The document provides a history of firearms, describing their evolution from early hand cannons in China in the 13th century to modern centerfire weapons. It outlines key developments like the matchlock, wheellock, flintlock, percussion cap, pinfire, rimfire systems. Each new system improved ignition reliability, accuracy, and rate of fire, culminating in centerfire cartridges that enabled self-contained ammunition and rapid reloading.

1. History Of Firearms
Department of Criminology & Forensic Science
Dr. Hari Singh Gour Vishwavidyalaya
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Submitted To: Dr. Navjot Kaur
Kanwal
Assistant Professor
Submitted By : Rajen Kerketta
• M.Sc. Forensic Science

2. Firearms
 “ An instrument or device with which it
is possible to propel a projectile by
means of the expansive force of the
gases generated by the combustion of an
explosive substance”

3. Firearms: A Quick History
• Firearms were invented in 1260 in China, after the Chinese
• had invented gunpowder in the 9th century
• These inventions were later transmitted to the Middle East,
• Europe, and Africa
• Almost every gun is based on the same simple concept: You
apply explosive pressure behind a projectile to launch it down
a barrel.
• The earliest & simplest application of this idea is the cannon
• The 1st handheld guns were essentially mini-cannons; you
loaded some gunpowder & a steel ball & lit a fuse

4. History of Firearms
11/15/2019 4

5. Handcannon from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271-
1368)
 By the mid 1300’s the first recorded use of a firearm was
noted
 These were primitive muzzle
loading black powder firearms
 Referred to as hand cannons

6.  The earliest type of handgun was simply a small cannon of
wrought iron or bronze, fitted to a frame or stock with metal
bands or leather thongs
 These weapons were loaded from the muzzle end of the
barrel with powder, wad and ball
 A small hole at the breech end of the barrel, the touch hole,
was provided with a pan into which a priming charge of
powder was placed
 On igniting this priming charge,either with a hot iron or
lighted match, fire flashed through the touch hole and into the
main powder charge to discharge the weapon.

7. Match lock

8.  This was really the first major advance in pistols as it enabled the
weapon to be fired in one hand and also gave some opportunity to aim
it as well.
 The construction of matchlock was exactly the same as the hand cannons
and the only difference was match, a slow burning piece of cord.
 A slow burning piece of cord used to ignite the priming charge, was held
in a curved hook screwed to the side of the frame.
 To fire the gun, the hook was merely pushed forward to drop the burning
end of the match into the priming charge.

9. pros: First Trigger
 CONS: Fragile
Weather Sensitive
Poor Accuracy

10. Wheel lock
Wheel lock

11.  With the advent of the wheel lock the lighted match used in the
match lock was no longer necessary
 The wheel lock consisted of a serrated steel wheel, mounted on the
side of the weapon at the rear of the barrel
 The wheel was spring loaded via a chain round its axle with a small
key or spanner similar to a watch drum
 When the wheel was turned with a spanner, the chain wound round
the axle and the spring was
tensioned
 Part of the wheel protruded
into the small pan, the flash
pan or priming pan, which
contained the priming charge
for the touch hole

12.  A piece of iron pyrite was fixed in its jaws
 This was kept in tight contact with the serrated wheel by means of
a strong spring
 On pressing the trigger, the bar was withdrawn from the grooved
wheel which then turned on its axle
 Sparks produced from the friction of the pyrite on the serrated
wheel ignited the priming charge which in turn ignited the main
powder charge and fired the weapon

13. Wheel lock
Pros: Shorter lock time,
better accuracy, Less
weather sensitive
Cons: Fragile operating
system, very expensive to
manufacture

14. Flint lock
Source: www.howstuff.com

15. Flint lock
Flintlock ignition appeared in the late 1600s. When
the trigger is pulled, the hammer holding a piece of flint
fell against a steel cover (the frizzen) sitting over the
priming pan.The hammer knocked the cover out of
the way and the collision of flint and steel caused
sparks that ignited the powder in the priming pan.
Top View Flash Pan

16.  The ignition system which superseded that of the wheel lock was a
simple mechanism which provided a spark by striking a piece of
flint against a steel plate
 The flint was held in the jaws of a small vice on a pivoted arm,
called the cock
 The steel which was called the frizzen, was called the frizzen, was
placed on another pivoting arm opposite the cock,and the pan
containing the priming compound was placed directly below the
frizzen
 When the trigger was pulled, a strong spring swung the cock in an
arc so that so that the flint struck the steel a glancing blow

17.  The glancing blow produced a shower of sparks which
dropped into the priming pan igniting the priming powder
 The flash produced by the ignited priming powder
travelled through the touch hole, thus igniting the main
charge and discharging the weapon

18. Percussion system
The percussion lock (also called “caplock”) replaced the flintlock in
early 1800s. Early percussion locks used priming compounds inside a
metallic foil cap placed over the vent hole. When the hammer strikes
the cap, the resulting spark ignites the main charge.
Percussion

19.  The percussion cap also paved the way to the self-
contained ammunition we have today – cartridges and
shotshells
 The percussion cap ignition system was developed in 1805
by the Reverend John Forsyth of England
 Gunpowder, the projectile and the primer were put together
into a single housing that could be loaded quickly in the
mid-1800s. In addition to this system, some of the new in-
line muzzle loaders may use a 209 primer, the same as is
used in some shotgun shells

20.  Introduced in 1820s
 Making serious strides
towards cartridges
 Explosive pressure
sensitive
Ignition system much less
sensitive to weather.
Percussion caps

21.  The compound, mercury fulminate, when struck by a hammer,
produced a flash strong enough to ignite the main charge of
powder in the barrel
 A separate priming powder and sparking system was now no
longer required
 With this invention, the basis for self contained cartridge was laid
 Shaw employed a small iron cup into which was placed a small
quantity of mercury fulminate.

22.  This was placed over a small
tube, called a nipple, projecting
from the rear of the barrel
 The hammer striking the
mercury fulminate in the cup
caused it to detonate and so send
a flame down the nipple tube
igniting the main charge in the
barrel.

23. SpringfieldM1864
SPECIFICATION:
 Manufacturer Springfield
 Calibre .58
 Rifled
 Muzzle Loading
 Accurate Range 400 yards
Hammer Percussion cap
goes here
Functioning:
The hammer strikes the
percussion cap and ignites
the gunpowder, which
propels the bullet out the
barrel of the gun.
Sights

24. Pros- Cheap, fast lock time,
improved weather resistance,
multi-shot (repeater) action, looks
good in Westerns
 Cons- Slow reload time, possible
sympathetic detonations.

25. The pinfire system
 Introduced in 1840
 Off set primer
 Firing pin part of cartridge.

26.  Pin fire weapon was one of the earliest true breech -
loading weapons using a self - contained cartridge in
which the propellant, missile and primer were all held
together in a brass case
 In this system, the percussion cup
was inside the cartridge case whilst a
pin, which rested on the percussion cup,
protruded through the side of the cartridge
case
 Striking the pin with the weapon’s hammer
drove the pin into the priming compound
causing it to detonate and so ignite the
main propellant charge.

27. pinfire

28. The Rimfire system
 Introduced in 1840s
 Round of ammo is
complete.
 No cartridge pin
 Longest lived cartridge
to date is rimfire

29.  It is a thin - walled cartridge with a
hollow flanged rim
 Into this rim is spun a small quantity
of a priming compound
 Crushing the rim with the firing pin
causes the priming compound to
explode, thus igniting the propellant
inside the case.

30.  BB caps
 One of the oldest
cartridges used for indoor
gallery shooting
 Primer only, no
gunpowder
rimfire

31.  Rimfire has the priming
compound in the rim of the
cartridge
 Cartridge is self contained
allows fast reloading,
repeating action, reliability
rimfire

32. Early Rimfire
•

33. Modern Rimfire
 Most common
ammunition sold in the
world
 Pros- Cheap, Accurate,
reliable
Cons- limitations of
velocity and caliber

34. 22LR
 Most common cartridge
 Very accurate
 Cheap
 Reliable
 Virtually no recoil minimal
noise

35. 22LR

36. Center fire system

37.  This was the great milestone in weapon and ammunition
development
 In centre fire ammunition, only the primer cup needed to be
soft enough to be crushed by the firing pin
 The cartridge case could thus be made of a more substantial
material which would act as a gas seal for much higher
pressures than could be obtained with rimfire ammunition.

38. WhyCenterfire?
 Reloadable
 Capable of big projectiles and high
velocities
 Reliable
 Very weather resistant

39.  Heard, B.J., 2008, Handbook of Firearms and Ballistics, United Kingdoms,
Wiley Blackwell
 Sharma, B.R., 2002, Firearms in Criminal Investigation and Trials, 3rd
edition, India, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
 Gun Timeline, https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/gun-
timeline/ Retrieved on 5th October, 2019
 NRA Museum, http://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research/a-brief-
history-of-firearms.aspx Retrieved on 6th October, 2019
 The History of Guns, https://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-guns/
Retrived on 10th October, 2019
 Popular Mechanics,
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/g935/flying-
humvees-and-cluster-bombs-from-the-air-force-expo-12858520/
Retrieved on 30th September, 2019
Reference