The history of the development of the early hand gun is somewhat vague. The earliest `personal firearms' are thought to have developed in Sweden, Germany and Central Europe in the early to mid 14th century. Bearing little resemblance to the modern concept of a hand gun, they generally consisted of a barrel over a foot long, fixed to a wooden stave around three feet in length. Thus, at over four feet long they were rather cumbersome by today's standards. They would either fire a ball, stone or some shot. The gun would be charged with powder, with some more powder being sprinkled into the vent, this would then be ignited with a hot iron, igniting the main charge and discharging the load.
The development over the next two hundred years was slow, but included the matchlock in the 15th century and the musket in the 16th century. Most advances involved different ways of igniting the powder, although the trend was also for them to become smaller. Towards the end of the 16th century they began to resemble what we now know as the pistol. Perhaps the most major developments came in the early 19th century, when the percussion principle was discovered. This is the first time that the hammer and firing pin was used successfully, rendering the muzzle loading method obsolete, and providing the basis for the more modern rapid firing guns.
In the 20th century, however, handguns have evolved into two main types - the revolver and the automatic. Each has its use and each has its advantages. The revolver has a cylinder which normally holds six cartridges. Each time the trigger is operated the cartridge is discharged and the cylinder revolves, bringing a new cartridge into the firing position. Their simple design and comparatively few moving parts makes them generally more reliable than automatics and, probably for that reason, they tend to be used in many , but not all, police forces throughout the world.
The automatic operates on a different principle in that the bullets are held in a magazine which slides into the butt. Each time the trigger is operated the used cartridge is ejected and a spring mechanism pushes a new cartridge into place. Automatics are more compact than the revolver, but also more complicated. However, where the revolver tends to be favoured by police forces, the automatic is used extensively in almost all armies throughout the world.
