Grenade launcher

Early precursors

French grenade launchers from 1747

The earliest devices that could be referred to as grenade launchers were slings, which could be used to throw early grenado fuse bombs. The ancestors of modern ballistic grenade launchers, however, were simplistic muzzle-loading devices using a stake-like body to mount a short, large-bore gun barrel into which an explosive or incendiary device could be inserted; these were later refined into shoulder-fired blunderbuss-like firearms referred to as "hand mortars".^[5] These weapons were not highly regarded due to their unreliability, requiring the user to ignite a fuse on the projectile before firing, and with a substantial risk of the explosive failing to leave the barrel; attempts to ignite the fuse on firing using the gunpowder charge resulted in weapons that would often force the fuse into the grenade and make it explode in the barrel.

Hand grenade launchers

French soldiers with a Sauterelle, c. 1915

During the First World War, several novel crew-served launchers designed to increase the range of infantry hand grenades were developed, such as the Sauterelle crossbow and West spring gun and Leach trench catapult devices. None were particularly effective, and such devices were ultimately replaced by light mortar systems such as the Stokes mortar,^[6] while the task of increasing the range of infantry explosive projectiles was primarily taken by rifle grenades.

A late example of such a system was the Japanese Type 91 grenade, which could be used as a thrown hand grenade, or fitted with adaptors to either be fired as a rifle grenade or used as a projectile by the Type 89 grenade discharger, a light infantry mortar.

Rifle grenades

Rifle grenade on an M1 Garand

A new method of launching grenades was developed during the First World War and used throughout World War II. The principle was to use the soldier's standard rifle as an ersatz mortar, mounting a grenade (in many older cases an infantry hand grenade) fitted with a propelling charge, using an adaptor or socket on the weapon's muzzle or inside a mounted launching cup, and usually firing with the weapon's stock resting on the ground. For older rifle grenades, igniting the charge generally required loading the parent rifle with a special blank propellant cartridge, though modern rifle grenades can be fired using live rounds using "bullet trap" and "shoot through" systems.^[7]

The system has some advantages; since it does not have to fit in a weapon's breech, the warhead can be made larger and more powerful compared to that of a unitary grenade round, and the rifle's weight and handling characteristics are not affected as with underbarrel systems unless a grenade is actually mounted. While older systems required the soldier carry a separate adaptor or cup to attach to the rifle to make it ready to launch (such as the German Schiessbecher), later rifle grenades were often designed to attach to the standard factory-mounted flash hider of the parent rifle; for example, the NATO-standardized 22 mm rifle grenade can be mounted to most post-WWII Western military rifles without the need for an adaptor.

The disadvantage of this method is that when soldiers want to launch grenades, they must mount the grenade to the muzzle prior to each shot. If they are surprised by a close-range threat while preparing to fire the grenade, they have to reverse the procedure before they can respond with rifle fire. Due to the lack of a barrel, rifle grenades also tend to be more difficult to fire accurately compared to underbarrel or standalone designs.

Prior to the development of lightweight disposable antitank weapons such as the M72 LAW, large HEAT rifle grenades such as the ENERGA were the preferred method for allowing infantry who were not part of dedicated antitank teams to engage vehicles. Rifle grenades have largely fallen out of favor since the 1970s, replaced in most of their traditional roles by dedicated grenade launchers, though a recent resurgence in interest in such devices for special purposes has occurred.

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Sling (weapon)

Sling (weapon)

A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone, clay, or lead "sling-bullet". It is also known as the shepherd's sling or slingshot. Someone who specializes in using slings is called a slinger.

Blunderbuss

Blunderbuss

The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun, with similar military and defensive use. It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances. A blunderbuss in handgun form was called a dragon, and it is from this that the term dragoon evolved.

Hand mortar

Hand mortar

The hand mortar is a firearm and early predecessor of modern grenade launchers that was used in the late 17th century and 18th century to throw fused grenades. The action was similar to a flintlock, matchlock, or wheellock firearm, but the barrel was short, usually 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) long, and had a large bore to accommodate the grenade; usually between 2 and 2.5 inches.

Sauterelle

Sauterelle

The Arbalète sauterelle type A, or simply Sauterelle, was a bomb-throwing crossbow used by French and British forces on the Western Front during World War I. It was designed to throw a hand grenade in a high trajectory into enemy trenches. It was initially dismissed by the French Army but General Henri Berthelot thought it had practical value.

Stokes mortar

Stokes mortar

The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar designed by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, during the latter half of the First World War. The 3-inch trench mortar is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading weapon for high angles of fire. Although it is called a 3-inch mortar, its bore is actually 3.2 inches or 81 mm.

Type 89 grenade discharger

Type 89 grenade discharger

The Type 89 grenade discharger , inaccurately and colloquially known as a knee mortar by Allied forces, is a Japanese grenade launcher or light mortar that was widely used in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It got the nickname the "knee mortar" because of an erroneous Allied belief that these launchers could be fired by propping its plate against the leg. However, anyone trying to fire it this way would receive a severe bruise from its hefty recoil.

M1 Garand

M1 Garand

The M1 Garand or M1 rifle is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.

Rifle grenade

Rifle grenade

A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand.

Schiessbecher

Schiessbecher

The Schiessbecher - literally "shooting cup" - was a German grenade launcher of World War II.

22 mm grenade

22 mm grenade

A 22 mm rifle grenade is inserted over the firing mechanism on the front of rifles that are equipped with the appropriate spigot-type launcher, either in the form of an integral flash suppressor or a detachable adapter. As with most rifle grenades, it is propelled by a blank cartridge inserted into the chamber of the rifle. A 22 mm grenade can range from a powerful anti-tank round to a simple finned tube with a fragmentation hand grenade attached to the end. The "22 mm" refers to the diameter of the base tube which fits over the spigot of the launcher, not the diameter of the warhead section, which is much wider.

M72 LAW

M72 LAW

The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm (2.6 in) unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in the newly-formed Rohm and Haas research laboratory at Redstone Arsenal in 1959, and the full system was designed by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, Frank A. Spinale, et al. at the Hesse-Eastern Division of Norris Thermador. American production of the weapon began by Hesse-Eastern in 1963, and was terminated by 1983; currently it is produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway and their subsidiary, Nammo Talley, Inc. in Arizona.

ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenade

ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenade

The Energa anti-tank rifle grenade is a rifle-launched anti-tank grenade that is propelled by a ballistite-filled blank cartridge. The name Energa comes from the firm in Liechtenstein that designed it, the Anstalt für die ENtwicklung von ERfindungen und Gewerblichen Anwendungen, based in Vaduz.

Standalone

Israeli Border Guard with a Federal M201-Z 37 mm riot gun

The earliest examples of standalone grenade launchers in the modern sense were breech-loading riot guns designed to launch tear gas grenades and baton rounds, such as the Federal Riot Gun developed in the 1930s. One of the first examples of a dedicated breech-loading launcher for unitary explosive grenade rounds was the M79 grenade launcher, a result of the American Special Purpose Individual Weapon program (specifically the 40×46mm grenade round developed during Project NIBLICK,^[8] applying the German-developed high–low system to produce manageable recoil). The goal for the M79 was the production of a device with greater range than a rifle grenade but more portable than a mortar.^[9] Such single-shot devices were largely replaced in military service with underbarrel grenade launchers, removing the need for a dedicated grenadier with a special weapon. Many modern underbarrel grenade launchers can, however, also be used in standalone configurations with suitable accessories fitted; this is of particular preference for groups using submachine guns as their primary armament, since it is rarely practical to mount an underbarrel launcher on such a weapon. Single shot launchers are also still commonly used in riot control operations.

Heavier multi-shot grenade launchers like the ARWEN 37 are used as tear gas and smoke projectors in riot control, while military launchers like the Milkor MGL are used to provide heavy sustained firepower to infantry; most such devices, dating back to the Manville machine-projector, use a revolver-style cylinder, though a handful of pump-action weapons built like oversized shotguns, such as the China Lake grenade launcher and GM-94, also exist. Magazine-fed semi-automatic designs such as the Neopup PAW-20 and XM25 CDTE have also been created for military use, using smaller rounds (respectively 20 and 25mm) for purposes of practicality in terms of the size of the magazine, and reduced collateral damage compared to 40mm rounds.

Attached

Loading an M203 attached to an M16A1 with a practice round

Since grenade launchers require relatively low internal pressure and only a short barrel, a lightweight launcher can be mounted under the barrel of a traditional rifle; this type of device is referred to as an "underbarrel" or "underslung" grenade launcher.^[10][11] This reduces the weight the soldier must carry by eliminating the grenade launcher's buttstock and makes the grenade launcher available for use at a moment's notice. Underbarrel 40mm grenade launchers generally have their own trigger group; to fire, one simply changes grips, disengages the safety, and pulls the trigger. In Western systems, the barrel slides forward or pivots to the side to allow reloading; most fire a 40×46mm grenade cartridge.^[12] Soviet and Russian launchers are instead loaded from the muzzle, with the cartridge casing affixed to the projectile in the style of a mortar shell. For aiming, underbarrel grenade launchers typically use a separate ladder, leaf, tangent or quadrant sight attached to the launcher or the rifle, either to one side of the handguard or on top of the handguard in between the iron sights. Modern launchers often have the option of mounting more sophisticated aiming systems, such as ballistic rangefinders and day / night sights.

As with the M79, the concept of mounting a dedicated grenade launcher to a service rifle has its roots in the Special Purpose Individual Weapon program; though the experimental Colt XM148 grenade launcher had been produced earlier, it had proved too problematic to adopt. One AAI submission for SPIW mounted a "simple" single-action, single-shot breech-loading underbarrel grenade launcher in lieu of the required semi-automatic multi-shot device. With refinement, this was adopted as the M203 grenade launcher in 1968.^[13] A variety of lengths of M203 are available along with numerous parts kits to fit it to various rifles aside from the AR15 pattern weapons it was designed for.

More modern Western grenade launchers address some of the shortcomings of the M203, such as the sliding breech limiting the weapon's ability to load outsize projectiles and the lack of factory-fitted sight mounts, with designs like FN Herstal's ELGM and Heckler & Koch's AG36 featuring a swing-out breech to provide better access, integral sight mounts, and built-in support for standalone conversion. A variant of the latter weapon, the M320 Grenade Launcher Module, was salvaged from the failed XM8 program and adopted in 2008 as the US military's replacement for the M203.^[14]

Soviet development of an underbarrel launcher for the AK rifle series began in 1966 and in 1978 produced the GP-25, a muzzle-loading device for the AK-74 rifle using a mortar-like grenade round which functions by venting its propellant through holes in the base; this is a variation of the high-low system used by Western rounds, with the base of the projectile acting as the high-pressure chamber and the launcher's barrel acting as the low-pressure chamber. Further developments led to the GP series of grenade launchers.

A number of experimental weapon systems have attempted to produce combination weapons which consist of a permanently attached grenade launcher and a carbine assault rifle, often with the rifle mounted underneath the launcher, most notably the XM29 OICW,^[15] but so far the only such weapon to reach full production is the S&T Daewoo K11, adopted in limited numbers by the South Korean military.^[16]

Automatic

Mk 19 grenade launcher

An automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun^[17] is a crew-served support weapon which fires explosive rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine. As most are heavy weapons, they are normally attached to a tripod or vehicle mounting, and as well as being used to provide heavy suppressing fire in the manner of a heavy machine gun, also have sufficient firepower to destroy vehicles and buildings. Examples include the Mk 19, AGS-17, and the HK GMG.

Automatic grenade launchers generally use a higher-velocity round than infantry weapons; NATO launchers use a 40×53mm grenade round rather than the 40×46mm round used by infantry. There are exceptions to this rule: the crank-operated Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launcher, a unique example of an AGL which was not fully automatic,^[17] and the Mk 20 Mod 0 grenade launcher both used the 40×46mm round, and the Chinese Type 87 grenade launcher, a device intended to be employed like a general-purpose machine gun, uses the same 35×32mm low-velocity grenade round as the QLG91B underbarrel launcher for the QBZ-95 assault rifle.^[18][19][20]

Fixed arrays

76mm smoke grenade launchers on a German Flakpanzer Gepard anti-aircraft vehicle

Some armored fighting vehicles also mount fixed arrays of short range, single-shot grenade launchers as a means of defense.^[21] These devices usually fire smoke grenades to conceal the vehicle behind a smoke screen, though can also be loaded with chaff, flares, or anti-personnel grenades to repel infantry attacks. Vehicle-mounted smoke grenade launchers are also known as smoke dischargers.

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Federal Riot Gun

Federal Riot Gun

The Federal Riot Gun (FRG) is a firearm made by Federal Laboratories Inc., designed to fire non-lethal munitions. Its ammunition includes 37 and 38mm baton and tear gas rounds. The baton rounds were cylindrical, rubber projectiles.

Baton round

Baton round

Baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), are a less lethal alternative to traditional bullets. Baton rounds are designed to impact rather than to penetrate and are typically used for riot control.

M79 grenade launcher

M79 grenade launcher

The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40×46mm grenade, which uses what the US Army calls the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War. Its distinctive report has earned it colorful nicknames, such as "Thumper", "Thump-Gun", "Bloop Tube", "Big Ed", "Elephant Gun," and "Blooper" among American soldiers as well as "Can Cannon" in reference to the grenade size; Australian units referred to it as the "Wombat Gun". The M79 can fire a wide variety of 40 mm rounds, including explosive, anti-personnel, smoke, buckshot, flechette, and illumination. While largely replaced by the M203, the M79 has remained in service in many units worldwide in niche roles.

High–low system

High–low system

The high–low system is a design of cannon and anti-tank warfare launcher using a smaller high-pressure chamber to store propellant. It allows a much larger projectile to be launched without the heavy equipment usually needed for large caliber weapons. When the propellant is ignited, the higher pressure gases are bled out through vents at reduced pressure to a much larger low pressure chamber to push a projectile forward. The high-low system allows the weight of the weapon and its ammunition to be reduced significantly. Production cost and time are drastically lower than for standard cannon or other small-arm weapon systems firing a projectile of the same size and weight. It has a far more efficient use of the propellant, unlike earlier recoilless weapons, where most of the propellant is expended to the rear of the weapon to counter the recoil of the projectile being fired.

Rifle grenade

Rifle grenade

A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand.

Mortar (weapon)

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.

ARWEN 37

ARWEN 37

The ARWEN 37 is a less-lethal launcher which fires a variety of 37mm less-lethal munitions which includes direct impact batons, chemical irritant delivery munitions and smoke delivery munitions. The ARWEN 37 has 5-round rotary drum magazine.

Milkor MGL

Milkor MGL

The Milkor MGL is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1981. The MGL was then officially accepted into service with the SADF as the Y2. After its introduction in 1983, the MGL was gradually adopted by the armed forces and law enforcement organizations of over 50 countries. Total production since 1983 has been more than 50,000 units.

Manville gun

Manville gun

The Manville gun was a stockless, semi-automatic, revolver type gun, introduced in 1935 by Charles J. Manville. The Manville Gun was a large weapon, with a heavy cylinder being rotated for each shot by a clockwork-type spring. The spring was wound manually during the reloading.

China Lake grenade launcher

China Lake grenade launcher

The China Lake pump-action grenade launcher or NATIC is a pump-action grenade launcher that was developed by the Special Projects Division of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, which provided equipment to United States Navy SEALs.

GM-94

GM-94

The GM-94 is a pump action grenade launcher developed by the KBP design bureau for use by Russian special and security forces.

Neopup PAW-20

Neopup PAW-20

The Neopup PAW-20 is a 20×42mm semi-automatic grenade launcher designed by Tony Neophytou and as of 2015, is produced and marketed by Denel.

A U.S. Marine loading 40×46mm grenades into a Milkor MGL-140

Most grenade launchers are flexible in terms of the types of ammunition they can employ. In military use, the primary ammunition type for a grenade launcher is fragmentation rounds, with the most common grenade round in use by NATO the 40 mm fragmentation grenade, which is effective against a wide range of targets, including infantry and lightly armored vehicles.^[22] The large size of the grenade projectile relative to a bullet also allows for payloads requiring a substantial mass of chemicals, such as flares, incendiary rounds, gas grenades and smoke grenades.^[23] Law enforcement users generally employ grenade launchers in riot control operations to project obscuring smoke or tear gas; less-lethal crowd control munitions such as baton and sponge rounds also exist for such use.

Lethal rounds are usually fitted with an inertial fuzing system which arms the warhead after it has rotated a set number of times, in order to prevent the user from harming themselves if a grenade encounters a nearby obstruction.^[23]

Western launchers are primarily either the 37 mm flare caliber intended for civilian and law enforcement use, or the larger military 40 mm caliber. This is intended to prevent civilian-legal flare projectors being used to fire lethal military ammunition, since lethal rounds are not manufactured in 37mm caliber. The reverse is not true; a full range of less-lethal ammunition is available in 40 mm caliber, and an increasing number of law enforcement launchers not intended for the civilian market are chambered for 40×46mm rounds.^[24]

XM25 in use by a U.S. Army soldier

Recently militaries have paid great attention to the development of "smart" grenade systems with integrated sighting systems, which can be used as point-detonating rounds as normal, or fuzed to detonate in mid-air at a preset distance to engage targets in cover with their fragments. This ammunition was first developed as High Explosive Air Burst (HEAB) as part of the Small Arms Master Plan (SAMP) projects:^[25] the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (20×28mm and 25×40mm low-velocity) and Advanced Crew Served Weapon (25×59mm high-velocity) projects. The low-velocity round was to have been used by the XM25 CDTE.^[26] Following the failure of the SAMP weapon programs, the United States developed 40mm grenades incorporating similar technology, including the 40×53mm MK285 Programmable Prefragmented High Explosive/Self-Destructible (PPHE/SD) round for the Mk 47 Striker AGL^[27] and more recently the SAGM round for 40×46mm underbarrel launchers, an airburst-only computerized grenade which does not require an integrated sighting system.^[28] Other countries have also produced grenades using similar technology, including South Korea for the S&T Daewoo K11, Australia during the Advanced Individual Combat Weapon program, and China for the ZH-05 grenade launcher module.

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Milkor MGL

Milkor MGL

The Milkor MGL is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1981. The MGL was then officially accepted into service with the SADF as the Y2. After its introduction in 1983, the MGL was gradually adopted by the armed forces and law enforcement organizations of over 50 countries. Total production since 1983 has been more than 50,000 units.

40 mm grenade

40 mm grenade

40 mm grenade is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition in 40 mm (1.57 in) caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 mm caliber.

Tear gas

Tear gas

Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator, sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In addition, it can cause severe eye and respiratory pain, skin irritation, bleeding, and blindness. Common lachrymators both currently and formerly used as tear gas include pepper spray, PAVA spray (nonivamide), CS gas, CR gas, CN gas, bromoacetone, xylyl bromide and Mace.

37 mm flare

37 mm flare

37 mm flare or "1.5 inch" caliber is the specification for a common launching system for non-lethal and less-lethal ammunition. Such launchers are also often known as "gas guns" due to their original use by police for launching tear gas projectiles. 37 mm systems are typically smoothbore as rifling is unnecessary or even detrimental to the performance of the usual projectiles.

XM25 CDTE

XM25 CDTE

The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) System, also known as the Punisher and Individual Semiautomatic Air Burst System was an airburst grenade launcher with programmable ammunition derived from the XM29 OICW. It was fielded to soldiers serving in the War in Afghanistan in 2010, after which malfunctions and 2013 program budget cuts delayed official entry into service, planned for early 2017. In early 2017, the contract with Orbital ATK was cancelled, calling the future of the entire program into question. The program was officially terminated on 24 July 2018.

United States Army

United States Army

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Airburst round

Airburst round

An airburst round is a type of tactical anti-personnel explosive ammunition, typically a shell or grenade, that detonates in midair, causing air burst effect fragment damage to an enemy.

Objective Individual Combat Weapon

Objective Individual Combat Weapon

The Objective Individual Combat Weapon or OICW was the next-generation service rifle competition that was under development as part of the United States Army OICW program; the program was eventually discontinued without bringing the weapon out of the prototype phase. The acronym OICW is often used to refer to the entire weapons program.

25 mm grenade

25 mm grenade

The 25 mm grenade is a type of explosive ordnance used in some modern grenade launchers. 25 mm grenades are armed after launch, after traveling a safe distance. Many types explode on impact, but others are designed to explode in mid-air after traveling a certain distance—used to clear entrenched or barricaded positions.

Mk 47 Striker

Mk 47 Striker

The Mk 47 or Striker 40 is a 40mm automatic grenade launcher with an integrated fire control system, capable of launching smart programmable 40mm air burst grenades in addition to various unguided rounds.

S&T Daewoo K11

S&T Daewoo K11

The S&T Daewoo K11 DAW is a multi-weapon resembling the earlier US Objective Individual Combat Weapon in concept, design and operation. It consists of two separate weapons combined into a single unit: a lower assault rifle chambered to fire 5.56×45mm NATO rounds and an upper 20×30mm grenade launcher firing both conventional and air-bursting "smart" grenades, along with its integrated digital sighting unit.

Advanced Individual Combat Weapon

Advanced Individual Combat Weapon

The Advanced Individual Combat Weapon (AICW) was an Australian prototype combination assault rifle and grenade launcher developed as a technology demonstrator. The AICW combined a standard 5.56 mm assault rifle based on the successful F88 Austeyr with a superposed load grenade launcher developed by Metal Storm.

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United States

In the U.S., under the National Firearms Act of 1934, breech-loading firearms with a barrel diameter of greater than .50 inches and no practical sporting use are classified as Title II "destructive devices", with ownership heavily restricted and banned entirely in some states; in addition, each individual round of explosive ammunition for a grenade launcher is also classified as a destructive device and subject to the same restrictions. The state of California additionally considers rifles with integral rifle grenade launching devices as destructive devices in accordance with the definition of such in section 16460 of the California Penal Code.^[29] However, it is legal for civilians to own 37mm flare launchers which are not regulated as firearms some of which are designed to have a cosmetic appearance similar to a grenade launcher and certain types of ammunition, as the BATFE has ruled that unless such devices are possessed along with direct-fire ammunition such as pellet or beanbag rounds, they are not destructive devices.^[30][31] One result of this is that in American film productions, visually similar 37mm launchers are often substituted for 40mm weapons.

A "grenade launcher" or "grenade launcher mount" is usually included in the list of features defining an "assault weapon", though this is a legal definition which primarily affects firearms with flash hiders compatible with rifle grenades,^[32][33] since firearms that are designed specifically for launching explosive grenade rounds and their ammunition are already federally restricted as destructive devices. Several state assault weapon bans extend this to include under-barrel 37mm flare launchers on the list of banned features.^[34]

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National Firearms Act

National Firearms Act

The National Firearms Act (NFA), 73rd Congress, Sess. 2, ch. 757, 48 Stat. 1236 was enacted on June 26, 1934, and currently codified and amended as I.R.C. ch. 53. The law is an Act of Congress in the United States that, in general, imposes an excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms and mandates the registration of those firearms. The NFA is also referred to as Title II of the federal firearms laws, with the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA") as Title I.

Destructive device

Destructive device

In the United States, a destructive device is a type of firearm or explosive device regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934, revised by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and Gun Control Act of 1968.

California

California

California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million. Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; and it has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west.

California Penal Code

California Penal Code

The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of most criminal law, criminal procedure, penal institutions, and the execution of sentences, among other things, in the American state of California. It was originally enacted in 1872 as one of the original four California Codes, and has been substantially amended and revised since then. The entirety of the Penal Code is available for free at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=PEN

Assault weapon

Assault weapon

In the United States, assault weapon is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud. Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons. When the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use." The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time.