History of firearms

First weapon that used gunpowered

Apr 7, 1232

A Chinese Bureau of Munitions was operating seven factories that produced 7,000 rockets and 21,000 bombs a day .

First fire

Jan 1, 1364

First recorded use of a firearm - shooter lit wicks by hand that ingnited gunpowder that was loaded into the gun barrel.

Known by Europe

Apr 7, 1380

By 1380 the word of gun powered had spread across Europe

First Gun- Matchlock

Apr 7, 1400

The Matchlock guns was the first mechanically firing gun. Wicks were now attached to a clamp that sprang into gunpowder that was placed in a "flash pan".

Wheel lock

Apr 7, 1509

The wheellock gun is a friction-wheel mechanism to cause a spark for firing a firearm. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm.

Flintlock guns

Apr 7, 1630

The flintlock did two things mechanically, it opened the lid of the flash pan and provided an igniting spark.

Percussion-cap guns

Apr 7, 1825

Percussion-cap guns invented by Reverend John Forsyth - firing mechanism no longer uses flash pan, a tube lead straight into the gun barrel, the tupe had an exposive cap on it that exploded when struck

Multi-shot

Apr 7, 1835

Samuel Colt developed the first mass-produced, multi-shot, revolving firearms.

Pin-fire cartridges

Apr 7, 1840

A pinfire cartridge is an obsolete type of metallic firearm cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin which protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge.

Shotguns

Apr 7, 1850

The typical use of a shotgun is against small and/or fast moving targets, often taken while in the air. The spreading of the shot allows the user to point the shotgun close to the target, rather than having to aim precisely as in the case of a single projectile. Mainly used for sport, hunting and law.

Full rim-fire cartridge

Apr 7, 1859

A rimfire is a type of firearm cartridge

Breech loaded guns

Apr 7, 1861

A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel.

Gatling Gun

Apr 7, 1862

The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. Invented by Richard Gatling, it is known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat.

Double-action revolver

Apr 7, 1877

Double action means that a cocking action separate from the trigger pull is unnecessary; and every trigger pull will result in a complete cycle.

Borchardt pistol

Apr 7, 1893

The Borchardt was the first commercially viable self-loading pistol. It used a 7.62 x 25mm cartridge dimensionally identical to the later 7.63 Mauser round, but a bit more lightly loaded.

First automatic rifle

Apr 7, 1903

The world's first automatic rifle was the Mexican Mondragón rifle and was designed by General Manuel Mondragón. He began work in 1882 and patented the weapon in 1887. It was created with the intention of giving a singe infantry man the fire power of an entire squad and was subsequently adopted by the Mexican army.

Winchester rifle

Apr 7, 1973

Winchester rifle is usually used to refer to the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

Firework displays

Mar 2, 2022

850 AD, the Chinese population began using gunpowder to put on brilliant firework displays.

House product

Mar 2, 2022

invented to kill insects in china as a house home product

Discovery of Gunpowder

Mar 2, 2022

An enterprising alchemist was mixing ingrediants to find an elixir to make the emperor immortal, and when the mixture was exposed to flames, it exploded. The mixture consisted of sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal.