Handguns

Although the exact definition of a handgun is sometimes disputed, a handgun is a firearm that is easily concealable, can be fired one-handed, and usually has an effective range of no greater than 100 meters. Australian law considers a “handgun” a firearm that:

• (a) is reasonably capable of being carried or concealed about the person; or
• (b) is reasonably capable of being raised and fired by one hand; or
• (c) does not exceed 65 centimeters (26 in) in length measured parallel to the barrel^[4]

A handgun is a short-barreled firearm designed to be held and used with one hand or two.^[1] The two most common handgun sub-types in use today are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handgun types such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.

Before commercial mass production, handguns were often considered a badge of office, comparable to a ceremonial sword. As they had limited utility and were more expensive than the long guns of the era, the few who could only afford to purchase them carried these handguns. However, in 1836, Samuel Colt patented the Colt Paterson, the first practical mass-produced revolver. It was capable of firing five shots in rapid succession and very quickly became a popular defensive weapon, giving rise to the saying, “God created men, but Colt made them equal.”^[2][3] Today, in most of the world, handguns are primarily used by police and military officers as sidearms. However, in the United States and some other countries around the world, handguns are also widely available to civilians and commonly carried for self-defense.

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The caplock mechanism or percussion lock was developed in the early 19th century and used a percussion cap struck by the hammer to set off the main charge, rather than using a piece of flint to strike a steel frizzen. They succeeded in the flintlock mechanism in firearm technology.

The rudimentary percussion system was developed by Reverend Alexander John Forsyth as a solution to the problem that birds would startle when smoke puffed from the powder pan of his flintlock shotgun, giving them a sufficient warning to escape the shot.[16]

His invention of a fulminate-primed firing mechanism deprived the birds of their early warning system, both by avoiding the initial puff of smoke from the flintlock powder pan, as well as shortening the interval between the trigger pull and the shot leaving the muzzle. Forsyth patented his ignition system in 1807. However, it was not until after Forsyth’s patents expired that the conventional percussion cap system was developed.

The caplock offered many improvements over the flintlock. The caplock was easier to load, more resistant to weather, and much more reliable than the flintlock. Many older flintlock weapons were later converted into cap locks so that they could take advantage of this increased reliability.[16]

The caplock mechanism consists of a hammer, similar to the hammer used in a flintlock, and a nipple (sometimes referred to as a “cone”), which holds a small percussion cap. The nipple contains a tube that goes into the barrel. The percussion cap contains a chemical compound called mercury fulminate or fulminate of mercury, the chemical formula of which is Hg(ONC)2.[16] It is made from mercury, nitric acid, and alcohol. When the trigger releases the hammer, it strikes the cap, causing the mercuric fulminate to explode. The flames from this explosion travel down the tube in the nipple and enter the barrel, where they ignite the main powder charge.[16]

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The Colt Army Model 1860 is a 6-shot muzzle-loaded cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver used during the American Civil War made by Colt’s Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces. More than 200,000 were manufactured from 1860 through 1873. Colt’s biggest customer was the US Government with more than 129,730[19] units being purchased and issued to the troops. The weapon was a single-action, six-shot weapon, accurate up to 75 to 100 yards, where the fixed sights were typically set when manufactured. The rear sight was a notch in the hammer, only usable when the revolver was fully cocked. The Colt .44-caliber “Army” Model was the most widely used revolver of the Civil War. It had a six-shot, rotating cylinder, and fired a 0.454-inch-diameter (11.5 mm) round spherical lead ball, or a conical-tipped bullet, typically propelled by a 30-grain charge of black powder, which was ignited by a small copper percussion cap that contained a volatile charge of fulminate of mercury (a substance that explodes upon being subjected to a sharp impact). The percussion cap, when struck by the hammer, ignited the powder charge. When fired, the balls had a muzzle velocity of about 900 feet per second (274 meters/second), although this depended on how much powder it was loaded with