How Does
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Generally speaking, any handgun that is not a revolver is a pistol. This s not a hard definition, however, as revolvers are sometimes also referred to as pistols. The most common type of modern pistol is the semi-automatic pistol.
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Nearly all semi-automatic pistols in use today work on the principle of recoil. Simply put, the force of the recoil from firing the gun is used to power mechanisms that eject the spent cartridge of the previous round, and loads a new round of ammunition into the chamber. This readies the pistol for firing without any action on the part of the shooter. Ammunition in semi-automatic pistols are held in a detachable magazine, almost always stored in pistol's handle, that is spring-loaded and pushes new rounds of ammunition up into the top position where it can be reached for loading.
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The recoil action found in semi-automatic pistols was developed by Hiram Maxim for use in his famous machine gun, introduced in 1883. Many set to work on putting the principle to work in a self-loading pistol, with early examples including the famous C-96 broom-handled Mauser pistol of 1896. Other early designs include American John Browning's M1900 and the famous pistol of Georg Luger (named the Luger after its designer). By the Second World War, semi-automatic pistols had become reliable and very popular. Only the British, American and Soviet armies continued to use revolvers, and only the British used them on a large scale.
eHow Article: How Does a Pistol Work?
