Difference between revisions of "Firearm"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(Redirecting to Gun) |
AManInBlack (talk | contribs) (Let's make a distinction; gun has lots of colloquial definitions, but a firearm is something specific) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | + | A '''firearm''' is device, typically used as a weapon, which fires projectile(s) with the force of the expanding gases created by the rapid burning of a confined [[propellant]] (typically [[gunpowder]]). Such weapons can be as small as [[handguns]], which can be carried and used in one hand, or as large as the [[cannon]] on a [[battleship]]. | |
| + | |||
| + | Such weapons are typically referred to as "[[gun]]s" in common usage. Gun has a particular meaning in specialist usage, however, when referring to larger weapons; a gun is a direct-fire weapon (which fires directly at the target), whereas a [[howitzer]] or [[mortar]] is an indirect-fire weapon (a weapon that fires in a high arc to drop its fire down on a target). | ||
Revision as of 03:21, July 7, 2007
A firearm is device, typically used as a weapon, which fires projectile(s) with the force of the expanding gases created by the rapid burning of a confined propellant (typically gunpowder). Such weapons can be as small as handguns, which can be carried and used in one hand, or as large as the cannon on a battleship.
Such weapons are typically referred to as "guns" in common usage. Gun has a particular meaning in specialist usage, however, when referring to larger weapons; a gun is a direct-fire weapon (which fires directly at the target), whereas a howitzer or mortar is an indirect-fire weapon (a weapon that fires in a high arc to drop its fire down on a target).