Objectives: To paraphrase the foundation and development of firearm identification.

Procedure: Trace the timeline indicating the beginning and development of fire arm
identification.

1232 - The Chinese who invented gunpowder (black powder) first used it in a weapon -
gunpowder-filled tubes aka rockets.

1364 - First recorded use of a firearm - shooter lit wicks by hand that ignited gunpowder
that was loaded into the gun barrel.

1400s - The matchlock gun appears.

With this innovation, a shooter uses one hand for firing, and a prop to steady the gun.
The first device, or "lock," for mechanically firing a gun is the matchlock. Powder is held
in a "flash pan," and ignited by a wick, or match, in a movable clamp. Both hands
remain on the gun, vastly improving aim. Early matchlock guns are extremely rare.

1509 - Wheel lock guns - wicks were replaced by the wheel lock that generated a spark
for igniting the gunpowder.
The next major advance, the wheel lock, generates a spark mechanically. With no wick
to keep lit, the wheel lock is easier to use, and more reliable than the matchlock.
However, wheel locks are expensive to produce. Matchlocks, at half the cost, remain in
common use. This is an early (ca. 1540) multi-shot, wheel-lock pistol, made for Emperor
Charles V. In this weapon, two locks are combined in one mechanism, to give each
barrel separate ignition.

1540 - Rifling appears in firearms.

Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which
imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to stabilize the
projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy.

1630 - The first true flintlock.

The flintlock solved a longstanding problem. Sometime in the late 1500s, a lid was
added to the flash pan design. To expose or protect the powder, the lid had to be
moved manually. The flintlock mechanism was designed to push back the lid and spark
a flint at the same time. The flintlock ignition system reigned for two centuries, with
virtually no alteration.

1825 - Percussion-cap guns are in general use.

The percussion cap was the crucial invention that enabled muzzle loading firearms to
fire reliably in any weather. This was significant because a flintlock was prone to misfire
in wet weather. The percussion cap is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one
closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive
material. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer which strikes the percussion cap and
ignites the explosive primer. The flame travels into the gun to ignite the main powder
charge.

1835 - The first Colt revolver.

Samuel Colt developed the first mass-produced, multi-shot, revolving firearms. Various
revolving designs had been around for centuries, but precision parts couldn't be made
with available technologies. Colt was the first to apply Industrial Age machining tools to
the idea. Mass production made the guns affordable. Reliability and accuracy made the
Colt a favorite of soldiers and frontiersmen.

1840 - Guns begin to use pin-fire cartridges.

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. Its history is closely associated with the development of the
breechloader which replaced muzzle-loading weapons. Pinfire cartridges were
convenient in that they could contain percussion cap, powder and shot in a neat pre-
loaded package which was several times faster to fire and reload and was inherently
safer.

1850 - True shotguns in common use.

In the second half of the 18th century, musket design branched out. This period
produced a number of single-purpose firearms. The forerunner of modern shotguns was
the fowling piece, developed specifically for hunting birds. Among the upper classes,
fowling was a leisure sport. Fowling pieces for the very affluent were often lovely works
of art, but impractical for hunting.
1859 - The first full rim-fire cartridge.
A rimfire is a type of firearm cartridge where the firing pin strikes the base's rim. The rim
of the rimfire cartridge is essentially an extended and widened percussion cap which
contains the priming compound, while the cartridge case itself contains the propellant
powder and the projectile. While many other different cartridge priming methods have
been tried since the 19th century, only rimfire and centerfire technology survive today in
significant use.

1860 - Spencer repeating carbine patented.

Introduced at the start of the Civil War, Spencer repeating guns were technically
advanced, used cartridges, and could fire 7 shots in 15 seconds. But the Army didn't
want a repeating gun, fearing that soldiers would fire more often, constantly need fresh
ammunition, and overtax the supply system. But in 1863, President Lincoln test-fired a
Spencer. His approval led to the purchase of 107,372 Spencer repeating carbines and
rifles (of 144,500 made), and the Spencer became the principal repeating gun of the
Civil War.

1862 - The Gatling Gun is invented.

The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of
the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel
design which facilitated cooling and synchronized the firing/reloading sequence. Each
barrel fired a single shot when it reached a certain point in the cycle, after which it
ejected the spent cartridge, loaded a new round, and in the process, cooled down
somewhat. This configuration allowed higher rates of fire to be achieved without the
barrel overheating.

1869 - Center-fire cartridge introduced.

A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge with a primer located in the center of the cartridge
case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable
component, allowing these cartridges to be reloaded with new powder, bullet, and
primer, and reused.

1873 - Winchester rifle introduced.

Winchester rifles were affordable, and produced in such great numbers, that the
Winchester became the generic rifle. The Winchester had such a powerful hold in some
regions that it actually became known as "the gun that won the West." In 1887,
Winchester came out with their first repeating shotguns. The next major milestone for
Winchester came in 1903, when the company introduced the first automatic rifle that
would become widely used. *

1877 - First effective double-action revolver.

In a double-action (DA) revolver, the stroke of the trigger pull generates three actions:
(1) the hammer is pulled back to the cocked position (2) while the cylinder is being
indexed to the next round, and then (3) the hammer is released to strike the firing pin.
Thus, DA means that a cocking action separate from the trigger pull is unnecessary;
and every trigger pull will result in a complete cycle. This allows unlocked carry while
also allowing draw-and-fire using only the trigger. A longer and harder trigger stroke is
the trade-off, but this drawback can also be viewed as a safety feature, as the gun is
safer against accidental discharges from being dropped.

1879 - Lee box magazine patented.

The most popular type of magazine in modern rifles and handguns, a box magazine
stores cartridges in a column, either one above the other (single-stack) or staggered
zigzag fashion(double-stack). As the firearm cycles, cartridges are moved to the top of
the magazine by a follower driven by spring compression to either a single feed position
or side-by-side feed positions. Box magazines may be integral to the firearm or
removable.

1892- Advent of automatic handguns.

The first automatic pistol was created by Joseph Laumann in 1892. But the Borchardt
pistol of 1893 was the first automatic with a separate magazine in the grip, and this
remains the defining feature of the breed. More automatics came in rapid succession,
including Browning, Luger, Mauser, and Colt models. By the turn of the century, just 8
years after Laumann, automatics were firmly established.