The Semi-Automatic Pistol
Colt Model 1911
A semi-automatic pistol only has one chamber and a barrel. It is loaded with a magazine, normally through the grip. Semi-automatic pistols use a mechanism that utilizes the power of the first shot to throw the casing out and reload itself with another round from the magazine so it can be fired again by the time the trigger is pulled. This is normally done through a recoil operation, blow-back or gas operation. A semi-automatic pistol harnesses the energy of one shot to reload the chamber for the next. Even guns such as revolvers, which use one barrel and many chambers, achieve firing one bullet for every pull of the trigger but these are not considered semi-automatic because they do this in a completely different manner.
Colt's first semi-automatic pistol was the Colt M1900, which was manufactured in 1900. The Colt M1900 used a .38 ACP round, which is .02 calibers larger than the Colt Navy Revolver. The Colt M1900 went up against two other semia-automatic pistols, the recoil operated Mauser C96 and the blow-back Stey Mannlicher M1894. The Colt outperformed both of these guns through vigorous tests, including a firing test and torture tests to see which gun would rust or malfunction under certain conditions. Semi-automatic pistols had a great advantage over the revolver. Since the pistol was loaded with the use of a magazine, the user would have an easier time of ejecting the spent magazine and replace it with a full one. This gave wielders a far superior edge over the revolver because that would make reloading almost twice as fast.
Below is a video showing how a the semi-automatic Colt M1911 works.
0:00 to 3:20 = Shows the assembly and parts of a Colt M1911
3:20 to 5:24 = Shows how the gun loads and shoots
Colt's first semi-automatic pistol was the Colt M1900, which was manufactured in 1900. The Colt M1900 used a .38 ACP round, which is .02 calibers larger than the Colt Navy Revolver. The Colt M1900 went up against two other semia-automatic pistols, the recoil operated Mauser C96 and the blow-back Stey Mannlicher M1894. The Colt outperformed both of these guns through vigorous tests, including a firing test and torture tests to see which gun would rust or malfunction under certain conditions. Semi-automatic pistols had a great advantage over the revolver. Since the pistol was loaded with the use of a magazine, the user would have an easier time of ejecting the spent magazine and replace it with a full one. This gave wielders a far superior edge over the revolver because that would make reloading almost twice as fast.
Below is a video showing how a the semi-automatic Colt M1911 works.
0:00 to 3:20 = Shows the assembly and parts of a Colt M1911
3:20 to 5:24 = Shows how the gun loads and shoots