Tip-Up Barrel
A tip-up barrel is a feature found on some semi-automatic pistols, where the first round can be easily fed by hand directly into the chamber, rather than from the gun's magazine. This method of feeding the first round has several functional advantages for the end-user. It is probably most commonly associated with several handguns made by Beretta, but other guns have included this kind of feature too.
Advantages of a Tip-Up Barrel:
The biggest advantage is probably that this allows a person who lacks sufficient hand or arm strength to pull back the slide, to easily load the firearm.
Another upside is that if one wishes to utilize the full capacity of the magazine, plus one in the chamber, it is far more convenient to simply insert the chambered round by hand, then insert the fully-loaded magazine.
Pistols That Feature a Tip-Up Barrel:
The feature of a tip-up barrel is probably most commonly associated with Beretta, but a number of other firearms have included a tip-up barrel as well. Some of them (but probably not all) include:
