firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

, the mainspring is a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

in the firing mechanism which stores the energy required to ignite the

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a t ...

of the

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

. The mainspring may be called a striker spring on striker-fired firearms, or hammer spring{{Cite patent, number=US8132350B1, title=Hammer spring assembly for a firearm, gdate=2012-03-13, invent1=Alves, inventor1-first=Joseph E., url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US8132350/en on

hammer-fired The hammer is a part of a firearm that is used to strike the percussion cap/primer, or a separate firing pin, to ignite the propellant and fire the projectile. It is so called due to the fact that it resembles a hammer in both form and function. ...

firearms. After the

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

mechanism has been released, the tensioned mainspring will drive the firing pin or hit the firing pin so that it is driven. Mainsprings can come in many shapes, such as a cylindrical spring ( Mosin-Nagant,

TT-33 The TT-30,, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930", TT stands for Tula-Tokarev) commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is an out-of-production Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a service pisto ...

Colt M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge (firearms), cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Calibe ...

), plate spring (

Nagant revolver Nagant may refer to: * Fabrique d'armes Émile et Léon Nagant, defunct Belgian manufacturer of firearms and cars (1859-1931) ** Mosin–Nagant, bolt-action infantry rifle ** Nagant M1895, 7-shot gas-seal revolver *** Nagant wz. 30, Polish-made ...

model 1895,

Makarov pistol The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистоле́т Мака́рова, r=Pistolét Makárova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it ...

) or spiral spring ( Kalashnikov). On a number of automatic firearms, the recoil spring may also function as a mainspring ( FN Browning M1900,

Degtyaryov machine gun The Degtyaryov machine gun (russian: Пулемёт Дегтярёвa Пехотный, Pulemyot Degtyaryova Pekhotny literally: "Degtyaryov's infantry machine gun") or DP-27/DP-28 is a light machine gun firing the 7.62×54mmR cartridge that was ...

, and some submachine guns). Mainsprings should not be confused with the type of firing pin spring which is utilised in some designs instead of free-floating firing pins to prevent

slamfire A slamfire is a discharge of a firearm occurring as a cartridge is being loaded into the chamber. Some firearms are designed to slamfire, but the term also describes a malfunction of self-loading firearms. Shooters accustomed to firearms requiring ...

. RussianFirearmsXIX 36 Infantry1845.jpg, Parts sketch of the firing mechanism on Russian infantry rifle model 1845. Number 8 shows the main spring. Nagant shematic.jpg, Nagant revolver with tensioned trigger. The mainspring (bottom right) consists of two leaf arms, and also acts as a trigger spring.

References

* Andrzej Ciepliński, Ryszard Woźniak: Encyklopedia współczesnej broni palnej (od połowy XIX wieku). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo WiS, 1994, s. 212. ISBN 83-86028-01-7.
Боевая пружина// Военная энциклопедия: (в 18 т.) / под ред. В. Ф. Новицкого (и др.). – СПб.; (М.): Тип. т-ва И. В. Сытина, 1911 – 1915.
* Жук А. Б. Энциклопедия стрелкового оружия. – М.: Воениздат, 1998. * Материальная часть стрелкового оружия / Под ред. А. А. Благонравова. — М.: Оборонгиз НКАП, 1945. Firearms

See also

References