Semiautomatic handgun having multiple safeties

A handgun comprising

• mating right and left body halves,
• fasteners for holding the right and left halves together along a mating plane,
• a slide contained between said left and right halves, and adapted to slide fore and aft between said halves, wherein
• the barrel has a chamber portion at its rear, and a foot extending downward from the rear of the chamber portion,
• bearings supported on said foot,
• grooves formed on the mating surfaces of the halves, and adapted to receive said bearings and to guide the rear of the barrel so that as the slide is moved rearward, the rear of the barrel is progressively lowered until it is in a position to receive a new round.

A handgun comprising

• mating right and left body halves,
• fasteners for holding the right and left halves together along a mating plane,
• a slide contained between said left and right halves, and adapted to slide fore and aft between said halves,
• a firing pin extending toward the rear of the barrel, substantially along the barrel axis, said firing pin comprising a front portion having a tip of reduced diameter, and a rear portion having three enlarged-diameter shoulders,
• a compression spring extending around the front portion of the pin, bearing against the foremost shoulder, so as to urge the firing pin rearward,
• the rearmost shoulder limiting rearward movement of the firing pin by engaging a surface on the body, and
• the middle shoulder interacting with a means for selectively blocking the firing pin from forward movement.

A handgun comprising

• mating right and left body halves;
• fasteners for holding the right and left halves together along a mating plane;
• a slide contained between said left and right halves, and adapted to slide fore and aft between said halves;
• and
• a hammer and sear assembly comprising
• a housing adapted to be secured between said halves,
• a hammer supported in said hammer housing on a pivot pin, about which the hammer oscillates between safe and cocked positions,
• a spring urging the hammer forward from its cocked position toward a firing pin,
• a sear for latching the hammer in its cocked position, preventing it from moving forward, and
• means operated by a trigger to disengage the sear from the hammer, allowing the spring to drive the hammer forward into the firing pin, wherein
• the sear is mounted for rectilinear sliding movement within the hammer housing.

A handgun comprising

• mating right and left body halves;
• fasteners for holding the right and left halves together along a mating plane;
• a slide contained between said left and right halves, and adapted to slide fore and aft between said halves;
• and
• a trigger housing retained between the body halves,
• a trigger lever mounted for pivoting on a pin extending through the housing,
• and a hollow shoe covering the trigger lever, said shoe having only reciprocating motion in a direction parallel to the barrel.