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Guns began with the Chinese discovering gunpowder. They started off with just rockets filled with gunpowder and tied to bamboo sticks. They soon recognized the power of the gunpowder alone. 1232
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The first recorded use of a gun was in 1364 and it was a gun that required the user to light the wick by hand which then ignited the gunpowder that was already loaded into the gun.
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The first mechanic guns were made around the late 1300s/ early 1400s. They were known as matchlock guns. Wicks were now attached to a clamp that sprang into gunpowder that was placed in a "flash pan".
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About a hundred years later, guns were innovated. These guns were called wheel lock guns. Wicks were now replaced the wheel lock that generated a spark for igniting the gunpowder.
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Percussion-cap guns were a major innovation for guns. Invented by Reverend John Forsyth, these guns no longer used flash pan, a tube lead straight into the gun barrel, the tupe had an exposive cap on it that exploded when struck.
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These, the colt revolvers, were the first mass-produced, multi-shot, revolving firearms.
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This innovation was a gun that featured a removable, seperate magazin in the grip of the gun.
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The first automatic rifle is made and is known as a Winchester. The historical firearms period concludes and now begins the contemporary period.
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Detective Technique Gun Timeline. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/gun-timeline
Bellis, M. (2012). History of Firearms. About.com Inventors. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://inventors.about.com/od/militaryhistoryinventions/a/firearms_2.htm
N. (n.d.). The History of Early Fireworks and Fire Arrows. The History of Early Fireworks and Fire Arrows. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://inventors.about.com/library/invento
