What was the first hand held gun?
In 1718, James Puckle of London, England, showed off his new invention, the "Puckle Gun," a tripod-mounted, single-barreled flintlock gun fitted with a multishot revolving cylinder.MistroJoe*************In the 1500's, there was a "Shield Gonne"- a metal shield that had a short barreled gun mounted at the center of the shield, and could be fired from behind the shield. An illustration of the "Shield gonne" is in the book "Firearms Curiosa" by Winant.