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Essay on us gun history
History of guns in america
History of guns in america
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cocking the hammer. This concept made the five shooter the first practical, fast-firing repeaters when they came out of his Paterson, New Jersey, factory in 1836.” As the author explains this technology was important evolutionary change for firearms, not did it implement the more reliable way of igniting the charge in a guns barrel, the percussion cap, but it allowed for a more rapid and sustained rate of fire which would become very important. This technology of repeating sustained fire rate would not only limited to short range fire arms, but would eventually be implemented in long range weapons as well. According to Firearms an Illustrated History, “there had been attempts to produce a “repeater,” or multiple-shot, rifles and muskets as early as the 16th century. Notwithstanding the success enjoyed by the percussion revolvers of Colt and others, it took the unitary cartridge containing primer, charge, and projectile in one package to make the repeating rifle a satisfactory reality in the mid-19th century.” …show more content…
According to author Spencer Tucker in The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War Volume 1, “Smokeless powder, developed in France in 1884, was technologic breakthrough. More powerful than coarse black powder, it also left less fouling residue.” Smokeless powder had an important tactical advantage as well. “Black powder emitted thick smoke after each discharge, limiting concealment by marking the shooters location. At the same time, the smoke served to limit the shooter’s vison by obscuring the target. The discharge from smokeless powder, though not completely invisible, allowed for riflemen to fire from concealed positons with considerable greater security and
The rifle and the coveted shotgun, literally brought home the bacon. With sleek models such as the Winchester .44 in 1873, accurate targeting sights increased a hunter’s ability to take down his prey, even from large distances, often exceeding 200 yards. The other weapon of choice, the shotgun, did not boast a straight, clean shot, but had the capacity to tear anything to shreds in a single blast. A short barrel provided the advantage of a wider blast range and easier handling (Trachtman et al 50). In many battles, the shotguns were often preferred for their simplifying features.
Prior to the invention of the Minié ball it was necessary for the bullet to be the same diameter as the barrel in order for it to engage the rifling. This made it difficult and time consuming to load because the bullet would have to be rammed down the barrel with some force. Due to this fact, muzzle loading rifles had not seen any previous use in combat. The Minié ball, however, changed this. The Minié bullet was slightly smaller in diameter than the rifle barrel, was conical in shape, and contained an iron plug in its hollow base. When fired the force of the expanding charge would force the iron plug into the base of the bullet, thus causing the base to expand slightly and engage the rifling. The Minié bullet, fired from a rifled musket, had an effective range of up to 250 yards, which was a vast improvement over earlier muskets and ammunition. The rifled musket firing the Minié ball became the most common firearm used by both sides during the Civil War, and the Springfield armory in Massachusetts produce nearly two million for the Union Army. (History.com, 2010)
...waste ammunition.” During the war colonel Hiram Berdan formed a regiment of sharpshooter for the union army called Berdans sharpshooters. These new soldiers would be better shooters against their enemy and would be save great amounts of ammunition and money. Contests were held across the country to find these elite sharpshooters. To make the cut you had put 10 consecutive shots into a target at two hundred yards. Each shot couldn’t be more than to inches from the center of the bull’s eye. At the end of these contests 1,000 winners were enlisted in the 1st United States sharper shooters. The next generation of breechloaders called magazine rifles would prove ever more deadly to confederate opponents. “Guns such as Spencer and Henry repeating rifles were deigned to carry preloaded magazine of seven to fifteen bullets which could be inserted into the rear of the gun.”3
Doctor Richard Gatling patented the Gatling gun in 1861. This gun would become one of the deadliest weapons of the war. The Gatling gun was a six-barreled gun and would fire...
A popular weapon used by both sides was the rifle. Rifles were invented before the Civil War and were greatly used in the War of 1812. However, more types were built and a larger amount was used during the Civil War. Rifles added a spin to bullets for a greater accuracy at longer ranges. Using this weapon, soldiers could fire 400 yards away, as opposed to the average 80 yards (Robertson 50). Rifles were the fastest and hardest weapon of the time. Rifles allowed their bullets to be shot harder and faster towards its target. New inventions, used by the Union more than the Confederate, included Parrott rifles. They were composed of iron. Robert Parker Parrott, an American soldier and inventor, created these weapons, hence the name Parrott rifles. Despite its name, the Parrott rifle was actually a cannon. Its size ranged from 10 to 300 pounders. It was not favored by most because it was considered unsafe (“Civil War Artillery”). Because of its bulkiness and heaviness, it seldom led soldiers to inaccuratel...
The Winchester Model 1873 Repeating rifle. In the days of the rifle it was one of the
Remington quickly grew and was seen as a leading firearm which then expanded its firearm goods by creating the first hammerless auto-loading shotgun, as well as many their own repeating firearms. As the array of firearms created by Remington grew, more interest was put into the company, and therefore in 1865 it was formed into a stock company.
This was the self contained brass cartridge. It contained an ignition source called a primer, an amount of powder and a bullet. Early cartridge guns were converted percussion rifles. The first repeating rifles were the Henry and Spencer, the Henry had a fifteen shot internal magazine and the Spencer a seven round removable magazine this meant multiple could be carried. Repeaters were not limited to rifles though handguns such as the famous Colt Single Action Army were a common favorite among both civilians and military personnel. The industrial revolution boosted the firearms industry. It allowed gunsmiths who formerly would cut rifling and make parts by hand using saws and files to now use vertical mills and lathes to improve both output and precision. Barrels became easier to rifle and take to size using lathes and mills allowed sights to be manufactured much easier. The next major evolutionary step in the firearms industry was the bolt action rifle. A bolt action provides a tighter seal at the breach than other actions allowing higher pressure cartridges and a farther effective range do to increased velocity The first bolt action used by the U.S. military was the Krag-Jorgensen a Norwegian rifle with a internal side loading magazine. It was thought by many that the Krag was was an exceptional piece of equipment but during the Spanish - American War it was proved otherwise. Spaniards armed with German Mausers a rifle with a
“Man O’ War was the kind of thoroughbred that brought you closer to divinity than most people had been before.” This quote by an unknown describes Man O’ War well; “Man O’ War was America’s legendary thoroughbred race-horse” (“Man O’ War 1917-1947”) and was the type of horse that taught his rider, the people around him, and the entire world that if you keep pushing you can reach any and all goals. Man O’ War was a loving horse that made many feel as if they were getting closer to God. To most people, Man O’ War was a work of art that was brought down to them straight from God because he was perfect; he was a gorgeous stallion that seemed to most as unbeatable. Man O’ War raced his heart out and dominated every race he was in, even the one race he lost. Man O’ War was an important figure in the 1920s American history because he changed the perspective of horse racing forever.
Before beginning about the history of ball bearing or bullet ball guns, which are referred to as BB guns in short, let’s take a quick peep at some of the most interesting facts about air guns:
ARM & HAMMER is a well-established company with a strong reputation in North American market and yet its international expansion efforts are not as effective as expected by top management. Narrow product line is one of the limited factors, whereas management team does not operation successfully, heavily relying on acquisition as the preferred market expansion strategy. SWOT analysis of ARM & HAMMER’s assets and decisions reveals that the company has enormous potential for growth and increase in market share, however, the development of an efficient market strategy is essential. In particular, it is recommended for the company to invest more financial and human resources into competition analysis and international market expansion strategic planning.
The first guns used in America were a simple machine where the person did most of the work. The user measured and put the powder down the barrel of the gun. Next some shotgun pellets were put in the same way. This was then all compacted and the gun was ready to fire. This reloading took over a minute before each shot could be fired and the guns weren't very accurate by today's standards. If too much powder was used then the gun could explode or if the powder were wet then the gun wouldn't fire. One of inventions during the Revolutionary War was a way to reload faster. The powder was already pre-measured and kept in little sacks. This made reloading faster because the user no longer had to measure the powder between each reloading. These guns were crude but in that day was a powerful modern invention that was considered very useful. The American Revolution was a political war to obtain what the people of that era wanted. By today's standards the destruction of gun was minimal so war was used to obtain political objectives.
On October 1st 2017, the United States experienced their deadliest mass shooting in history. Nevertheless, the debate about whether or not the United States should imply gun policies has been a popular topic in the 21st century. This country has made themselves best known for its military and gun policies. In “America Is a Gun” by Brian Bilston, the speaker demonstrates his thoughts that a gun would best represent America as an object. In this poem, the theme that the United State’s default is the lack of regulations of firearms is conveyed by repetition and contrast.
“Volley Guns” (Chivers, 2010, p.26) or also known as “Organ Guns” (Ellis, 1975, p.10) were first attempts at increasing firepower by adding several barrels at the firing itself, rather than simply attempting to increase the rate of fire. “Gunsmiths had long ago learned to place barrels side by side on frames to create firearms capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession. These unwieldy devices, or volley guns, were capable in theory of blasting a hole in a line of advancing soldiers” (Chivers, 2010, p.26). An example of such weapons can be seen on July 28, 1835 when Giuseppe Fieshi unleashed terror on King Louis-Phillipe in Paris, France. He fired his 25 barrel “volley gun”, killing 18 of the king's entourage and grazing the King's skull. The weapon was ineffective however. Four of the barrels failed and another four ruptured. Two other barrels had exploded inside, grievously wounding Giuseppe. (Chivers, 2010, p. 27)