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| {{Otheruses4|projectile weapons}}''' | |||
| A '''gun''' is a common name given to a device that fires high-velocity projectiles. The projectile, its caliber, or diameter, usually designated in fractions of an inch or in millimeters, is fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. Differing from the ], the modern gun is rifled, excluding smoothbores on ], ]s and ], with a series of grooves spiraling along the barrel, and indeed the first rifles were known as 'rifled guns'. | |||
| ] fires a full broadside during a target exercise near ], 1 July 1984.]] | |||
| The term "gun" is often used synonymously with ], but in military usage the term refers only to ] that fires projectiles at high velocity, such as ]s, or ]. A ] is a member of the team charged with the task of operating and firing a gun. Thus, by military terms, ]s and all hand-held firearms are excluded from this definition. The exception to this is the ], which is hand-held, has a smooth bore and fires a load of ] or a single projectile known as a slug. | |||
| The word "gun" is also applied to some more or less vaguely gun-like ]s, such as ]s and ]. | |||
| In a ] the "gun" is part of a ]. The "projectile" is ] that is fired and captured inside the device. In the case of ] it should not be confused with the gun that fires the whole warhead. | |||
| At times, the word gun is used to describe the person holding the weapon rather than the weapon itself, as in "a hired gun". | |||
| Etymology: "gun" is found in ] as "gonne", and seems to come from the ] woman's name ] or Gundhild = "war sword", applied to an early ]. | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ==Gun Related topics== | |||
| ===Types of weapons=== | |||
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| ===History and technology=== | |||
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| ===Politics and society=== | |||
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| ==External links== | |||
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