Small Arms

Small Arms

Small arms describe smaller number of infantry weapons that includes revolvers and self loading pistols, rifles, assault rifles, sub machine guns and light machine guns.



Handguns

Modern handguns are those created from crafted metals and (recently) hard plastics that are in great demands for both the military forces and police departments around the world. They are small, lightweight and provide good firepower not only used for defensive situations but also for offensive scenarios and even used for hunting. Proper choice of handgun and ammunition must be made for each situations. Handguns are classified into few classes: semi-autos (pistols), non-autos (single, single shot or multibarreled or magazine fed) and revolvers.

Semi-automatic handguns use some part of the energy produced by the burning cartridge powder to remove the used cartridge from the chamber, cock the striker or hammer and load a new ammo into the chamber so it will be ready for the next shot. Cartridges are usually placed in a box magazine, usually found at the pistol's handle. Magazines can contain 15 cartridges or more in a single or double columns, depending on the model.

Revolvers guns are those with a rotating (or Revolving) cylinder, which contains the cartridges. Usually the cylinder holds from 5 to 7 loads but some .22 caliber revolvers may contain up to 8-10 rounds. The cartridges in the revolvers can be reloaded in 2 ways, depending on the design, one by one like the Colt PeaceKeeper does, as an example, or all simulateounosly when the cylinder is switched to the side or when the is frame "broke open"


These are the guns designers in the following countries:

Austria

• GLOCK - was founded by an Austrian engineer by the name of Mr. Gaston Glock in 1963 in Deutsch-Wagram, near Vienna specializing plastic and steel components. GLOCK realized quickly that combining plastic and steel attracts the desireability particularly for military products, and began to supply the Austrian Army with machine gun belts, practice hand grenades, plastic clips, field knives and entrenching tools.
  
  
  
  
  
• Steyr - Steyr-Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in the city of Steyr, Austria. Originally, a part of a manufacturing conglomerate called Steyr-Daimler-Puch when it gained its independence when the conglomerate was broken around 1990.
  
  In 2004, the company made headlines when it sold around 800 HS .50 long ranger sniper rifles to Iran. There were a large amount of concern in the Allied countries specially United States, UK and to lesser extent, countries like Denmark that the rifes may find their way to the hands of Iraq insurgencies. Though the sale was approved by the Austrian government in November 2004.
  
  
  




• Steyr GB - The development of the GB pistol was started by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (now Steyr-Mannliher AG), Austria, in the early 1970s, when the Austrian army announced its plans to replace aging P38s and High Powers with the new pistol. Original design, labelled as PI-18, was developed in 1974, and final version, called GB, entered production in 1981. The production of the GB was ceased circa 1988, after some 15.000 to 20.000 pistols had been produced.
  
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• Steyr M - The Steyr M series pistols were first announced in 1999. Steyr M pistols, along with compact version, Steyr S, which were made in Austria by the Steyr-Mannlicher GmbH & Co, are not made any more. Since the January 1st, 2004, the Steyr M and Steyr S pistols have been replaced in production by the slightly redesigned Steyr M-1A pistols. Steyr M1-A pistols feature redesigned grip and frame shape, and Picatinny rail (instead of the proprietary rail) under the barrel. Another change from original M series pistols is that M-1A pistols are now available in two variants, with or without manual safety. There are probably some more minor differences.
  
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Argentine

Ballester-Molina - The company was established by two enterprising Spaniards, Arturo Ballester and Eugenio Molina back in 1929 for producing Hispano-Suiza automotive products in Buenos Aires. The company's name was Hispano Argentina Fabrica de Automoviles Sociedad Anonima or Spanish-Argentine Automobile Factory, Incorporated.

Years later, the company hired two frenchman Rorice Regaud and Carlos Ballester Molina ( a member of both the Ballester and Molina families). Rigaud become the company's chief design engineer, while Ballester Molina, originally responsible for metallurgy, heat treatment, and production methodologies, became its CEO.

Belgium

Browning - From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and designed a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1897 shotguns and the lever-action Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1894 and Model 1895 rifles, most of which are still in production today in some form.





FN Five-seveN


FN Forty-Nine


FN FNP-9 / PRO-9

Modern Weapons

A weapon is a tool which is intended to or is used to injure, kill, or incapacitate a person, damage or destroy property, or to otherwise render resources non-functional or unavailable. Weapons may be used to attack and defend, and consequently also to threaten or protect. Metaphorically, anything used to damage (even psychologically) can be referred to as a weapon. A weapon can be as simple as a club or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile.

After World War II most nations adopted 9 mm Luger pistols for military use. The most popular being the FN Browning Hi-Power, which was the first high capacity pistol, the other popular model was the Walther P38 because of its many modern safety features. In 1971 Smith & Wesson was the first company to offer a safe double action high capacity pistol with its Model 59. CZ launched its CZ-75 in 1975. Beretta its Beretta 92 in 1976. GLOCK came up with the ultra modern GLOCK 17 in 1982 and SIG-Sauer introduced its model P226 in 1983. In the early 90s, Heckler & Koch combined what they thought were the most desirable attributes of semi-autos in their pistol, the HK USP.