Firearm

A firearm is a tube-shaped weapon designed to launch projectiles at high speed through the ignition of an explosive powder. They are renowned not only for their destructive power, but for being markedly easier to use, carry, and conceal than most melee weapons.

In the world of One Piece, firearms are extremely popular weapons, second only to swords.

Overview
You're putting your life on the line by pointing that at me... it's not safe to point guns. At the world's current technological level, the typical firearm is a flintlock (フリントロック), consisting of a single tube - commonly called the "barrel" - tapering into a wooden handle at one end. This tube is rigged with three external mechanisms: Most often, flintlocks are loaded with round shot - solid spherical projectiles made of metals such as iron or lead. In normal circumstances, these can easily break flesh and bone, and cause immediate death if launched against a vital organ. Additionally, more advanced models may utilize pointed (also known as "conical") or explosive shot for increased power.
 * A flashpan (or firegrate), which holds the powder that launches the projectile
 * A hammer, which holds a shard of flint that ignites the powder
 * A trigger, which allows a single pull of the finger to move the hammer into igniting position

However, these advantages are not absolute, and may be counteracted by any number of defenses, from armor to Devil Fruit abilities to simply well-honed reflexes. In addition, particularly durable, determined, and/or lucky individuals have been known to survive even multiple shots at point-blank range without any of these measures. Finally, flintlocks - like all projectile weapons - can only hold a limited number of shots at any given time, and are not easily reloaded.

(It remains unknown whether flintlocks also become ineffective in the rain or otherwise damp conditions, as their real-life counterparts - even when users took measures to keep the flashpan dry - frequently did.)

Despite these drawbacks, flintlocks and firearms in general continue to be widely used by civilians, outlaws, and professional soldiers of every standing, and are heavily associated with power even by combatants who favor other (or no) weapons. Some - particularly Monkey D. Luffy - have been known to name their attacks after various makes and models.

Types
The basic technology behind firearms has been used to craft many distinct weapons, of widely varying size, power, and capabilities.

Pistols
A pistol (ピストル), in the broadest sense, is any firearm designed to be held and operated in one hand. More technical definitions tend to identify them (in contrast to revolvers) with internal ammunition chambers, fully integrated with the firing barrel.

Pistols are the smallest, lightest, and simplest type of firearm, and correspondingly the type most often seen in civilian hands. However, they are far from unknown to seasoned combatants (who often wield specialized models, such as dual-barrels that fire two shots at once).

Named Pistols

 * Yellow Gun (黄色い銃): A pistol shaped like the number "7", and is designed to fire dice-shaped bullets that explode on impact. Used by Mr. 7.
 * Gero Gero Gun (ゲロゲロ銃): A pistol with a muzzle shaped like a frog's head, and fires frog-shaped bullets that explode on impact. Used by Miss Father's Day.
 * Flash Guns: Dual-barreled flintlocks with ornate design, and Flash Dials installed within to hide the shots with a flash. Braham uses two of them.

Other Notable Pistols

 * Helmeppo threatened to shoot Koby with a pistol during the Romance Dawn Arc.
 * Yasopp wielded a pistol during Luffy's childhood, and often demonstrated his sharpshooting to the young would-be pirate.
 * Kaya's mansion staff - particularly Merry - carried pistols to ward off intruders.
 * Kaya herself took one to confront Kuro with, after learning of his true intentions, but was easily disarmed.
 * Don Krieg wields two dual-barreled pistols to supplement the ten gun barrels installed directly in his armor.
 * Gin used a dual-barreled, shotgun-like pistol to take Zeff hostage.
 * Arlong used a pistol to execute Bell-mère.
 * Dr. Hiriluk regularly carried a pistol in his "medical" bag. While he identified it as a tranquilizer gun, this may not be the case, as he drew blood when firing it at Tony Tony Chopper.
 * Nero wielded a pair of Derringer-esque pistols to compensate his lack of Shigan.
 * World Nobles wield gold-plated single-barreled pistols. Aside from its more grandiose-color, it functions no different than the standard flintlock gun. Saint Charlos wielded such firearm, and (in the anime) so did Saint Mjosgard.
 * Caesar Clown wielded a double-barreled pistol on Punk Hazard.
 * Donquixote Doflamingo wields a single-barreled, obsidian black pistol with luxurious gold plating. He loaded it with lead bullets to inflict lead poisoning.
 * Capone Bege used a flintlock pistol to execute Pekoms at Whole Cake Island.

Revolvers
A revolver (リボルバー) closely resembles a pistol in size and shape, but carries its ammunition in an external cylinder with multiple chambers. To fire, a loaded chamber must individually align with the barrel; after a chamber has expended its shot, the cylinder is rotated (either manually or by trigger pull, depending on the specific design) until the next chamber aligns.

Though more internally complex - and thus, more difficult to maintain and repair - than most pistols, revolvers are also sturdier, and able to carry more powerful shot.

Named Revolvers

 * Flintlock .44 Caliber 6 Shot Revolver (フリントロック式44口径6連発リボルバー): A new model from the South Blue, capable of rapid-fire with six chambers. Used by Mr. 5, who provides ammunition via his Devil Fruit powers.
 * Walker .36 Caliber Percussion Revolver: A powerful handgun. One is owned by Charlotte Pudding, who loaded hers with "candy-jacketed bullets"

Other Notable Revolvers

 * Vito wields a pair of large, black revolver flintlocks.

Rifles
A rifle (ライフル) is a long-barreled firearm designed for more accurate long-distance shooting. Due to their size, rifles are typically operated with two hands, and mounted on the shoulder (or some other stable surface) when in use.

Rifles are standard-issue weapons for most military forces, particularly Marine infantrymen. They are also favored by a number of individual snipers.

Named Rifles

 * Senriku (千陸): Van Augur's special rifle, possessing tremendous range.

Other Notable Rifles

 * Benn Beckman carries a rifle as his primary weapon; though he has only been seen using it as a makeshift club in battle, he has implied at least twice that it is still in firing condition.
 * Raki wielded a rifle throughout the Shandia raids on Upper Yard.
 * Foxy used a rifle to - non-fatally - wound Shelly.
 * Hammond wields a rifle modified to fire trawl nets.
 * Hody Jones killed Otohime with a rifle.
 * The Yeti Cool Brothers' rifles, which can fire specialized rounds.

Bazookas
Bazookas are large, shoulder-mounted weapons that often fire rocket-propelled ammo. In the series, they usually shoot cannonballs.

Generically, the term can be used to describe similar weapons, like RPG Launchers.

Named Bazookas

 * Lassoo (ラッス): Mr. 4's giant gun, which bears resemblance to a hand-cannon or bazooka, and "fed" a Zoan-class Devil Fruit.
 * Burn Bazooka: Wyper's bazooka, equiped with a Breath Dial.
 * KX Launcher (KXランチャー): A RPG Launcher that fires deadly poisonous ammo, developed by Caesar Clown.

Other Notable Bazookas

 * Genbo's bazooka.
 * Absalom's arm-mounted bazookas, which seems to fire based on his hand movements.
 * Rindo's bazooka, which is equipped with giant harpoons in lieu of actual explosive rounds.
 * Curiel's bazooka.
 * Jalmack's bazooka, which takes the form of a gigantic rifle and equipped with a cross-hair.
 * Mounblutain's bazooka, which is rather small.

Machine Guns
Machine guns are automatic firearms. That is, they continuously fire as long as the trigger remains pressed down.

Gatling guns are an early form of the machine gun. They're often stationary and feature a crank mechanism that functions as a trigger. Several characters have been shown with gatling guns implemented somewhere in their bodies, either because of cybernetic prosthetics or a Devil Fruit power that allows their use, like the Numa Numa no Mi or the Buki Buki no Mi.

Named Machine Guns

 * Krieg's Needle Machine Gun, firing sharp stakes at a rapid rate.

Other Notable Machine Guns

 * Franky's machine-guns, amongst his built-in weaponry.
 * Pell, Caribou, Coribou, Miss Friday and Baby 5 all wield Gatling guns, Caribou's uses a crank mechanism.
 * Scotch's right arm.
 * Gotti's right arm.
 * Both Capone Bege and Kelly Funk have access to Tommy guns.

Other Types of Firearms
There are a few guns in the series that do not fit any of the previous categories due to their unique nature or owner.

Notable Examples

 * Igaram has multiple gun barrels installed into his hair curls.
 * Saint Rosward possesses a cane gun, presumably for self-defense.
 * Duval's harpoon gun, which shoots harpoons laced with scorpion venom.
 * Tilestone's Demi Cannon, which is a handheld cannon.

Non-Canon Firearms
Firearms wielded by non-canon characters or characters that are not shown wielding them in the manga.

Artillery
Artillery refers to heavy military ranged weapons. They're not usually meant for handheld purposes, unlike firearms.

Cannon
A cannon (砲) is an often large, heavy piece of artillery that uses explosive material, such as gunpowder, to launch projectiles of considerable size compared to bullets, such as cannonballs or bombshells. Cannons can be mobile or stationary, and may vary in size, sometimes requiring the operation of more than one individual to work properly. Cannons predated portable firearms for several years, having been an indispensable weapon in military and naval warfare through centuries due to their power and range.

Cannons also see widespread use throughout the series, as practically every ship is equipped with at least one cannon as a defensive measure, be they Pirate or Marine ships. Marine cannons, however, appear to be more technologically advanced as they can function like gun turrets, allowing for better aiming. The Beasts Pirates, meanwhile, have special long-ranged cannons that can fire precise shots from afar. Cannons are also commonly found in other military structures such as Marineford.

Named Cannons

 * Royal Drum Crown 7-Shot Bliking Cannon (ロイヤルドラムクラウン７連ブリキング): A multi-barreled cannon owned by Wapol, having been stored somewhere in his former castle.
 * Gaon Cannon (ガオン砲): A cannon that fires a powerful air blast.

Tank
A tank is an armoured vehicle usually equipped with a mounted cannon and treads that allow it to traverse rough terrain.

The Brachio Tank V is an example of a tank. Plated with Wapometal, it can form the Iron Pirate General Franky, a combat robot, when docked together with the Kurosai FR-U IV.

Translation and Dub Issues
Due to the heavy controversy surrounding gun ownership - and media depiction - in the United States, 4Kids Entertainment has used a number of different censorship methods on the many firearms featured in the anime: Dialogue was also thoroughly censored to remove most explicit mentions, and firearms-themed attacks often renamed. Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Pistol, for instance, was changed to Gum Gum Blast.
 * Those that inflicted no story-significant violence - e.g. Don Krieg's pistols and most Marine rifles - were usually recolored and/or modified to seem more toy-like, but allowed to fire uncensored.
 * Those used in story-significant threats but not fired - e.g. Kaya's pistol - were usually replaced with "lesser" weapons such as slingshots.
 * Those that inflicted story-significant violence - e.g. Arlong's pistol - were usually removed entirely, and the corresponding scenes rewritten to reduce or avert the violence.

Trivia

 * Guns and gunplay have fascinated Eiichiro Oda from a young age, tying into his love of Westerns. Indeed, his debut work Wanted! (predating One Piece by nearly five years) featured an outlaw gunslinger as its protagonist.
 * Several attacks, such as Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Grizzly Magnum, are named after models and concepts introduced long after flintlocks became obsolete in real life. Whether this means models like the LAR Grizzly Mag pistol (or some in-story equivalent) exist in the world of One Piece remains to be seen.

Site Navigation
Флинтлок Broń palna