Without looking it up I would think the word “fire” in firearms would refer to the lighting of something. Fire contact, ignite, explosion, projectile. In particular, yes gunpowder. Really all they did is say “this cannon works great, let’s make it smaller”. And of course as it became smaller the uses became more. Couldn’t kill game with a cannon, practically. Couldn’t assassinate with them.
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance,[4] operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon.[5] The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other explosive propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
I've never heard of a "fire lance" before, but that sounds pretty cool!
And, I have always loved the term Hand Cannon for a high-caliber pistol. I usually think of the .44 Magnum or the .50 Cal Desert Eagle for the Hand Cannon type of pistol. LOL.
LoL. “Shooting from the hip!” Excellent play on words for our conversation. Yea we’re digging on a subject cause it grabbed us, we were just sitting here! 😂. Yea we need to stop, we gonna derail the whole topic. But awesome info. I’m thinking that’s perhaps where the term hand cannon came from…..great, now I’m gonna be looking that up, lol. Stop it!
Without looking it up I would think the word “fire” in firearms would refer to the lighting of something. Fire contact, ignite, explosion, projectile. In particular, yes gunpowder. Really all they did is say “this cannon works great, let’s make it smaller”. And of course as it became smaller the uses became more. Couldn’t kill game with a cannon, practically. Couldn’t assassinate with them.
I think we've uncovered a fun little historical exploration here, fren!
I didn't look up anything before either. I was "shooting from the hip."
Check this out though,
I've never heard of a "fire lance" before, but that sounds pretty cool!
And, I have always loved the term Hand Cannon for a high-caliber pistol. I usually think of the .44 Magnum or the .50 Cal Desert Eagle for the Hand Cannon type of pistol. LOL.
LoL. “Shooting from the hip!” Excellent play on words for our conversation. Yea we’re digging on a subject cause it grabbed us, we were just sitting here! 😂. Yea we need to stop, we gonna derail the whole topic. But awesome info. I’m thinking that’s perhaps where the term hand cannon came from…..great, now I’m gonna be looking that up, lol. Stop it!