharged. Discharging the bullet through the barrel determines the bullet's initial direction and trajectory. The seal created between the bullet and the surface of the barrel keeps the gas produced by the burning gunpowder trapped behind the bullet once it leaves the cartridge case. As a result, the bullet continues to accelerate until it exits the handgun at the muzzle. Thus, the longer the barrel, the higher the velocity (speed) achieved by the bullet. Additionally, modern handgun barrels are rifled, which causes the bullet to spin, giving it more stability in flight.

Front 3

what is the "bore" of a gun?

Back 3

Bore
The interior diameter of the handgun's barrel.

Front 4

what is the "breech" of a gun?

Back 4

Breech
The area of the handgun that contains the mechanical action, the chamber and the attachment of the barrel to the frame.

Front 5

what is the 'butt" on a gun?

Back 5

Butt
The rear portion of the frame onto which the grip is attached.

Front 6

what is the "chamber" in a gun?

Back 6

Chamber
The portion of the handgun that holds the cartridge during discharge. The chamber is located directly behind the rifled portion of the barrel. Pistols have a single chamber (an integral portion of the barrel), and the empty casing must be removed and replaced with a new cartridge before another shot can be fired. Depending on the mechanism of action, this process is done either automatically (in the case of semi-automatic pistols) or manually (in the case of Derringers and some single shot competition-style pistols). In contrast, revolvers contain multiple chambers (that are not an integral part of the barrel), each holding a single cartridge, which rotate into the firing position behind a single barrel.

Front 7

what is the "cylinder" on a gun?

Back 7

Cylinder
The rotating drum, found on revolvers, which contains multiple chambers. Most commonly, a cylinder will contain six chambers, but some are made with as many as ten. When a revolver is discharged, the cylinder can be manually rotated to bring the next chamber in line with the barrel.

Front 8

what is the firing pin?

Back 8

Firing Pin
A pin that transfers the energy generated by the hammer to the primer. The firing pin lies behind the cartridge. The impact of the firing pin on the cartridge ignites the primer and causes the powder to burn rapidly, thus discharging the bullet.

Front 9

what is the "hammer?"

Back 9

Hammer
The mechanism that generates the energy needed to ignite the primer and fire the bullet. When the hammer is pulled back into the cocked position, it compresses the mainspring, thus generating potential energy. When the trigger is pulled, the potential energy stored in the mainspring is released, forcing the hammer down onto the firing pin. The kinetic energy generated as the hammer falls is transferred through the firing pin to the cartridge.

Front 10

what is the "mainspring?"

Back 10

Mainspring
The initial source of the energy needed to fire the gun. Cocking the hammer compresses the mainspring, generating potential energy.

Front 11

what is the magizine?

Back 11

Magazine
A container that holds cartridges and feeds them automatically into the chamber of semi-automatic pistols. Often the magazine is a removable component which inserts into the grip of the pistol. The capacity of the magazine can vary greatly. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, however, limited the magazine capacity of handguns to a maximum of 10 cartridges (part of the so-called "assault weapon ban").

Front 12

what is the muzzle?

Back 12

Muzzle
The end of the barrel from which the bullet exits

Front 13

what is "rifling" in the bore?

Back 13

Rifling
A set of parallel spiraling grooves that run the length of the interior of the barrel. The grooves cause the bullet to spin as it passes, thus giving it additional stability and accuracy in flight.

Front 14

what is the "slide?"

Back 14

Slide
A device that surrounds the barrel on semi-automatic handguns. As its name implies, the slide moves backwards, opening the breech area of the handgun. Also, on many semi-automatic pistols, the backward movement of the slide cocks the hammer. When the gun is fired, some of the energy from the discharge of the bullet is used to push the slide backwards, thus opening the breech to expel the empty cartridge case and recocking the hammer for the next shot.

Front 15

what is a "derringer?"

Back 15

Derringer
A Derringer is a small handgun with no magazine and no cylinder. It contains one chamber for each barrel, and each chamber must be manually reloaded after discharge. These guns, however, often contain multiple barrels, allowing for more than one shot to be fired before reloading. Typically, Derringers are small handguns, often lacking trigger guards. Most Derringer models are single action. A few are double action, but none are double action-only.