Everyone knows that the most serious and grave crimes are committed mainly with the help of firearms. With their high power, hand-held firearms pose a considerable danger to human life and health. This aspect creates an undoubted public danger of incidents involving the use of handguns. That is why it is necessary to train as specialists and society about the types, dangers, and possible information about weapons. In this paper, we two types of firearms that are often used by employees of the security and law services are considered: handguns and long guns.
Firearms – cold, small arms, the principle of which is to send a charge at a certain distance. It is used to destroy the enemy’s human resources, fortifications, and equipment. Modern small arms are primarily automatic, and they have a reasonably high shooting efficiency, reliability of action, maneuverability. Many different types of firearms can be used by law enforcement, recreationally or illegally. They can be divided into two main types: handguns and long-barreled guns. For simplicity, it can be said that long-barreled weapons are rifles and shotguns, and handguns are revolvers and pistols (Brown & Goodin, 2018).In forensic practice, small-sized pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns are most often used, which are more convenient for criminals to carry with them unnoticed and use in an attack.
The pistol is mainly used as a firearm for self-defense, and the rifle is more suitable for long distances. The gun is lighter and easier to carry for law enforcement and security organizations. A higher rate of fire and faster reload are the main differences and advantages of handguns. The development of pistols has brought their reliability to a very high level even when firing blunt-edged expansive bullets (Laqueur & Wintemute, 202). The quality of modern factory ammunition has made misfires very rare. It is convenient and easy to operate with the relative simplicity of the device, which allows the production of weapons in mass quantities.
Long weapons are very different from handguns. In them, to make the next shot, people need to pull the trigger. Nevertheless, this is achieved by more uncomplicated measures: each cartridge is located in its chamber, loaded and ready for battle. The advantage of such a weapon compared to others is that people can shoot again by simply pressing the trigger if it misfires. Furthermore, the mechanism is more durable because it is simple and driven by the shooter’s muscular force and not by the powder gases. The disadvantages of such weapons are the large size and difficulty of reloading.
Another difference is that the barrel of a handgun is small, and it cannot fire an accurate shot over a long distance, whereas the barrel of a rifle is elongated, and it can shoot with accuracy over long distances. It also follows that weapons such as a pistol and a revolver can be fired at an object with one hand, while in the case of a rifle and a shotgun, both hands are required.
People have always needed and still need means of protection. Firearms are certainly the most effective among all types of protection, but their use can cause sad consequences, including criminal prosecution. Today, firearms have many areas of application, from initial shooting training for further serious training with weapons to use by criminals. However, the vital choice of weapons obliges even experienced people to constantly educate themselves about the types of weapons and the consequences of their use.
References
Brown, J. D., & Goodin, A. J. (2018). Mass casualty shooting venues, types of firearms, and age of perpetrators in the United States, 1982–2018. American journal of public health, 108(10), 1385-1387.
Laqueur, H. S., & Wintemute, G. J. (2020). Identifying high‐risk firearm owners to prevent mass violence. Criminology & Public Policy, 19(1), 109-127.