machine-pistol

    Article

    Also spelled "machine pistol," the machine-pistol is a relatively small, concealable handgun with a high rate of fire. Machine pistols are self-loading automatic handguns that can fire in intermittent or sustained bursts. Fed by a replaceable magazine that can hold up to 20 cartridges, machine pistols have been criticized for their inaccuracy (too much power and too little control against the weapon's kickback) and have come to be replaced by personal defense weapons, a compact version of a submachine gun.

    Photo Credit

     
    "Machine pistol, 9mm, Model M.P. 40 "Schmeisser." Exhibited at Battery Randolph U.S. Army Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii" by J JMesserly is licensed under CC BY-SA.

    Published Works
    Term Type
    References

     
    Encyclopædia Britannica Online
         N.d.   Submachine Gun.
             http://www.britannica.com/Ebchecked/topic/570807/submachine-gun, accessed
             November 12, 2014.

    Hogg, Ian V and John weeks
         2000   Military Small Arms of the 20th Century (7th ed). Iola: Krause Publications.

    Thompson, Leroy
         2010   The Machien Pistol - Why Does It Even Exist? S.W.A.T. Magazine October.
             https://www.swatmag.com/articles/the_machine_pistol, accessed January 26, 2015.