The book of V.E. Markevich is a unique encyclopedic publication in which the author first showed the evolution of domestic and foreign firearms from the time of their occurrence until the middle of the twentieth century. The value and peculiarity of this work is not only in the breadth of the history of the development of handguns, but also in what it is given comprehensively. Data are provided on domestic and foreign military weapons, their relationship and mutual influence. The first three parts of the book were published in a separate edition in 1937 in Leningrad. Most of the book's materials are published for the first time. Description of hunting and sports - small arms, including hunting and sports - small arms revolvers and pistols, as well as weapons of arbitrary types for the period from 1886 to the middle of the twentieth century. The publication offered to the reader presents the history of the development of hunting and sports - small arms period smokeless gunpowder - from 1886 to 1941. The book considers: hunting rifled weapons, combined hunting weapons and bullets - shotgun weapons, hunting smooth (shotgun) weapons, cartridges for these types of weapons, sports and small arms and cartridges for them, weapons of an arbitrary type: firearms and canes, signal pistols and revolvers, guns for liquid carbon dioxide, pneumatic weapons. Listed are Russian and foreign weapons masters, factories and factories of hunting and sports - small arms. The names of gunsmiths producing both outstanding piece and simple weapons have been collected. The author sought to show that Russian gunsmiths took one of the leading places in the history of weapons, rightly deserved by them. Therefore, examples of the wealth of creative thought, ingenuity and skillful skill of Russian gunsmiths are given. Considering the evolution of firearms, the author sought to illuminate this weapon from the point of view of not only the historian, but also the practice - the designer, the shooter, drawing proper conclusions about various systems and samples. In some cases, practical recommendations for their improvement are given. A description of hunting weapons that appeared before 1886 (before the introduction of smokeless gunpowder) is given in the book by V.E. Markevich & # 96; Hand firearms. The history of development from the time of occurrence to the introduction of smokeless powders & # 96;, SP - b, 1994. The description of each weapon system is made in chronological order. The systematization and classification of the main types of weapons with the characteristics of each type is preliminary given. The book is designed for specialists and a wide range of readers.