Basic Ballistics Paper Week2

[Selbiene_Raveren]

Brotherman                                                                                                                                   Brotherman/BBS100/1 
[redacted] 
BBS100 46405 
8/SEPT/2022  
 
 
 
  Understanding the evolution of the bullet from its infancy to modern times we must first discuss some of the earliest technologies to more modern iterations involving concepts like firearms, powder, and firing mechanisms. These three features play a role in the evolution of the projectile. First let us define what a bullet is, according to Wikipedia a bullet is described as a “Kinetic Projectile” and is derived from the French word Boullet, that translates to “small ball”.  Essentially a bullet is projected through a device with the use of a propellant with the intended function to hit a location or target. This propellant is gunpowder, the devices came to be known as fire arms, and with advancements in technology the bullet will evolve.  

 While the definitive origin of gunpowder is uncertain it is as of today is, attributed to China and it was first described by a monk named Roger Bacon sometime around 12AD. It is thought that the Chinese sometime between 960-1250AD first used this chemical mixture for medicine and fireworks soon realized this substances potential for use in weaponry. One of the first recorded uses of gunpowder was in China in a weapon we refer to today as a fire lance in which a spear with a hollow tube was packed with gunpowder and would create a flame directed towards the opponent during battle. This potential was very rapidly understood and the birth of the firearm was next. Early descriptions of these weapons claim bamboo tubes would fire arrow or spear like projectiles and then later would fire things like broken pottery and metallic pellets, and other small objects. Sometime in the 1970’s in a Chinese territory known as Heilongjiang, a local discovered the oldest physical example of a firearm described as a blunderbuss made from copper. It is thought this early example was crafted around 700 years ago and according to researchers 2 ancient Chinese characters were engraved on the almost 38cm or almost 15in barrel the words, “Sheng Fei” or translated to “Flying Magically”. It is my opinion that this is one example of a weapon that was used to fire broken pottery and the likes. Who would’ve thought that some of the earliest bullets were dads broken beer bottles and dirt? 

 A blunderbuss is basically a weapon in which you pour the gunpowder into the barrel and load in whatever fits and is packed tightly to allow for an explosive reaction creating that kinetic force. While the Chinese example is considered the oldest fire arm known to exist this muzzle loading fire arm technology over the years would evolve. For the time this weapon was probably not only terrifying to enemies still armed with spears and swords, the early wielders of this technology wanted to develop these primitive arms to satiate challenges including ignition, repeatability, and accuracy. 
 
                                                                                                                                                      Brotherman/BBS100/2 
 The use of cannons emerged sometime in the 1300’s using the front load concept using iron balls slightly smaller than the bore packed down in front of powder and a technology called a slow match for ignition. Naturally this technology evolved into a man portable weapon considered a hand cannon believed to have been developed as early as 1332. These weapons fired a lead bullet shrunk small enough to be fired from a smooth bore weapon. This style of loading bullets would reign supreme for a long time, and many weapons were innovated over the years to increase firing, accuracy, and reliability but it wasn’t until recently that the cartridge style of ammunition would start to emerge. 

 Early cartridges emerged in France sometime in the late 18th century and were nothing more than powder and a bullet wrapped in paper and later on linen. The word cartridge itself is derived from the French word “cartouche” and these primitive cartridges would work in a simple way. The shooter would tear open the bottom and pour the powder down the barrel and pack the bullet and paper or linen down the barrel with a ramrod made of either wood or metal to form a tight seal around the powder. The paper or linen would act as wadding and would allow for a nice tight seal for effective firing. 

 This concept of a readily available cartridge sparked innovation in a way that would change the face of firearms technology reaching across time all the way till today. These innovations would take the form of metallic based cartridges with priming elements internally based negating the old style of flintlocks and matchlocks necessity for powder being poured on a pan requiring spark to cause the powder to ignite. Other early weapons considered percussion guns achieved firing by means of a cap outfitted to a nipple that when struck by a hammer-initiated firing. Although both styles of these would remain in use militarily all the way into the late 19th century these would be replaced with more advanced self-contained cartridges. Although one of the first successful self-contained cartridges is attributed to Tyler Henry and his .44 rimfire cartridge. 

 Folks as early as 1812 such as Samuel Joannes Pauly introduced a patent for a breech loaded self-contained cartridge. This innovation was significant because the shooter no longer had to load the weapon from the muzzle as the breakaway function allowed for the barrel to open and the cartridge inserted into the rear of the barrel and then closed and locked mechanically. This significantly increased the shooters' ability to reload their weapons. Another interesting development was invented by a French gentleman and inventor Casimir Lefaucheux in 1830 and patented in 1835 known as the “pinfire” cartridge. This development was interesting as this design incorporated a firing pin integrated with the cartridge itself aligned from the outer diameter of the cartridge body to an internal primer near the base of the cartridge. Although not very safe or popular for the time this concept of a firing pin would take shape around 1836 in the form of the “needle gun.” 
 
                                                                                                                                                      Brotherman/BBS100/3 
 Johan Nicholas Von Dreyse invented his “needle gun” sometime in 1836, much like Pauly’s design, Dreyse used a breechloading style weapon that incorporated a new development of an internal firing pin integral to the function of his weapon, it was the first of its kind utilizing a bolt action allowing for the user to depress the trigger loosing the firing pin and striking a primer causing firing. 

 Since the inception of the firing pin ammunition would take shape into repeating rifles such as Henry’s .44 repeater, revolving pistols, internal magazine bolt actions like the Mauser brothers Peter and Paul’s model 1898. The modern cartridge by this time had evolved from paper jackets with pourable powder loads into a metallic body usually brass, copper, steel, or tin with a press fit bullet sealing the powder and a primer at the base in the rear aligned to firing pin. It is noteworthy to mention during the innovations of design breakthroughs in material science and chemistry allowed for things such as smokeless powder allowing for smaller higher velocity bullets to be introduced and manufacturing techniques that paved the way for mass production of high-quality munitions.  

 In an interview with Master Police Officer [redacted] of Virginia, USA we had discussed munitions and weapons mainly involving side arms and the changes that had been made within his respective department over the last 20 years. According to Master Officer [redacted], for at least 16 years the department was carrying Glock model 21 chambered in .45 ACP and was a great side arm. As he described the weapon, it was harder for newcomers to shoot but it had better stopping power and was generally very comfortable to carry when acclimated. He expressed that recently in the last year the department had since converted to a smaller Glock model 17 chambered in 9mm. According to Master Officer [redacted] this decision was made for 2 very simple reasons, the first being that the 9mm was easier for new officers to learn and train with and secondly, more importantly was cost effectiveness. This change in pistol created radical changes in the officers' training and qualification regime. He had noted that previous to the Glock 17 training and qualifications were conducted 2 times a year on bottle neck style targets at ranges spanning from 5ft to 25yards. After the indoctrination of the 9mm model training and qualification had dropped to 1 time per year. His description of these changes was because the force is understaffed and it was a decision made to allow for a higher influx of officers being hired and qualified. I really appreciated the short time I was afforded with Master Officer [redacted]. Other topics we discussed not related were the reality of staffing and scheduling of officers on duty, his duty rifle and shotgun, and personal readiness when off duty.  

 Weapons and ammunition in law enforcement have always had the same role; the intention has always been for the protection of one's person, or the protection of a citizen in need. Historically, folk like Wyatt Erp and epic showdowns of the west involving low hanging revolvers and duels romanticize the lawmens abilities to use weapons for the greater good, these aspects of American history and great stories sparked an imagination of the whole world, tales  
                                                                                                                            
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about cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers all really describe the never-ending conflict between good and evil.  

 In the future, cartridge and bullet types will for sure change, I am not determinate on what the new innovations of bullet or cartridge designs will be. There is one thing I do know, is that whatever the next iteration will be, will have to meet the historic recipe for success, this formula is called “logistics” whatever the future holds these bullets will have to be efficiently designed to meet manufacturing abilities, they will have to be effective and reliable. In our age they are developing projectiles that utilize electromagnetism to propel penetrating objects, they are creating weapons that require rare earth metals and cooling chemical agents to achieve the same goal as our traditional fire arm. I believe that any future iteration of the gun will always serve the same purpose, protection and defense against unknown forces. I personally believe that it will be citizens that will and always have had the need for advanced weapons and the largest potential for any new and efficient weapons will come in the form of cheaper and better manufacturing capabilities.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                 Brotherman/BBS100/5 
                                                                                     Works Cited 
 
“Earliest Firearms Discovered in China” “16January2001.” “8September2022.”  http://en.people.cn/200101/16/eng20010116_60588.html#:~:text=Earliest%20firearms%20Discovered%20in%20China%20Chinese%20historians%20confirmed,approximately%20during%20the%20Song%20Dynasty%20%28960%20-%201279%29. 
(note. This was a site associated with a Chinese server, you may get a 404 or 501 error if not using a vpn. If this is the case using the refresh feature should allow you to load the page read in English) 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet 
 
https://www.thecollector.com/first-guns/ 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firing_pin#:~:text=Unlike%20Pauly%27s%20cartridge%2C%20which%20was%20not%20widely%20accepted%2C,the%20first%20to%20employ%20a%20firing%20pin.%20 
 
 
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Pinfire_cartridge 
 
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/minie-ball 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyse_needle_gun 
 
https://gunsmagazine.com/discover/the-8mm-mauser/#:~:text=The%20German%20Gewehr%2098%20is%20the%20first%20Mauser,commercial%20factory%2C%20military%20surplus%20and%20my%20own%20handloads. 
 
SDI Basic Ballistics 
 
Https://nramuseum.org/gun-info-research/a-brief-history-of-firearms.aspx 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27a2mTWUVWI 
 
In regards to my primary source Master Police Officer [redacted] his information is available upon request. He is an active officer and requested that I not give department and contact details on an open source document but if needed I can provide his contact information to verify or follow up information that I provided in this paper.  

Very interesting and informative, but I think it needs a thesis statement. Your opening paragraph, you just sort of delve right into discussing the evolution of the bullet with no clear direction on why you are doing so. 

While the topic of the paper is to include the evolution of the bullet, what is really being asked is: what do you believe the next innovation will be and which field do you see it being used?

You sort of discuss this in your final paragraph, which is good. The last paragraph should always be a conclusion and reiteration of your thesis statement. I would maybe add a paragraph at the beginning of your paper with explaining that the evolution of the bullet was necessary for defense and protection against unknown forces (which would be the field of use) and innovation was largely influenced by not only the need for accuracy, reliability, and repeatability, but also manufacturing capability. 

While I don't know much about the topic, given certain political winds, I think it would be safe to also consider the elements of lethality in regard to the next innovation, considering how much the media loves to lament police shoots and mass shootings. >_<

Hope this helps. And good luck! ^_^

I am following a school format I didn’t see a thesis statement required as I was already assigned the criteria.

Good deal. Sometimes coming up with those is the most difficult thing. ^_^