It’s kind of wild that after a century of improvements in weapons technology, a pistol today works basically the same as a pistol from the First World War.
— Ben Landau-Taylor (@benlandautaylor) December 20, 2025
This is a good example of a false mind-boggle. And it’s only limitedly true.
But first, why it’s a false mind-boggle: Pistols are dominated by their constraints. They must be compact, controllable, portable, and fit the average hand. There are only a very limited number of designs, configurations and materials that will meet these requirements. That’s why pistols basically function the same as they did in WWI. The optimum working object was found given the constraints of design and physics.
However, there have been tons of improvements that have increased reliability, safety, longevity, and the ease of operation of pistols while also lowering costs. So, no, your great-grandpa’s Browning M1911 might’ve looked and worked about the same, but it’s not really the same weapon at all in many ways that matter.