In the proposed study of a researcher at the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Communications Troops, an attempt was made for the first time to systematize the history of hand firearms of the Russian army from the moment of their appearance until the end of the 18th century. The main types of weapons are distinguished in the work: gun (hand squeaker, handbrake, musket, fusee), carbine, pistol, musketone, hand mortar, the most characteristic of each stage of the development of hand firearms in the period XV - XVII centuries, rifled weapons are considered in a separate section; distinctive features of each type, linear parameters are determined. Inside the types, their distribution by purpose is given - infantry, cavalry, serf, special purpose - in chronological order.