Firearm

A gun shoots small objects.

It uses a tiny blast to push. This blast comes from a powder. The powder makes a lot of pressure. This pressure pushes the shot out.

Some guns are small. You can hold them with one hand. These are called handguns.

Other guns are long. You use two hands to hold them. These are called long guns.

Rifles are a type of long gun. They have grooves inside the tube. These grooves make the shot spin. Spinning helps the shot fly straight.

Shotguns are also long guns. They have smooth tubes inside. They can shoot many small pellets at once. This makes the pellets spread out.

A firearm is a tool that shoots objects. It uses a chemical propellant to make a blast. This propellant is often a powder. When the powder burns, it makes high pressure. This pressure pushes the object out of a tube.

Firearms started in China during the 10th century. People used bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder. These were called fire lances.

Later, people made metal tubes called hand cannons.

There are two main types of guns. Handguns are small. You can use one hand to hold them.

Some handguns are pistols. Others are revolvers, which use a spinning cylinder.

Long guns are larger. You use two hands to hold them. Rifles are a type of long gun. They have rifling inside the barrel. Rifling is a set of spiral grooves. These grooves make the bullet spin. This spin helps the bullet fly straight.

Shotguns are also long guns. Most shotguns have a smoothbore barrel. This means the inside is smooth. They often shoot many small pellets at once.

A firearm is a tool that shoots projectiles. It works by using high pressure from a chemical propellant. This propellant is a substance that burns very quickly. In old guns, people used black powder for this. Modern guns use a different kind called smokeless powder. When the powder burns, it creates a huge blast of gas. This expanding gas pushes the bullet or pellet out of the tube.

Firearms have a very long history. The first ones began in 10th-century China during the Song dynasty. People used bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder and pellets. These were called fire lances and were used on spears. In the 13th century, people started using metal tubes instead. These were known as metal-barreled hand cannons. This technology spread across Eurasia during the 14th century.

There are many ways to group these tools. Small arms are light enough for one person to carry. Handguns are the smallest type of small arms. You can use a single hand to fire them. Some are pistols with a fixed chamber. Others are revolvers that use a spinning cylinder to hold shots.

Long guns are larger and require two hands. You usually brace them against your shoulder for stability.

Long guns include rifles and shotguns. Rifles have rifling inside the barrel. Rifling is a set of spiral grooves. These grooves make the bullet spin as it flies. This spin helps the bullet stay accurate over long distances.

Shotguns are often smoothbore, meaning the inside is smooth. They usually shoot many small pellets at once. This creates a spread of many impact points.

Many companies make firearms around the world today. In the United States, Ruger is a top manufacturer. Other famous names include Glock from Austria and Beretta from Italy. There are over one billion firearms in the world. Most of these are held by civilians. In the U.S., there are about 393 million civilian firearms. This is a very large number of tools in use.

A firearm is a weapon that launches projectiles using high pressure. This pressure comes from the deflagration of a chemical propellant. Deflagration is a type of rapid combustion, or burning. In antique firearms, people used black powder to create this effect. Modern firearms typically use smokeless powder or other explosive propellants. This process creates rapidly expanding high-pressure gas. The gas pushes the projectile through a barrel to hit a target.

The history of firearms began in 10th-century Song dynasty China. The earliest versions were called fire lances. These were bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder and pellet projectiles. They were mounted on spears so a single person could operate them. In 1132, these weapons were used effectively during the siege of De'an. By the 13th century, technology improved. People replaced bamboo with metal tubes to create hand cannons. This metal-barreled technology spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century.

Firearms are often categorized by their weight and portability. Military forces divide them into heavy and light weapons. Heavy firearms are too large to carry on foot. They require a weapons platform, such as a vehicle or a fixed mount. Light firearms can be carried by an individual soldier. A subset of light firearms is called small arms. These are compact enough for one person to operate fully. Small arms include handguns, rifles, and shotguns.

Handguns are the smallest type of firearm. They are designed to be used with a single hand. People often use them as sidearms or for self-defense. There are three main types of handguns. Pistols have a single fixed firing chamber in the barrel. Revolvers use a revolving cylinder with multiple firing chambers. Derringers are small handguns that are neither traditional pistols nor revolvers.

Long guns require two hands and a shoulder brace for stability. Rifles and shotguns are the two most common types. Rifles have rifling, which are spiral grooves inside the barrel. This rifling imparts a gyroscopic spin to the bullet. The spin helps the bullet stay stable and accurate over long distances. Shotguns usually have a smoothbore barrel, meaning it lacks rifling. They often fire a cluster of small pellets called shot. These pellets spread out during flight, which reduces their accuracy compared to rifles.

Global statistics show how many firearms exist in the world today. The Small Arms Survey reported over one billion firearms distributed globally. About 85 percent of these are in civilian hands. In the United States, civilians hold 393 million firearms. This accounts for about 46 percent of the world's civilian total. By 2026, the number of civilian-held firearms is estimated to reach 500 million. This represents 150 guns for every 100 residents in the U.S.

Armed forces and law enforcement also control many firearms. The world's armed forces control about 133 million small arms. Over 43 percent of these belong to just two countries. The Russian Federation holds 30.3 million, and China holds 27.5 million. Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million small arms globally. This represents about 2 percent of the global total. Many different companies manufacture these tools across the world.