From the earliest days of organized warfare, the military establishment have been anxious to find weapons with more firepower than the enemy. Inevitably, this led to the production of repeating weapons which were capable of a degree of sustained fire with out reloading. Based largely upon original research, this book examines the development of these repeating and multi-fire weapons, beginning with the Chinese repeating crossbow in the 4th century BC, and ending with the most common firearm on Planet Earth, the Kalashnikov AK-47, the ultimate example of the ""Woolworth's"" gun. Historical developments involving this type of firearm are also discussed, including: the role of the machine gun in the Great War, the development of the self-loading pistol and the role of the sub-machine gun in improving the firepower of the infantryman in combat.