Gun facts for kids
A gun (also called a firearm) is a weapon used to shoot metal objects called bullets. Guns were first made for hunting, target shooting, and to protect people and their belongings. People quickly saw how useful they could be in wars. Like bows and arrows, guns could hit targets from far away. Guns come in many sizes. Some are small enough to hold in one hand. Others are very large, like those on a warship.
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How Guns Work
Guns that one person can carry and use have similar main parts. These include a trigger, a barrel, and a handgrip or stock. You pull the trigger with your finger to fire the gun. This sends a bullet out. The barrel guides the bullet towards the target. You hold the gun by its handgrip or stock.
What is a Cartridge?
A modern bullet is part of a round or cartridge. A cartridge has three main parts: a bullet, propellant, and a primer. These parts are all inside a metal, paper, or plastic case. This case fits perfectly into the chamber of the gun.
When the back of the case (where the primer is) is hit, a small explosion happens. This explosion lights the propellant. The burning propellant creates a lot of gas, which pushes the bullet very fast out of the barrel.
Loading Cartridges
Cartridges can be loaded into guns in different ways. Some are put directly into the gun's chamber. More often, they are loaded into a clip, a magazine, or another container. This container then goes into the gun.
Some handguns, called revolvers, have a spinning cylinder with holes. You load bullets into these holes. Modern handguns, called pistols, use a magazine and are known as automatic loading guns.
Guns in the Military
In the military, the word "firearm" is often used for weapons soldiers carry. These include pistols (sometimes called 'shorts') and rifles ('longs'). Guns are very powerful weapons. Some guns shoot bullets at very high speeds. This makes them much more effective than an arrow or spear. They also work better from longer distances. Bullets are usually solid pieces of metal that do not explode.
Modern armies use the word "gun" for larger weapons that fire bigger ammunition. For example, weapons on warships and tanks are called "guns." These might be in a "turret," which is a rotating base. Big artillery guns usually fire shells that explode when they hit something.
Almost every country's army uses firearms as their main weapons. Every soldier in a modern army has at least one firearm. Soldiers are trained to use their firearms, keep them clean, and make sure they work well. Armies have used guns since about the 14th century. Long guns called muskets, which one person could carry, were used by 1350. Guns became very important in European armies around the 1600s.
Guns in Sports and Hunting
Shooting is a sport where people test their accuracy and speed. They use different types of guns, such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and airguns. Shooting sports are grouped by the type of gun, the targets, and how far away the targets are. Target shooting is an Olympic sport.
Hunting has been a way of life since the first humans. For a long time, and still in some places, it was key to survival. Humans are different from other animals because they use tools. About 2 million years ago, people learned to hunt animals for meat. They learned to make and use spears and axes. Bows and arrows were used at least 71,000 years ago.
Today, some subsistence hunters still use older tools. But many have started using modern firearms. In modern countries, hunting is still allowed but is seen as a sport. Hunting can help control the number of certain animal species. Handguns are generally not used for hunting.
Gun Laws
Guns can be used to harm other people. Because of this, many countries only let soldiers, police officers, and certain people own them. In some countries, you need a special permit (or license) to own a gun.
To get a permit, you might need to be a certain age and meet other rules. For example, in the United States, federal law says you can buy rifles and shotguns at age 18 from a licensed dealer. But you must be 21 or older to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer. If you buy from someone who isn't a licensed dealer, there are different rules.
In the United States and other countries, people can buy guns for self-defense, hunting, and shooting sports like target shooting. In countries like Australia, people on farms can keep guns. But it is harder for someone in a city to get a gun without a good reason. In the United Kingdom, laws control who can own firearms very strictly. However, these rules are less strict in Northern Ireland.
Common Types of Guns
Images for kids
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SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol
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Battleship USS Iowa fires a full broadside from its nine sixteen-inch naval guns
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A 'flying-cloud thunderclap-eruptor,' a proto-gun firing thunderclap bombs, from the Huolongjing.
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The first firearm (a "proto-gun"), the fire lance, from the Huolongjing.
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Hand cannon from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)
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Western European handgun, 1380
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A breech loading matchlock with a plug bayonet from the Binglu, 1606.
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Depiction of a musketeer (1608)
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The Henry rifle and Winchester rifle
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Rifling of a 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun.
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The Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces.
