[image] [image] A pistol or handgun is a usually small Firearm that can be used with one hand. There are three commons types of pistols: single-shot pistols, revolvers, and automatic pistols. In the 15th century the term "pistol" was used for small knives and daggers which could be concealed in a person's clothing. By the 18th century the term came to be used exclusively to refer to small firearms, or additionally, and more recently, similar devices designed for the aimed discharge of projectiles by the force of gas pressure stored by means other than chemical ("air pistol"). Although all handguns are generally referred to as pistols, some restrict the term "pistol" to single-chamber handguns, such as semiautomatic or single-shot pistols, as opposed to multichambered revolvers or multibarreled derringers, and use handgun for the broader category.
The term may be derived from the French pistole (or pistolet), which, in turn, comes from the Czech píšťala (flute or pipe, referring to the shape of a Hussite Firearm). Other suggestions have been made-that it comes from city of Pistoia, Italy, where perhaps a manufacturer was one Camillio Vettelli in the 1540s; or that early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel (or pistallo in medieval French) of a horse's saddle.
Pistols are used mainly by police officers, military personnel, or civilians who want a compact Defensive weapon, or for shooting sports. Some specialized pistols are also used for Hunting. Where available, semiautomatic pistols have become the weapon of choice for civilians, making them widely used outside of the police and military realms where they first became popular over the revolver.
For some military usage, the widespread introduction of body armor has rendered the pistol ineffective. Personal defense weapons are beginning to replace them in some situations.
Hunting pistols often have longer barrels than a typical police or military pistol, and are often equipped with telescopic sights. Consequently, they are generally less concealable and some cannot be carried in a Holster.
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.
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.
Opponents of gun control sometimes argue that wide legal ownership of pistols, including the right to carry them concealed, actually deters crime rather than increases it. They also argue that gun crimes are a small minority of all violent crimes.
See the main gun control article for more details on this debate.
A pistol is also the mechanical components of a fuse in a Bomb or Torpedo responsible for firing the Detonator.