How do they name guns like AK-47 and 22 revolver?

Question

like semi-automatics M-16s 9 millileters I'm having a debate but he's wrong so THANKS

Answer 1

AK-47 gets its name from "Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1947 goda", or "Automatic rifle Kalashnikov model of 1947 year".

Most guns get names either from the production year or the size of the bullet they fire.

Answer 2

Most military rifles have model numbers that refer to the manufacturer or designer and the year they were put into service. The AK 47 reflects the name of the designer (Kalishnikov) and the year it was designed (1947). I have a model 98 Mauser. It was designed by Mauser in Germany in 1898. Some models of modern rifles have model numbers in series (Like 700, 710, etc) so they can be cataloged.

The other number that is used to identify most cartridges refers to the diameter of the bullet (projectile) in either millimeters or inches. A 9mm is nine millimeters diameter. A .45 is forty-five hundredths of an inch in diameter. Sometimes there are other descriptives. A .30-06 has a thirty thousandth's inch diameter bullet, and was introduced in 1906. A .45ACP has a forty-five thousandths' diameter bullet and fits an "automatic Colt pistol". Sometimes there are several bullets that are the same diameter, so you need to know other features of the cartridge. There are 7.62x39, 7.62x51, and 7.62x54. These have the same diameter bullets, but different brass lengths, so they aren't interchangeable. To further complicate things, not all cartridges are the diameter they are called out as. I think they do that just to mix us up.

The other thing you referred to was semi-automatic and revolver. Semi-automatic refers to the action of the gun. It should properly be called an autoloader. As you shoot one round, it "automatically" ejects that shell, and loads another one to be ready to fire. It loads the cartridge, but to fire it, you need to pull the trigger again. A "full-automatic" is also called a "machine gun". These are the ones you see in war movies and TV shows about gangsters. You pull the trigger once, and bullets will keep firing until you take your finger off the trigger. A revolver is a handgun that uses a round cylinder that holds the cartridges (usually 6). Each time you pull the trigger, it fires one round, and then when you c**k the hammer back, it "revolves" the cylinder to prepare another round to shoot. After you shoot the 6 rounds, you need to unload the brass manually.

Answer 3

size of bullet mostly

Answer 4

AK47 and M16 are specific models of gun. The names are model names.

A 22 revolver, and a 9 millimeter are general *types* of gun. In both cases, the name refers to the diameter of the bullet.

AK47, as already noted, refers to the type and maker, and "47" to the year it was introduced.

M16 just means "Model 16." It was named that by the military.

A 22 revolver's bullets are 0.22 inches in diameter.

A 9 millimeter gun's bullets are 9 millimeters in diamater.

Answer 5

22 revolver - 22 rounds

9 millimeter = size of required bullet

Answer 6

guns like the 22 revolver and 9 millimeter are because of the calliber or size of the bullet

Answer 7

The company that manufactures the gun names it, for most "civilian" guns.  For example, Remington makes a shotgun they call model 870.  A very popular rifle, you've seen them all the time in westerns is the Winchester 1894 (first made in 1894).

Guns that are purchased by the military are named by the military.  For example, Armalite (a division of Fairchild) designed a rifle they called the AR-15.  It was accepted by the military, they called it the M-16.  I want to say the German G-3 rifle, made by Heckler & Koch, was originally called the HK 93 by the company.  Once a military designates the name of a gun, that name tends to stick.  AK-47 was named by the Russian military, which created it.  About the same time, they created the SKS which is a normal rifle, not an assault rifle (they are commonly confused with each other).  It was made in 1947.  It's predicessor, the AK-74, was made in 1974.  Some contries do that.  Some contries make M-1 (model 1), then M-2, then M-3, etc. (what the U.S. does).

When you refer to a "22 revolver" or a "9 milimeter", these are generic catagories of guns, based on the bullets they fire.  When  people say 9mm, usually they mean 9mm Parabellum, which is 9x19mm (9mm in diameter, 19mm long).  "22 revolver" refers to a bullet that is 0.22 inches in diameter.  There are a couple of different 22 bullets, the most common being 22LR (Long Rifle - which is a misnomer in that it is used not only in rifles but also other guns).

Some bullets are "rimless" (usually used by automatics), and some bullets have "rims" (usually used by revolvers, though 22LR is rimmed and is often used in rifles, etc.).  NATO came up with a system of classifying bullets.  They give the diameter and length of the bullet in milimeters.  For example, .223 Winchester (fired by the M-16 and others) is 5.56x45mm.  .38 Special is 9x29mmR (the "R" meaning Rimmed).  Oddly enough, when they made an extended longer version of 38 Special, they called it .357 Magnum (9x33mmR).  The thing is, back in the day, they measured the diameter of the base of the case (the back) - it has become generally accepted these days to measure the diameter of the bullet itself (the front).  38 special and 357 magnum are wider at the back than the front.  .45 ACP is 11.43x23mm.

.38 Special was called this because it was an improvement over the standard .38 round, having more powerful gunpowder, etc.  When a bullet is called "magnum", it means that the case is significantly bigger around than the bullet.  There is a champaign bottled called a "magnum" that is similar in shape.  When a particlular company makes a new bullet, sometimes the bullet gets named after the company.  So Winchester made the .223 Winchester bullets.  I'm not 100% sure what ACP stands for, but there is a .45 ACP, .380 ACP (9x19mm), etc.

I digressed quite a bit, but my point is, bullets have names, sometimes more than one name, and often times we refer to all the guns that fire a given bullet by the name of the bullet.

Answer 8

AK-47 = Automatic Kalishnikov 1947

Kalishnikov's are Russian rifles.

22 revolver = .22 Caliber bullet, revolver

9mm = Caliber of bullet.

I had #47, but the guy after me was more correct