European handgun

    The general types of handguns are listed in their order of historical in. Each type can be classified into many subtypes. Some of these types can also be differently classified using the general distinction between muzzle-loading firearms (loading from the front of the barrel) and breech-loading firearms (loading from behind the barrel).

Western European handgun, circa AD 1380. It is 18 cm long and weighs 1.04 kg. It was fixed to a wooden handle to facilitate manipulation (e.g., aiming; holding while firing; holding while hot). 

 Single-shot

     Single-shot pistols are the simplest possible form of pistols. The earliest handguns were single-shot, muzzle-loading guns with ignition provided by inserting a smoldering match cord into a touch hole. As such, they were essentially nothing more than miniature cannons, small enough to be handheld.

     Improvements followed in subsequent centuries, as various types of locks (ignition devices) were invented. In the matchlock, the separate match cord was affixed to a spring-loaded pivot which could be tripped by a trigger. In the wheellock, a mechanism analogous to that used in today's cigarette lighters replaced the smoldering match cord. In the 17th century, the flintlock, which strikes a flint against steel, appeared. (The flintlock, amazingly, remained state-of-the-art for some two hundred years.) In the 19th century, percussion caps were developed, followed shortly by modern integrated-primer cartridges, and hammers therefore traded their flint for firing pins.

     Single-shot pistols continue to be manufactured today and are often used for target shooting. They are also sometimes used for handgun hunting of game, including big game. The most powerful handguns are capable of killing all game, including elephants. (Governments attempt to enforce the regulation of big game hunting to prevent overhunting.)