The term "firearm" referred to any ranged weapon that fired solid projectiles as opposed to the plasma-based blasters or energy-based pulse weapons. Most firearms used a combustible substance such as gunpowder or other explosive chemicals to propel the projectile. While many metals and polymers were used in the production of projectiles (also known as bullets, slugs, or "rounds"), lead and brass were the most common. Propellant-based firearms typically used bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, single-action, semi-automatic, or fully-automatic mechanisms to reload after firing.
History[]
The earliest form of firearms, which appeared as early as 26,000 BBY, were gunpowder-based muzzleloaders that could only fire one round before reloading. Known muzzleloaders included the arquebus, the hand cannon, the blunderbuss, and the musket. Bolt-action and lever-action firearms became common among Republic soldiers around the time of the Great Hyperspace War (c. 5000 BBY), though reliable models would not appear until c. 4500 BBY. The first fully automatic firearms became commonplace around 4000 BBY, around the same time that the predecessors to modern blasters came into existence. While blasters dominated Core World militaries from thereon, firearms remained prevalent in other regions of the galaxy for several millennia. By the time of the Imperial era, firearms were still very common among many criminals, hunters, sportsmen, and policemen.
In around 50 BBY, a law was passed by the Galactic Senate banning the use of projectile weapons in warfare and law enforcement as they potentially caused more pain upon impact, resulted in slower deaths, and posed an unintentional threat to nearby individuals should the projectile pass through the intended target. Many also preferred blasters over traditional firearms as blasters had little to no recoil and typically contained more ammunition.
Firearm types[]
- Powder guns, the most common type of firearm, used gunpowder or other explosive powders to propel bullets. The term powder gun may also refer to larger weapons such as launchers, mortars, and cannons that also used gunpowder.
- Airguns used compressed gas to propel bullets. Most airgun bullets, often referred to as pellets or "BBs", were extremely small at no more than half of a millimeter in diameter. For this reason, most airguns were only used for hunting small animals and not combat, though some military-grade airguns were known to have existed.
- Slugthrowers used explosive liquids (most of which had a slimy or "slug-like" texture, hence its colloquial name) to propel bullets known as slugs. Slugthrower slugs are not to be confused with the slugs fired by shotguns, which are a type of powder gun. The first slugthrowers first appeared circa 8,000 BBY.
- Railguns used electromagnetic force to propel bullets. Rail bullets often took a more needle-like shape and were thus considered less lethal, though the extremely high velocity most railguns were capable of made up for this. The first electromagnetic firearms developed around 500 BBY, though rail-based artillery dated back as early as 2,000 BBY.
- "Phaser" referred to any firearm that propelled solid projectiles that entered a gaseous or energetic state in midair. A metal named phasite, which instantly gasified (through the process of sublimation) when exposed to "normal" temperatures, was commonly used to make phaser projectiles. Upon reaching the gas phase in midair, a phaser projectile reached scorching temperatures within seconds. Phasers were considered the predecessors to modern blasters as the technology and damage between the two was very similar. The first phasers appeared circa 4,500 BBY.