To add to the reinforcement of the kingdom’s soldiers, the commonplace citizens were also required to participate in battles to boost the efficiency of soldiers and protect their kingdom. Gambesons were the padded garbs that were the earliest form of armour employed by the knights in the medieval epoch.

They were made of steel and were worn in form of leggings and shirts. They included woven rivets to prevent the spread of intertwined rings made from heavy steel metal.

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Enchanting Medieval Extremadura

This Spanish region comprises only Caceres and Badajoz provinces. Its capital is Merida in Badajoz. This region is an interesting historical sight of Roman ruins. It was the Romans who placed Extremadura region into history as Merida was made to be one of the Roman Empire’s most essential cities. However, the region fell into the hands of the Moors before changing hands to the Spanish Christians. This toggle of reign between the two powers continued for quite some time. Spain – Medieval Extremadura

This Spanish arena comprises alone Caceres and Badajoz provinces. Its basic is Merida in Badajoz. This arena is an absorbing actual afterimage of Roman ruins. Medieval Weekends in Spain

If you enjoy all things medieval, then you should consider spending a weekend enjoying Medieval Spain. The Spanish Regal Family

The Imperial family of the Kingdom of Spain has been in existence for the longest time compared to other European royalties.The main weapons used in battles included batons, bows and arrows, billhooks, daggers, war axes and spears just to mention a few.

The Knights’ armour

The Chain mail body armour progressively died away as a result of invention of artillery capable of harming a solider wearing it. The Chain Mail became less protective against enhanced weapons such as the cross and long bows. It was this that led to the contraption of the knight armour. The defensive armour was fabricated as a suit and cost a fortune.

To guarantee comfort to the knight at the time of the battle, the suit was custom made for a knight so that it could fit perfectly to enable the knight to counter enemy attacks without any hindrance.

The Armour as the Status Emblem

The protective as well as defensive armour used by a knight was emblematic of the class or ranking of the Knight.
A knight equipped with enhanced armour implements was worth more and stood better chances of surviving a weapon attack from the enemy side in a battle.

Protective armour for various Body Parts

An assortment of armour implements was used to protect various body parts. The region of the body below the waistline was covered with cuisses and poleyns to shield the knee caps and thighs correspondingly. Greaves on the other hand protected the ankles. Rerebraces and Vambraces were used to protect the hands of the knights.

The chest and back were undoubtedly the most susceptible for attack and breastplates and back plates ensured that the knight was safe during a battle. Helmets with a clip-on visor were used to protect the head.

Museums across Spain are excellent places to access both theoretical and visual facts regarding medieval artillery.   
 

The Senguko Period (or Warring States Period) would come tobe known as the greatest social upheaval in the history of Japan. For 133Japan would suffer from almost constant military conflicts that would eventuallyspread to all corners of the country. What began as a battle of jealousy wouldcome to engulf the entire country and eventually end in the massive Battleof Sekigahara and establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Senguko Period officially began with the Onin War in 1467.Although, there are numerous factors that contributed to the turmoil of theSenguko Period, it was the feud between two men that set off the Warring States.These two men were Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Souzen. Souzen was the fatherin law of Katsumoto but was still jealous of his son in laws success. Katsumotowas a Kanrei, or deputy to the Shogun, and from a much more successful clanthan Souzen. When the Shogun had a son this presented a perfect opportunityfor Souzen cause dissent between himself and Katsumoto. Souzen supported theShogun’s son as the heir to the Shogunate. Katsumoto supported the currentShogun’s brother. Tensions built but fighting was restrained. The Shogun,sensing the oncoming battle between the two men, decreed that the first manto attack the other within Kyoto would be branded a traitor.

In 1467 the tensions between the two men came to a head andKatsumoto attacked Souzen (however, due to Katsumoto’s political maneuveringit would be Souzen who would be branded as a traitor). Open war broke outin Kyoto and would last for a year. By the time the fighting ended Kyoto wasleft in ruins. Neither Katsumoto nor Souzen had won a victory over the other,and in 1473 both men died. However, the fighting continued. From Kyoto theunrest spread to all corners of Japan. Daimyos fought Daimyos and clans foughteach other. In several provinces the peasants and lesser Samurai, tired ofthe wars, revolted and chased out the ruling clans. After 10 years of widespreadfighting the Onin War came to end. The result was 100 more years of unrestin Japan and the beginning of the end for the Ashikaga Shogunate.

The Chaos of the Warring States raged on until the appearanceof Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga was a ruthless leader who campaigned to bring allof Japan under his control. Originally thought to be mentally unstable, Nobunagawould first take control of his clan, then the country, and finally end theAshikaga Shogunate. Just before his conquest of Japan was complete he wasbetrayed by one of his retainers (Akechi Mitsuhide) and forced to commit Seppuku.

After the death of the Nobunaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi took overthe campaign for the unification of Japan. Toyotomi completed the unificationand finally brought order to Japan. However, this peace would not last. WithHideyoshi’s health failing he assigned the 5 most powerful Daimyos to takeact as regents until his young son came to age. The 5 elders, as they werecalled, collapsed into disputes and eventually war. The final battle of theSenguko Period was the Battle of Sekigahara. This battle was between IeyasuTokugawa and Ishida Mitsunari. By the end of the battle Ishida was defeatedand Tokugawa became the Shogun.

The 133 years that covered the Senguko Period produced a plethoraof warriors. In order for sword smiths to keep up with the growing demandof swords mass production had to be instituted. The result of this was a significantdecrease in the quality of the sword. The days of sword smiths refining theirown steel passed and the with it the legendary strength of the Katana. Manyswords from this period still exist, but most are of low quality. The SengukoPeriod effectively ended the Golden Age of the Sword. Swords of the GoldenAge would never again be seen in Japan.

Firstly it may be that the materials available and the physical environments were similar. Secondly, it is possible that the process of trial and error, which is an integral part of any discovery, produces similar results in dissimilar contexts. Thirdly, cultural contact, through invasion or commerce, may have offered the opportunity for some peoples to incorporate some features of the weapons of others, or copy them entirely. It is likely however that it is a combination of all three factors which has resulted in these similarities.

Weapons can be divided into two main categories. The first, indirect weapons, contains those which either fire a projectile to destroy their prey, or are the instrument of destruction themselves. These include stones, catapults, spears, bows and arrows, throwing sticks, light and heavy artillery, and finally rockets and bombs. The effectiveness of these weapons depends largely upon how accurately and how far the missile can travel without losing its impact.

The second category contains those weapons which are normally wielded by an individual in close combat. They could also be thrown but this would greatly reduce their effectiveness. This group is known as direct and includes clubs, knives, swords, sticks, flails and bayonets. In the course of the history of weaponry, the weapons in these categories have been both individually employed and used in conjunction, with equal effect. The relative advantages in using direct or indirect types, depend entirely on the demands of the situation.

Throughout history, in every culture, warriors have appreciated the importance of practice in the successful handling of weaponry, as well as to the development and perfection of new combat techniques. Through trial and error, they incorporated the most successful moves and strikes into their combat repertoire eventually adopting them permanently. Attacks, blocks and counters were studied and experimented with before being tried in real combat, since in a life and death situation a wrong move or strike, or even a poorly practiced combination, could result in serious injury or death.

Effective weapons and techniques were the result of the adaptation of the farming implements and household tools used by the peasants, both to till their soil and to defend their homes and p’roperty. Their effectiveness was constantly proven in combat situations, and alternative defensive practices became incorporated into the use of weaponry as a result.

Many of these skills and weapons, created out of necessity, have become obsolete in modern times. It is only now that there is a general revival of interest in mastering combat techniques. Some of the weapons, such as the rifle, bow and arrow and pistol, have been adopted for use in modern sporting competitions and have thus continued to develop and improve, but many others have fallen into disuse and the skills forgotten.

The FMG stands for folding machine gun. What this is is basically a semi-automatic handgun (in the video below the MAGPUL representative uses a Glock) that is encased in a rectangular case about the size of a large book. This collapsible case can fit in the back of your pocket, and a small flashlight can be attached to the top of the case so it appears as if you’re just carrying a flashlight with one of those big battery packs attached. This FMG is a weapon for concealment that would draw little if any attention from anyone who happened to see the thing, that is until you swiftly unfolded it. But even then, it might not appear to be a firearm except maybe by someone who is familiar with guns and/or trained to spot them. Even though the MAGPUL FMG is technically a handgun, for handling purposes it looks as if you’d use it more like a mini-submachine gun, think Mac 10 or Mini Uzi.
As of 2008, MAGPUL was not selling their FMG, and I couldn’t find it on their Web pages. Perhaps it will be available in the future. However the Web site FullAutoClassics.com is purporting to sell a folding machine gun marketed as the UC-M21 (to my knowledge not affiliated with MAGPUL) available in 9mm, taking Uzi magazines and comes in full auto.
Interestingly enough, the Magpul FMG isn’t the first such device ever created, though it is the most recent one. Gun manufacturer ARES created one back in the early 1980s, though it was not a handgun, but more of a true mini-submachine gun, and was never sold on the market. And, of course, there’s the UC-M21 mentioned above.

Coilguns
Technically, coilguns aren’t firearms. There’s no fire. Without getting into a bunch of science, it’s difficult to explain how a coilgun works, but basically it’s a projectile weapon (often similar in shape and size to a handgun or small rifle) in which coils of electromagnets are used to launch a magnetic projectile.
Apparently no one has perfected a coilgun as of yet, so they’re not very common nor popular. To my knowledge, after much research, no company professionally manufacturers coilguns. Instead, most coilguns are created by hobbyists, those with a love of coilguns. If you’d like to know more, and to see a whole bunch of different designs for coilguns, check out the World’s Coilgun Arsenal.
The video below shows a weak coilgun at work and gives a little detail on how the device operates.

Miniature ring pinfire revolver
This one is an antique apparently built in London back about 1870. It’s literally a ring you wear on your finger, and it’s a miniature revolver with sevenshots. Built for the ladies, this weapon was dubbed the “Femme Fatale.” It fires .06 caliber pinfire projectiles. Comes with its own, engraved case. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d feel safe firing this thing off, especially seven times. I’d be afraid my hand would blow up. And considering this thing would have a relative distance of only … oh, a foot! … I think I’d just stick with a trusty knife if I needed a weapon at such a close range.

Neostad shotgun
Look at the image below. At first glance, it looks like a short semi-auto rifle or maybe even a paintball gun. It’s not. It’s a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun meant for law enforcement and military applications and not for sporting. Made by the Truvelo Armorycompany out of South Africa, this shotgun sports dual top mounted magazine feeds. That’s right, those big round things atop the barrel (where the pump grips can be seen) are actually removable magazines. Looks awesome, too, in my opinion.

Gyrojet weapons
A gyrojet firearms are simple to describe. They fire a miniature rocket instead of a traditional bullet. Because of the high spin rate of the projectile and the lack of recoil, modern gyrojet weapons are supposedly quite accurate.
An organization known as MB Associates originally began to develop gyrojet pistols and rifles in the 1960s, and eventually a few of these firearms were placed on the market and even tested by United States military. Probably the best known of these early gryojets was an MB Associates pistol called the Mark 1 model B, which fired a 13mm rocket projectile. As pictures below will show, there were even carbine versions made. Unfortunately the weapons never caught on for a variety of reasons, including a lack of accuracy and firepower in these early gyrojet projectiles.
Still, today, there are manufacturers and hobbyists looking at the potential of gryojet weapons. One of these modern projects can be found online as The “Deathwind” Project.

Palm Pistol
The modern Palm Pistol isn’t available for sale just yet, but Constitution Arms is gearing up to place this interesting little weapon on the market.
And what exactly is a Palm Pistol? It appears to be a single-shot firearm you trigger by pushing a button on top with your thumb. See the images below for a better idea.
This would seem to be a concealed-carry weapon, and/or perhaps a last-defense weapon.
Also, while this particular Palm Pistol is quite modern looking, the basic idea of a roundish one-shot firearm that can fit in the palm of your hand is an old idea going back at least as far as the mid-1800s. Still, the new Palm Pistol appears interesting and to be a major improvement over older, similar weapons.

The following image is of an old palm-like pistol from the 1800s. This particular version was made in France.

TKB-022
Looking like something out of an old Flash Gordon movie, the TKB-022 was an experimental Soviet assault rifle back in the 1960s. It fired a 7.62 mm round and its housing was a hard plastic, unusual for the times.
The Soviet military tested various versions of this rifle for several years, but eventually passed on the design. Why? Who knows? Perhaps the weapon was just too unusual looking for the Soviet brass. Or maybe it was because the traditional Soviet weapon of choice, the AK-47, was just too good a weapon to let drop. The answer probably lies in some secret Russian files somewhere.

COP .357 Derringer
This handgun is a four-shot derringer chambered for .357 magnums, which means it should also be able to fire .38 rounds. Manufactured by COP Inc., which no longer exists, this firearm was meant to be a concealed carry gun no bigger than many of those cheap .25 semi-autos you can find in most pawn shops.
Besides its looks, what makes this derringer unusual? For one thing, it had a floating firing pin. As you can tell in the image below, the COP has four chambers. You load each one separately. Then as you pull the trigger, the firing pin moves internally so it is over each chamber before firing. This handgun was also double action, which didn’t give it a very easy trigger pull.
Unfortunately for gun lovers, the COP is no longer being manufactured, so it’s not easy to find one. Still, every once in a while one will pop up at a gun show or online.

Borchardt C-93
Before the famous Luger, there was the Borchardt C-93. For all its impracticalities, this ungainly-looking sidearm was actually the first semi-automatic pistol marketed in Europe and one of the first semi-auto pistols made in any numbers throughout the world in the 1890s.
Chambered for a 7.65X25mm Borchardt cartridge, this handgun had massive recoil and just wasn’t very easy to use. All that bulk also added to difficulties of handling and storing, even simply holstering.
However, without the Borchardt there might never have been the Luger or the Mauser pistol. George Luger made a study of the Borchardt, improved upon it drastically and came up with the now famous Luger pistol. As for the Borchardt and the Mauser, the 7.65X25mm Borchardt cartridge played a big influence on the Mauser C96 pistol which fired a 7.65X25mm Mauser cartridge.

Jarre Harmonica Pistol
This oddity can bring a hefty collection at auction houses nowadays, usually at least $10,000 if the gun is in decent condition. Originally this handgun was built in the 1800s in the hopes of being one of the first multi-round weapons. It was, but it’s obvious just looking at the gun that it wasn’t very practical. The revolver stood out. Thank Sam Colt. The Jarre wasn’t the only harmonica pistol of its day, but it’s probably the best-known. It fired .38 rounds.

Related links
10 Unusual Revolvers
Fiction Writers Need to Know Their Weapons
5 Excellent Books about the History of the Old West

Some people prefer to keep a licensed gun for safety and security purpose. Owning a weapon like gun always keeps them into the safe zone of security feeling. They choose to keep their guns for occasional uses only. The gun can also be taken along with at the visit to forests or other habitation prone area where the probability of finding the wild animals is high. Your gun can protect you from the unexpected danger coming your way.

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Paintball Gun Accessories

Paintball gun parts make the upgrading for the paintball marker effortless to manage. With parts like the barrels for a sniper paint ball marker, it is also simple to convert a regular marker into a sniper paint ball gun. A paint ball gun package could be packaged with assorted upgrades for the marker they are packaged along with, which may make for a very good deal. Truck Gun Rack – A Must Have Accessory

Without a gun rack in the back window of your pickup, well, it might as well be a sedan. Sure, the trucks have gotten fancier, but no matter how fancy they gussy-up a pickup, you still need a truck gun rack to stow your gear. Maintaining Your Arms- The Best Gun Cleaning Accessories

Possessing a weapon and maintaining it are two entirely different facets. Cleaning a weapon such as your gun takes good cleaning tools and accessories. Also, the gun needs a fire to its tail in order to fire and that is the ammunition. But when the ammo is not in the gun, it needs to be stored in a place that is free from moisture. So it also takes a good moisture-free ammo box to ensure its functioning and security! Paintball and its Main Accessories

The use of the term “cannon” is interchangeable with “gun” as words borrowed from the French language during the early 15th century, from Old French canon, itself a borrowing from the Italian cannone, a “large tube” augmentive of Latin canna “reed or cane”. Recent scholarship indicates that the term “gun” may also have its origins in the Norse woman’s name “Gunnildr”, which was often shortened to “Gunna”. The earliest recorded use of the term “gonne” was in a Latin document circa 1339. Other names for guns during this era were “schioppi” (Italian translation-”thunderers”), and “donrebusse” (Dutch translation-”thunder gun”) which was incorporated into the English language as “blunderbuss”. Artillerymen were often referred to as “gonners” and “artillers”. Early guns and the men who used them were often associated with the devil and the gunner’s craft was considered a black art, a point reinforced by the smell of sulfur on battlefields created from the firing of guns along with the muzzle blast and accompanying flash.

In military use, the term “gun” refers primarily to direct fire weapons that capitalize on their velocity for penetration or range.

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Stun Guns Stun Guns

Stun gun is an electronic device that re firmly held in hand of a person, uses a high voltage electronic charge to temporarily stop an attacker.it functions on one or two 9 volt batteries. It has a voltage of 85,000 to 625,000 volts. With one touch from the prong this device hit a punch that makes the attacker immoveable for several minutes causing loss of muscle conrol by the charge. Airsoft Guns

Airsoft guns are considered as soft air rifles. Types of Airsoft guns includes spring powered or spring loaded, electric guns, gas powered Airsoft guns and classic Airsoft rifles. Stun Guns

There are several people who have many doubts regarding the effectiveness of the stun guns. They give the argument that the usage of the stun gun is not needed when one can just get a real gun and use that instead. But there are others still who give the arguments that the usage of the real guns can result in kill the person it is used against and can cause serious permanent damage. Stun Guns

The stun Guns can be best described as being not only non-lethal electronic devices that can be utilized to deliver high voltage electric charges that are temporarily used for disabling an attacker. The stun Guns employ the usage of one or at times two 9-volt batteries that have a voltage that ranges from 85,000 to as high as 625,000 volts.In modern parlance, these weapons are breech-loaded and built primarily for long range fire with a low or almost flat ballistic arc. A variation is the howitzer or gun-howitzer designed to offer the ability to fire both low or high-angle ballistic arcs. In this use, example guns include naval guns. A less strict application of the word is to identify one artillery weapon system or non-machine gun projectile armament on aircraft.

The word cannon is retained in some cases for the actual gun tube but not the weapon system.
The title gunner is applied to the member of the team charged with operating, aiming, and firing a gun.

Autocannon are automatic guns designed primarily to fire shells and are mounted on a vehicle or other mount. Machine guns are similar, but usually designed to fire simple projectiles. In some calibers and some usages, these two definitions overlap.

A related military use of the word is in describing gun-type fission weapon. In this instance, the “gun” is part of a nuclear weapon and contains an explosively propelled sub-critical slug of fissile material within a barrel to be fired into a second sub-critical mass in order to initiate the fission reaction. Potentially confused with this usage are small nuclear devices capable of being fired by artillery or recoilless rifle.

In civilian use, a related item used in agriculture is a captive bolt gun. Such captive piston guns are often used to humanely stun farm animals for slaughter.

Shotguns are normally civilian weapons used primarily for hunting. These weapons are typically smooth bored and fire a shell containing small lead or steel balls. Variations use rifled barrels or fire other projectiles including solid lead slugs, a Taser XREP projectile capable of stunning a target, or other payloads. In military versions, these weapons are often used to burst door hinges or locks in addition to antipersonnel uses.1

Types of guns

Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver

Marlin Model 1894C a carbine in .357 Magnum

Military firearms

Long gun

Arquebus

Blunderbuss

Musket

Musketoon

Wall gun

Grenade launcher

Submachine gun

Personal defense weapon

Rifle

Lever action rifle

Bolt action rifle

Assault rifle

Battle rifle

Carbine

Service rifle

Sniper rifle

Shotgun

Combat shotgun

Semi-automatic shotgun

Machine guns

Gatling gun

Minigun

Nordenfelt gun

Metal storm

Mitrailleuse

Submachine gun

Machine pistol

Machine gun

General-purpose machine gun

Light machine gun

Squad automatic weapon

Infantry Automatic Rifle

Medium machine gun

Heavy machine gun

Handguns

Handgun

Pistol

Service pistol

Revolver

Service revolver

Machine pistol

Autocannon

Autocannon

Chain gun

Artillery guns

Artillery gun

Cannon

Carronade

Falconet

Field gun

Howitzer

Tank guns

Tank gun

Hunting guns

Elephant gun

Express rifle

Shotgun

Muzzleloader

Breechloader

Guns for training and entertainment

Airsoft gun

BB gun

Paintball gun

Replica gun

Inert gun

Spud gun

Water gun

Nerf gun

See also

Firearm

Gun culture

Gun law

Gun politics

Gun safety

Railgun

Stun gun

Citations and notes

^ Online Etymological Dictionary

^ Kelly, Jack. (2004). Gunpowder Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics:The History of the Explosive that Changed the World. Basic Books. pg.31

^ Ibid:pg.31

^ Ibid:pg.30

^ Ibid:pg.32

^ Captive Bolt Stunning Equipment and the Law – How it applies to you (pdf)

References

Lee, R.G., Introduction to battlefield weapons, systems & technology, Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, UK, Brassey’s Publishers, Oxford, 1981

Look up gun in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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