In military parlance, a
gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing
weaponA weapon is a tool used to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat.Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile, and include those that damage individual or group morale.-Prehistoric weapons:Very simple weapon...
. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other
firearmA firearm is a device which projects either single or multiple projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion. The firing is achieved by the gases produced through rapid, confined burning of a propellant. This process of rapid burning is technically known as deflagration...
s in being a
crew served weaponAn infantry support weapon is a weapon system that requires a crew of more than one individual to operate at optimum efficiency due to its operational complexity — such as requiring one person to load while another fires...
such as a
howitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
or
mortarMortar has several meanings:* Mortar fires shells at a much lower velocity and higher ballistic arc than other ordnance.* Mortar , material used in masonry to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together....
, as opposed to a small arm like a
rifleA rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
or pistol, but there are exceptions, such as the USAF's GUU5/P. At one time, land-based
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
tubes were called
cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and sea-based naval
cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
were called guns. The term "gun"
morphMorph is from the Greek morphe meaning shape or form. For example, the word metamorphosis means a change in shape or form. Common uses of the term include:-Fiction:* Morph , an X-Men character of Marvel comics...
ed into a
genericGeneric is something that is general, common, or inclusive rather than specific, unique, or selective.* Generic mood, a grammatical mood used to make generalized statements like Snow is white...
term for any tube launched projectile firing weapon used by
sailorA sailor or mariner is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s including boarding parties and Marines.
In modern parlance, a gun is a
projectileA projectile is any object propelled through space by the exertion of a force which ceases after launch. Although a thrown baseball could be considered a projectile, the word more often refers to a weapon...
weaponA weapon is a tool used to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat.Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile, and include those that damage individual or group morale.-Prehistoric weapons:Very simple weapon...
using a hollow, tubular
barrelA gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....
with a closed end—the breech—as the means of directing the projectile (as well as other purposes, for example stabilizing the projectile's trajectory, aiming, as an expansion chamber for propellant, etc), and firing in a generally flat trajectory.
The term "gun" has also taken on a more
genericGeneric is something that is general, common, or inclusive rather than specific, unique, or selective.* Generic mood, a grammatical mood used to make generalized statements like Snow is white...
meaning, by which it has come to refer to any one of a number of
triggerTrigger may refer to:* Trigger , a mechanism that actuates the firing of firearms* Trigger pad, a device used in electronic percussion* Image trigger, a device used in highspeed cameras* Schmitt trigger, an electronic circuit...
-initiated, hand-held, and hand-directed implements, especially with an extending bore, which thereby resemble the class of weapon in either form or concept. Examples of this usage include
staple gunA staple gun or powered stapler is a hand-held machine used to drive heavy metal staples into wood or masonry. Staple guns are used for many different applications and to affix a variety of materials, including insulation, house wrap, roofing, wiring, carpeting, upholstery, and hobby and craft...
s,
nail gunA nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a type of tool used to drive nails into wood or some other kind of material. It is usually driven by electromagnetism, compressed air , highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a small explosive charge...
s, and glue guns. Occasionally, this tendency is ironically reversed, such as the case of the American
M3 submachine gunThe M3 was an American .45-caliber submachine gun that entered US Army service on December 12, 1942 as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal...
which carries the nickname "Grease Gun".
Most guns are described by the type of barrel used, the means of firing, the purpose of the weapon, the caliber, or the commonly accepted name for a particular variation.
Barrel types include
rifledRifling is the helix-shaped pattern in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to gyroscopically stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy....
—a series of spiraled grooves or angles within the barrel—when the projectile requires an induced spin to stabilize it and
smoothboreA smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
when the projectile is stabilized by other means or is undesired or unnecessary. Typically, interior barrel diameter and the associated projectile size is a means to identify gun variations. Barrel diameter is reported in several ways. The more conventional measure is reporting the interior diameter of the barrel in decimal fractions of the inch or in millimeters. Some guns—such as
shotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s—report the weapon's
gaugeThe gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the fraction of a pound...
or—as in some British ordnance—the weight of the weapon's usual projectile.
A gun projectile may be a simple, single-piece item like a bullet, a casing containing a payload like a shotshell or explosive shell, or complex projectile like a sub-caliber projectile and sabot. The propellant may be air, an explosive solid, or an explosive liquid. Some variations like the
GyrojetThe Gyrojet is a family of unique firearms developed in the 1960s named for the method of gyroscopically stabilizing its projectiles. Firing small rockets rather than inert bullets, they had little recoil and didn't require a heavy barrel to resist the pressure of the combustion gases. Velocity...
and certain other types combine the projectile and propellant into a single item.
Terminology
The use of the term "
cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
" is interchangeable with "gun" as words borrowed from the French language during the early 15th century, from
Old FrenchOld French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 900 to 1300...
canon, itself a borrowing from the Italian
cannone, a "large tube" augmentive of Latin
canna "reed or cane". Recent scholarship indicates that the term "gun" may also have its origins in the Norse woman's name "Gunnildr", which was often shortened to "Gunna". The earliest recorded use of the term "gonne" was in a Latin document circa 1339. Other names for guns during this era were "schioppi" (Italian translation-"thunderers"), and "donrebusse" (Dutch translation-"thunder gun") which was incorporated into the English language as "blunderbuss". Artillerymen were often referred to as "gonners" and "artillers". Early guns and the men who used them were often associated with the devil and the gunner's craft was considered a
black artBlack art can refer to:* Art forms by persons of African descent ** specifically to the American, Australasian or European Black...
, a point reinforced by the smell of
sulfurSulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Sulfur, in its native form, is a yellow crystalline solid. In nature, it can be found as the pure element and as sulfide and sulfate minerals...
on battlefields created from the firing of guns along with the muzzle blast and accompanying
flashFlash may refer to:* Flash, Staffordshire* Teen Patti, a 3-Cards poker style game, popular in South Asia.In technology:* Flash , instantaneous illumination for picture taking...
.
In military use, the term "gun" refers primarily to direct fire weapons that capitalize on their velocity for penetration or range. In modern parlance, these weapons are breech-loaded and built primarily for long range fire with a low or almost flat ballistic arc. A variation is the
howitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
or gun-howitzer designed to offer the ability to fire both low or high-angle ballistic arcs. In this use, example guns include
naval gunsNaval artillery or naval rifles refers to warship-mounted guns used in naval warfare for attacking enemy vessels, bombarding targets on shore , or for anti-structural demolition. Conversely, the term may be used as a descriptor about the naval rifles used in land batteries for anti-shipping area...
. A less strict application of the word is to identify one artillery weapon system or non-machine gun projectile armament on aircraft.
The word
cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
is retained in some cases for the actual gun tube but not the weapon system. The title gunner is applied to the member of the team charged with operating, aiming, and firing a gun.
AutocannonAn autocannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannon often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannon are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a faster rate of fire...
are automatic guns designed primarily to fire shells and are mounted on a vehicle or other mount. Machine guns are similar, but usually designed to fire simple projectiles. In some calibers and some usages, these two definitions overlap.
A related military use of the word is in describing
gun-type fission weaponGun-type fission weapons are fission-based nuclear weapons whose design assembles their fissile material into a supercritical mass by the use of the "gun" method: shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another...
. In this instance, the "gun" is part of a
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
and contains an explosively propelled sub-critical slug of fissile material within a barrel to be fired into a second sub-critical mass in order to initiate the fission reaction. Potentially confused with this usage are small nuclear devices capable of being fired by artillery or
recoilless rifle.The M-388 Davy Crockett was a tactical nuclear recoilless rifle projectile that was deployed by the United States during the Cold War. It was named after American soldier, Congressman and folk hero Davy Crockett .-Development:...
In civilian use, a related item used in agriculture is a
captive bolt gunA captive bolt pistol is a device used for stunning animals prior to slaughter...
. Such captive piston guns are often used to humanely stun farm animals for slaughter.
ShotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s are normally civilian weapons used primarily for hunting. These weapons are typically smooth bored and fire a shell containing small lead or steel balls. Variations use rifled barrels or fire other projectiles including solid lead slugs, a
TaserA Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and device's mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
XREP projectile capable of stunning a target, or other payloads. In military versions, these weapons are often used to burst door hinges or locks in addition to antipersonnel uses.1
Types of guns
Military firearms
- Long gun
The term long gun is used to describe classes of firearm and cannon with longer barrels than other classes. In small arms, a long gun is designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, while in artillery a long gun would be contrasted with a howitzer or carronade.-Small...
- Arquebus
The arquebus is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modelled on the German: Hackenbüche, this produced haquebute...
- Blunderbuss
The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle, and used with shot. The blunderbuss is an early form of shotgun adapted to military and defensive use...
- Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder.Usually, the musket is thought to be the weapon that replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle...
- Musketoon
The musketoon is a shorter barrelled version of the musket, and served in the roles of a shotgun or carbine. Musketoons could be of the same caliber as the issue musket, or of a much larger caliber, 1.0-2.5 inches . The musketoon is most commonly associated with naval use, and pirates in...
- Wall gun
Wall guns were large caliber smooth-bore muskets that were used in the 16th through 18th centuries by defending forces to break the advance of enemy troops. They were too heavy to be fired from the shoulder and so were usually rested on window ledges or low walls, hence the name. They were also...
- Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
- Personal defense weapon
A personal defense weapon is a compact semi-automatic or fully-automatic firearm similar in most respects to a submachine gun, but firing an armor-piercing round which gives a PDW better range, accuracy and armor-penetrating capability than a submachine gun firing pistol-caliber cartridges...
- Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
- Lever action rifle
- Bolt action rifle
- Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a rifle designed for combat, with selective fire . Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies, having largely superseded or supplemented larger and more powerful battle rifles such as the M14, FN FAL and the Heckler & Koch G3...
- Battle rifle
A battle rifle is a full-size rifle designed for military use that fires a high-power rifle cartridge such as the U.S. .30-06 Springfield, the German 7.92x57mm IS, the Russian 7.62x54mmR, or the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge...
- Carbine
A carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle or musket. Many carbines, especially modern designs, were developed from rifles, being essentially shortened versions of full rifles firing the same ammunition, although often at a lower velocity...
- Service rifle
The service rifle of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle suitable for use in nearly all theatres and environments. Service rifles are also often selected for their...
- Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a rifle used to ensure accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military centerfire cartridge...
- Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
- Combat shotgun
A combat shotgun is a shotgun that is intended for use in an offensive role, typically by a military force. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I...
- Semi-automatic shotgun
A semi-automatic shotgun is a form of shotgun that is able to fire a cartridge after every trigger squeeze, without any manual chambering of another round being required...
- Submachine gun
A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size...
Machine guns
- Gatling gun
The Gatling gun was one of the most well known rapid-fire weapons to be used in the 1860s by the Union forces of the American Civil War, following the 1851 invention of the mitrailleuse by the Belgian Army....
- Mitrailleuse
Mitrailleuse is the French word used to describe all rapid-firing weapons of rifle caliber. Therefore the word "mitrailleuse", when used in the French language, applies to all machine guns including modern full automatic weapons. However in the English language the word "mitrailleuse" applies...
- Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
- General-purpose machine gun
- Heavy machine gun
The heavy machine gun is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
- Light machine gun
A light machine gun or LMG is a machine gun designed to be carried and fired by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, and used in a front-line infantry support role. LMGs are often used as squad automatic weapons....
- Medium machine gun
A medium machine gun or MMG, in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed automatic firearm firing a full-power rifle cartridge and typically weighs from 15 to 40 pounds . MMGs usually have some type of provision for extended firing, such as a removable or extra-heavy barrel, cooling fins, or a...
- Squad automatic weapon
A squad automatic weapon is a weapon designed to give infantry squads or sections a compact and mobile source of suppressive fire. SAWs are usually equipped with a bipod for stabilization and fire the same cartridge as the assault rifles carried by other members of the unit...
- Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
- Submachine gun
A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size...
- Metal storm
Metal Storm Limited is a research and development company that specializes in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology. Metal Storm is both the name of the company and the technology....
Artillery guns
- Artillery gun
Artillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
- Cannon
A cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
- Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
- Falconet
The falconet or falcon was a light cannon developed in the late 15th century. During middle ages guns were decorated with engravings of reptiles, birds or beasts depending on their size: a snake for the culverin, as the handles on the early cannons were often decorated to resemble serpents...
- Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances...
- Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
Hunting guns
- Elephant gun
An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, rifled or otherwise, so named because they were originally developed for use by big-game hunters for elephants and other large dangerous game.- Early use :...
- Express rifle
The term express was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the middle 1800s, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black powder to propel a lightweight, often hollow point bullet, at...
- Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
- Muzzleloader
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun...
- Breechloader
A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the bullet or shell is inserted or loaded at the rear of the barrel, or breech; the opposite of muzzle-loading....
Guns for training and entertainment
- Airsoft gun
- BB gun
BB guns are a type of air gun designed to shoot projectiles called BB after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. These projectiles are usually spherical but can also be pointed; those are usually used for bird hunting. Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore...
- Paintball gun
- Spud gun
A spud gun is a small children's toy used to fire a fragment of potato. To use, one punctures the surface of a potato with the gun's hollow tip and pries out a small pellet, fitted snugly in the muzzle. Squeezing the grip causes a small build-up of air pressure inside the toy, which propels the...
- Water gun
A water gun is a type of toy designed to shoot water. Together with water balloons, these devices are the primary tools used to soak another during a water warfare game....
- Nerf gun
See also
- Firearm
A firearm is a device which projects either single or multiple projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion. The firing is achieved by the gases produced through rapid, confined burning of a propellant. This process of rapid burning is technically known as deflagration...
- Gun culture
The gun culture is a culture shared by people in the gun politics debate, generally those who advocate preserving gun rights and who are generally against more gun control...
- Gun law
A gun law is a law that pertains to firearms. Restrictions on gun ownership and use vary greatly both by country and the type of firearm used....
- Gun politics
Gun politics is a set of legal issues surrounding the ownership, use, and regulation of firearms as well as safety issues related to firearms both through their direct use and through legal and criminal use.-International:-National sovereignty:...
- Gun safety
For discussions on politics concerning firearms and gun safety, see Gun politics. For the part of a gun that is called a "safety" or 'safety catch', see Safety ....
- Railgun
A railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor....
- Stun gun
A stun gun can be:*An electroshock weapon, a real weapon that temporarily disables a person with electric shock: with some forms by contact or at a distance.*Some directed-energy weapons, real or fictional*Various science fiction weapons...