Projectile weapon Projectile weapons were mostly relatively primitive devices that accelerated and directed bullet s or other solid objects toward a target to achieve damaging effects by direct application of kinetic energy . Hand - held projectile weapons were also known as firearms . Such weapon s have been used by most species prior to the development of directed energy weapon technologies . Despite their " primitiveness " , projectile weapons were still considered potent , effective , and reliable weapons by many civilizations in the 23rd and 24th centuries . History . Examples of projectile weapons include their most primitive forms , the sling and the bow and arrow . ( ) Steel crossbow s were used on Earth in the 14th century . ( ) The Akaali still used them in the 22nd , ( ) and the Ligonian s and the Klingon s still made use of them in the 24th century . ( ) More advanced projectile weapons , flintlock s for instance , propel their projectiles by means of an explosive chemical reaction , such as that provided in igniting gunpowder . ( ) Cannon s were larger projectile weapons that fired cannonballs . ( ) To defeat the Gorn , Captain James T . Kirk once even constructed a primitive makeshift cannon by making gunpowder out of potassium nitrate , sulphur and coal , with a bamboo stick as the cannon and a diamond as the projectile . ( ) Musket s and dueling pistol s were other antiquated firearms used on Earth . ( ; ) The Buntline Special , Colt . 45 " peacemaker " and the Winchester rifle were 19th century Earth weapons . ( ; ) The . 38 police special was a 20th century pistol made specially for police and law enforcement officer s . ( ) " Some of the German soldiers who had invaded the United States of America in an alternate 1944 used Mauser Karabiner 98k s . P - 51 Mustang aircraft attacked a Starfleet with their . 50 caliber machine guns . " ( ) The Japanese Zero was another form of WWII airplane which was equipped with a machine gun . It likewise made a series of strafing runs at a landing party on the Shore Leave Planet in 2267 . ( ) Shotgun s were a type of projectile weapon used on Earth well into the 21st century . During the Bell Riots of 2024 , the residents who held the government personnel hostage used acquired police shotguns to ensure their cooperation . ( ) In 2063 , Lily Sloane attempted to kill Lieutenant Commander Data with a Calico M960 submachine gun in Montana . Also in that same year , Captain Jean - Luc Picard enjoyed mowing down two Borg drone s with a holographic recreation of a Thompson submachine gun from the 1920 s , the time period his holonovel was set in . ( ) " In the mirror universe , Zefram Cochrane used a shotgun in 2063 to kill the first Vulcan who set foot on Earth . Commander Jonathan Archer kept this weapon in his quarters aboard the ISS " Enterprise " . " ( ) The MK - 33 and MK - 34 were also weapons of the 2060s . The crew of the was equipped with them when they departed Earth to found the Terra Nova colony in 2069 . ( ) Wrist - mounted machine guns were used by soldiers on Earth in the 2070s . ( ) In the mid - 22nd century , guns ( particularly revolver s ) were highly prevalent on a Skagaran colony planet in the Delphic Expanse . ( ) In 2168 , a book on gangs in Chicago during the 1920s was left on Sigma Iotia II , it became a blueprint for the natives ' culture . Virtually everyone carried a gun , known in slang as " heater s " , including guns resembling " Tommy gun s " of Earth ' s history . One brand of firearms was called Bang Bang . ( ) " In 2259 of the alternate reality , Starfleet security personnel at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco on Earth had access to automatic grenade launcher - type artillery weapons that fired small torpedo - shaped rocket - propelled grenades with aerodynamic attachments . " ( ) In 2268 , the Ekos ian Nazi s and the natives from 892 - IV were armed with various firearms similar to Earth weapons of the mid - 20th century . ( ) Mortar - type grenade launchers were standard - issue weaponry used by Starfleet in the late 2260s . ( ) Torpedo launcher s were used on starship s and other spacecraft and installations as projectile weapons , accelerating a torpedo for launch . While some types of torpedoes couldn ' t be fired without a launcher , most types of torpedoes had internal engines to sustain their flight . ( ; et al . ) In 2287 , the inhabitants of Nimbus III , barred from using conventional weaponry , devised improvised projectile weapons which fired rocks or other debris through the apparent use of compressed air . The Galactic Army of Light also used a single minigun . ( ) On the in 2374 , the crew fought in a holodeck recreation of World War II using various American projectile weapons of the period ( M1 Garand s and Colt M1911A1 s ) and captured German weapons ( Gewehr 98 / 40 s and MP40 s ) . Captain Kathryn Janeway threatened to kill Seven of Nine with a holographic Colt M1911A1 when she believed Seven was a Nazi spy . She also killed the lead Hirogen with a holographic Mauser Kar 98k after he had killed the original leader Karr , and hunted Janeway with it . ( ) Sometime prior to 2375 , Starfleet experimented with projectile weapons for possible use in areas where energy weapons were subject to the effects of dampening field s . One such weapon was the TR - 116 rifle , which fired tritanium bullets and could be modified with a miniature transporter and exographic targeting sensor to allow use from longer distances and through walls . ( ) In 2379 , the pre - warp Kolaran civilization made use of several types of machine guns and other firearms . ( )