Trigger (firearms) - Function

Function

Firearms use triggers to initiate the firing of a cartridge in the firing chamber of the weapon. This is accomplished by actuating a striking device through a combination of spring and kinetic energy operating through a firing pin to strike and ignite the primer. There are two primary types of striking mechanisms, hammers and strikers. Hammers are spring-tensioned masses of metal that pivot on a pin when released and strike a firing pin to discharge a cartridge. Strikers are, essentially, spring-loaded firing pins that travel on an axis in-line with the cartridge eliminating the need for a separate hammer. The connection between the trigger and the hammer is generally referred to as the sear surface. Variable mechanisms will have this surface directly on the trigger and hammer or have separate sears or other connecting parts.

Read more about this topic:  Trigger (firearms)

Famous quotes containing the word function:

    To make us feel small in the right way is a function of art; men can only make us feel small in the wrong way.
    —E.M. (Edward Morgan)

    It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.
    Robert H. [Houghwout] Jackson (1892–1954)

    To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.
    Margaret Fairless Barber (1869–1901)