Firearms

10-16-03

Essay 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outline

 

Thesis:  Firearms are produced in many different designs to cope with various situations in their quest to kill.

 

I.                     Introduction

II.                   Rifles

A.     Sniper Rifles

B.     Assault Rifles

III.                  Machine guns

A.     Miniguns

B.     Squad Automatic Weapons

IV.               Submachine guns

A.     Usage

B.     Models

V.                 Shotguns

A.     Pump

B.     Semi-Automatic

VI.               Handguns

A.     Revolvers

B.     Semi-Automatic Pistols

VII.              Conclusion

 

            Firearms are a revolutionizing invention that forever changed the way humans wage war, hunt, and protect themselves.  They grew from crude black powder rifles into fully automatic Submachine guns that fit in a coat pocket.  Over the 600 years it has been in development, different designs and brands of firearms have emerged as well as ammunition to fill their barrels.  The most distinguishing feature of firearms is their overall design, which can predict the type of ammo used, rate of fire, accuracy, magazine capacity, range, weight, lethality, among other things.  The design of firearms can be broken down into five major types:  Rifles, Machine guns, Submachine guns, Handguns, and Shotguns.  Arms firing explosive ammunitions like rocket launchers and artillery are excluded.

            Rifles are the oldest development in firearm history and as such have the most varied design.  What they all have in common are the length of the barrel and the ensuing range and accuracy that can be obtained.  Standard rifles can be anything from sixteenth century muskets to 1860’s breach-loaders to the World War II M1 Garand.  All are obviously similar in their barrel length but due to technological advances, have varying accuracy, ammunition, and range.  Most hunters today will use a standard rifle of either bolt-action or self-loading.

            A subdivision of rifles is the sniper rifle.  These firearms are used for superior range and accuracy, but additionally have enough stopping power to bring down targets in a single shot.  Typically, sniper rifles have a scope attached on top to increase sight and accuracy for the shooter at long distances.  Sniper rifles of the day include the H&K PSG-1 that has a large magazine and the Barrett .50 caliber that can pierce a tank a mile away.  All firearms have a kick when fired, but the Barrett has such substantial recoil that it requires a pneumatic counterforce to protect the shooter’s arm from being broken.  Sniper rifles are an essential and powerful force in military operation of today.

            The second subdivision of rifles is also used primarily for military purposes:  The Assault Rifle.  They have a shorter barrel than other rifles but include an extended magazine that can hold 20 to 40 rounds and fire automatically.  With automatic and burst fire modes seen in assault rifles, the firearm uses the recoil and explosive gases to expel the last round’s casing, load a new round, and fire it if the trigger is continually pulled.  The available speed and accuracy of fire are balanced in a way that makes the Assault rifle perfect for military conflicts where lethality is essential.  The first true, mass-produced assault rifle was the M16 that entered service in the Vietnam War.  A variation of it, the M16A2 is still used in the United States military but incurred modifications to protect from environmental factors, minimize jamming, and limit the fire modes to burst and semi-automatic.  Some other assault rifles are the infamous Russian-made AK-47, the Austrian AUG that is popular with European law enforcement, and the technologically advanced US OICW.  Rifles are the workhorses of the firearm world with their superior accuracy and design specializations.

            Another distinct design type is the Machine gun.  What distinguishes it from a rifle is that it is fully automatic and typically has a box with chain-fed ammunition.  The first Machine gun was used in the US Civil War.  It was called the Gattling gun and was a type of Minigun.  Miniguns are characterized by multiple barrels that typically spin.  This allows them to achieve an awesome rate of fire; sometimes, more that five thousand rounds a minute.  Miniguns are mainly used on aircraft to attack infantry and light-armored vehicles.  Their rate of fire increases the aircraft’s chance of hitting a target while in flight.

            Machine guns also come in a design for personnel use called the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).  These firearms don’t have the rate of fire that a Minigun does (less than a thousand rounds a minute), but their lethality is increased by marginally increased accuracy and mobility.  The SAWs are fired best when the shooter and the weapon are prone and assisted by a loader.  Examples of SAWs are the US M60, Belgian FN249, and German MG42.

            The newest firearm design is the Submachine gun (SMG).  The first mass-produced SMG was the Thompson, which was famous for prohibition mobster use and action in World War II to combat the German MP40.  The SMG division is autonomous; although many different types exist, their designs and uses overlap too much to partition into subdivisions.  SMGs are essentially rifles that fire handgun ammunition, have a much shorter barrel length, and thus less effective range.  They are popular in law enforcement, counter-terrorism, and military roles for their compact size and weight while still retaining the stopping power of many handguns, magazine capacity of assault rifles, and in most cases supporting semi-automatic, full-automatic, and burst fire modes.  The military uses SMGs commonly as backup weapons for pilots should they become downed in hostile territory as well as Marine and Navy Seal special operation’s weapons.  Counter-terrorists use them in much the same way as Navy Seals, deploying them into buildings where a larger Assault rifle is impractical.  Law enforcement agencies, especially in urban areas, equip their squad cars with shotguns and submachine guns for emergency situations where they lack adequate firepower.

            The German company Heckler and Koch (H&K) are the manufacturer of the most proliferated SMG, the MP5.  Over the forty years of its production, many variations have spawned, including the MP5SD with integral suppressor, MP5K that is small enough to fit in a coat pocket, MP5-PDW used by the US Air Force, and MP5N that the Navy Seals use almost exclusively.  Many other nation’s firearms manufacturers also produce SMGs, such as the Belgian FN P90 that fires fifty rounds from a horizontally loaded magazine, the Russian AKS-74U that is essentially a shortened AK-74, and the Austrian Steyr TMP that weighs a mere three pounds.

            Another form of firearm is the shotgun.  It is easily distinguished by the type of ammunition it fires, a larger diameter barrel compared to most rifles, and in most a hand-guard for cocking the weapon.  Shotguns typically fire a shell that is a plastic container for many pieces of lead or other metal and possibly explosive or phosphorus bomblets.  The spreading affect of the shotgun ammunition gives it limited effectiveness beyond seventy meters, but make it extremely potent at close-range targets. 

Shotguns can be divided into two groups, Pump and Semi-Automatic, depending on the action used to cock and reload.  Pump shotguns require that between each shot (or two for over-under barrel shotguns) that the shooter pull the hand-guard back and then forward to eject the spent shell, cock the firing action, and load a new shell.  The shells are loaded into a chamber under the barrel.  Other less than lethal ammunition can also be used in pump shotguns, such as beanbags, rubber pellets, and door slugs.  These are popular with law enforcement for riot control and non-wounding stopping of perpetrators.

Semi-automatic shotguns incorporate a gas or recoil system to execute the function of the pump in other shotguns.  Because of this, it can fire nearly twice as fast.  Some semi-auto shotguns feature a shell magazine or drum to increase ammunition capacity and reload times.  Several semi-auto shotguns also have the ability to switch between pump and semi-automatic depending on situational needs.

The final design division of firearms is the handgun.  They come in two very distinct design types:  Semi-automatic (pistols) and revolvers.  Revolvers were the first handguns to be produced.  They have a rotating cylinder that can be loaded manually with five to seven rounds.  In old single-action models, the hammer had to be pulled for each shot, but the newer double-action pulls the hammer with the trigger.  Revolvers are still is use because they are more reliable than pistols and best suited for self-defense.

Semi-automatic pistols work similarly to SMGs but retain the hammer from revolvers.  Pistols fire from a magazine inserted into the handgrip.  Most require for the first shot that the hammer or slide is pulled.  The recoil from each shot ejects the spent round, loads a new one, and cocks the hammer.  Some pistols have gotten so effective in loading that over the years, through technological advances in manufacturing, they have included a burst fire mode that will rapidly fire two or three rounds with one trigger pull.  Other advantages pistols have are the obviously larger magazine than revolvers, effective stopping power, small size, and light weight.  These features make the pistol a perfect weapon for law enforcement and as a reserve for military personnel.

Out of necessity, firearm manufacturers developed different designs to cope with diverse situations while keeping a standard of lethality.  Where a sniper rifle is a poor choice for confined, indoor spaces, a shotgun will work perfect.  In the end, all firearms are designed to fire a bullet (or shell).  They are the standard method of destruction and killing in the world.