The following are terms related to firearms andammunition topics.
Main article:Accurizing
The process of altering a stock firearm to improve its accuracy.Main article:Ackley Improved
A type of firearmcartridge that underwent a process of fireforming to contain more propellant to improve the performance of the round. The term may also refer to cutting down the cartridge to contain a different caliber of projectile.Main article:Firearm action
The physical mechanism that manipulatescartridges and/or seals thebreech. The term refers to the method in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. Actions are generally categorized by the type of mechanism used. A firearm action is technically not present onmuzzleloaders as all loading is done by hand. The mechanism that fires a muzzleloader is called thelock.Main article:Ammunition
Can be described as anything that can be launched or thrown. In the case of modern firearms, usually refers to the assembly that is made up of a brass, steel, aluminum, or (rarely) a polymer case. The case contains the priming compound, usually in its own removable assembly called aprimer. The case will also contain the charge ofsmokeless gunpowder, or sometimesblack powder, and will be topped off by the projectile.See:belt.
Main article:Assault rifle
Aservice rifle capable ofselect fire, that firesintermediate cartridges.Main article:Assault weapon
A term used in some jurisdictions within the United States, usually used to describesemi-automatic rifles that fire from a detachablemagazine.
Main article:Machine pistol
Apistol that is capable of automatic fire; amachine pistol.Main article:Automatic rifle
Aself-loading rifle that is capable of automatic fire.Main article:Ballistic coefficient
A measure of aprojectile's ability to overcome air resistance in flight. It isinversely proportional to thedeceleration – a high ballistic coefficient indicates a low deceleration. BC is a function of mass, diameter, anddrag coefficient.Main article:Ballistics
a field ofmechanics concerned with the launching, flight behavior and impact effects ofprojectiles. Often broken down intointernal ballistics,transitional ballistics,external ballistics andterminal ballistics.Main article:Bandolier
A pocketed belt for holdingammunition andcartridges, usually slung across the chest. Bandoliers are now rare because most military arms use magazines, which are not well-suited to being stored in a bandolier. However, they are still commonly used withshotguns, as a traditional bandolier conveniently stores individualshells.Main article:gun barrel
A tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released to propel a projectile out of the end at high velocity.Main article:Battle rifle
Aservice rifle capable ofsemi-automatic or fullyautomatic fire of afull-power rifle cartridge.Main article:Bayonet lug
An attachment point at the muzzle end of along gun for abayonet.Main article:Belt (firearm)
Alsoammunition belt.
Main article:Belted magnum
Anycalibercartridge, generally rifles, using a shell casing with a pronounced "belt" around its base that continues 2 to 4 mm past theextractor groove.[1] This design originated with the British gunmakerHolland & Holland for the purpose ofheadspacing certain of their more powerful cartridges. Especially the non-shouldered (non-"bottlenecked")magnum rifle cartridges could be pushed too far into the chamber and thus cause catastrophic failure of the gun when fired with excessive headspace; the addition of the belt to the casing prevented this over-insertion.Main article:Weapon mount § Bipod
A support device that is similar to atripod ormonopod, but with two legs. On firearms, bipods are commonly used onrifles andmachine guns to provide a forward rest and reduce motion. The bipod permits the operator to rest the weapon on the ground, a low wall, or other object, reducing fatigue and permitting increased accuracy.Seegunpowder.
Main article:Black powder substitute
A firearm propellant that is designed to reproduce the burning rate and propellant properties ofblack powder (making it safe for use in black-powder firearms), while providing advantages in one or more areas such as reduced smoke, reduced corrosion, reduced cost, or decreased sensitivity to unintentional ignition.Main article:Blank (cartridge)
A type ofcartridge for a firearm that containsgunpowder but nobullet orshot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound (report). Blanks are often used for simulation (such as inhistorical reenactments, theatre and moviespecial effects), training, and for signaling (seestarting pistol). Blank cartridges differ fromdummy cartidges, which are used for training or function testing firearms; these contain noprimer or gunpowder, and areinert.Main article:Blank-firing adapter
Some weapons use an adapter fitted to themuzzle when firing blanks.Main article:Blowback (firearms)
A system of operation forself-loading firearms that obtains power from the motion of thecartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the powder charge.[2]Main article:Blow forward
A system of operation that pushes the weapon'sbolt forwards to eject the bullet and cycle theaction.Main article:bluing (steel)
Also sometimes spelledblueing.
Main article:Bolt (firearms)
The part of arepeating,breech-loading firearm thatblocks the rear opening (breech) of thebarrel chamber while thepropellant burns, and moves back and forward to facilitate loading/unloading ofcartridges from themagazine. Theextractor andfiring pin are often integral parts of the bolt.Main article:Bolt hold-open
A device/method of holding the bolt open, usually for inspection/reloading/barrel cooling/safety purposes.Main article:Bolt action
A type of firearmaction in which the firearm'sbolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of thebreech (barrel) with a small handle. As the handle is operated, the bolt is unlocked, the breech is opened, the spentshell casing is withdrawn and ejected, thefiring pin is cocked, and a new round/shell (if available) is placed into the breech and the bolt closed.Main article:Bolt thrust
Alsobreech pressure.
Main article:Bore snake
A tool used to clean thebarrel of a gun.Main article:Boresight (firearm)
Crude adjustments made to a firearmsoptical sight, oriron sights, to align the firearmbarrel and sights. This method is usually used to pre-align the sights, which makeszeroing (zero drop at XX distance) much faster.Main article:Box magazine
A standardmagazine that is generally rectangular in shape and used for loadingammunition.Main article:Break-action
A firearm whosebarrels are hinged, and rotate perpendicular to thebore axis to expose thebreech and allow the loading and/or unloading ofammunition.Main article:Breech (firearms)
The part of abreechloader that is opened for the insertion ofammunition.Seebolt thrust.
Main article:recoil buffer
A component that reduces the velocity ofrecoiling parts (such as thebolt).
Main article:Bullpup
A firearm configuration in which both theaction andmagazine are located behind thetrigger.Main article:Burst mode (weapon)
A firing mode enabling the shooter to fire a predetermined number ofrounds, with a single pull of thetrigger.Main article:Bullet
The small metal projectile that is part of acartridge and is fired through thebarrel. Sometimes, but incorrectly, used to refer to a cartridge.See also:cut rifling andhammer forging.
A style ofrifling that is formed by pulling amanufacturing die made with reverse image of the rifling (the 'button') down the pre-drilledbore of a firearmbarrel.Main article:Caliber
Main article:Caplock
An obsolete mechanism for discharging a firearm.Main article:Carbine
Main article:Cartridge (firearms)
The assembly consisting of abullet,gunpowder,shell casing, andprimer. When counting, it is referred to as a'round'.Main article:Cartridge Overall Length
Factoryammunition is loaded to a standard,SAAMI specified,Cartridge Overall Length so that the ammunition will reliably function in all firearms andaction types. This specified overall length has nothing to do with optimizing accuracy, and is typically much shorter than the overall length used byhandloaders for the samecartridge. For the last several decades,[when?] the rule of thumb was the closer you seated the bullet to the lands, the better the accuracy. Currently, it is understood[by whom?] that this is not always true. It is true that some bullets and some rifles perform best when bullets are seated out long enough to touch the lands, but other bullets perform best when they have a certain amount of "jump" to the lands.[6]Main article:Caseless ammunition
A type of small arms ammunition that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds theprimer,propellant, andprojectile together as a unit.Main article:Casket magazine
A quad stack boxmagazine.Main article:Centerfire ammunition
Acartridge in which theprimer is located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlikerimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component. The centerfire cartridge has replaced the rimfire in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. Except for low-powered .22 and .17-caliber cartridges and a handful of antiques, all modernpistol,rifle, andshotgun ammunition are centerfire.Main article:Chain gun
A type of single-barrelledmachine gun orautocannon that uses an external source of power to cycle the weapon.Main article:Chamber (firearms)
The portion of thebarrel or firingcylinder in which thecartridge is inserted prior to being fired.Rifles andpistols generally have a single chamber in their barrels, whilerevolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinders and no chamber in their barrel.Main article:Chamber (firearms)
Inserting around into thechamber, either manually or through theaction of the weapon.Main article:stripper clip
Commonwealth parlance for astripper clip, aspeedloader that holds severalcartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm'smagazine.Main article:Charging handle
Device on a firearm which, when operated, results in thehammer orstriker beingcocked or moved to the ready position.Main article:Choke (firearms)
A tapered constriction of ashotgun barrel'sbore at themuzzle end. Chokes are almost always used with modern hunting and target shotguns, to improve performance.
Main article:clip (ammunition)
A device that is used to store multiplerounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into themagazine of a repeating firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time.Main article:Close combat
Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat or fighting with hand weapons such as swords or knives.Main article:Collateral damage
Damage that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome.[7] The term originated in theUnited States military, but it has since expanded into broader use.Main article:Collimator sight
Alsooccluded eye gunsight (OEG).[8]
Main article:Combination gun
A shoulder-held firearm that has two or morebarrels; and at least onerifle barrel and oneshotgun barrel. Most combination guns are of anover-under design (O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked vertically on top of each other;side-by-side (SxS), in which the two barrels are parallel to one another, are also made.Main article:Cooking off
The premature explosion ofammunition, for example when a gun is hot from sustained firing the heat can ignite the propellant and make the weapon fire.Main article:Cordite
A family ofsmokeless propellants developed and produced in theUnited Kingdom from 1889 to replacegunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as alow explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently lowbrisance. The hot gases produced by burning gunpowder or cordite generate sufficient pressure to propel abullet orshell to its target, but not enough to destroy thebarrel of the firearm.Main article:Cylindro-conoidal bullet
Ahollow base bullet, shaped so that when fired, the bullet expands and seals thebore. It was invented by Captain John Norton of the British 34th Regiment in 1832, after he examined the blow pipe arrows used by the natives in India and found that their base was formed ofelastic lotus pith, which by its expansion against the inner surface of the blow pipe prevented the escape of air past it.[12]Main article:Delayed blowback
A type ofblowback operation when fired uses an operation to delay the opening until the gas pressure drops to a safe level to extract.Main article:Derringer
A generic-use term describing abreechloading handgun that typically has one to four barrels. Because of their construction, derringers are much smaller and more concealable than many other types of handguns. The name comes from a misspelling of the original Philadelphia Deringer introduced byHenry Deringer in 1825.Main article:Direct impingement
A type ofgas operation for a firearm that directs gas from a firedcartridge directly to thebolt carrier or slide assembly to cycle theaction.Main article:Doglock
The lock that preceded the 'true'flintlock in bothrifles andpistols in the 17th century. Commonly used throughout Europe in the 1600s, it gained popular favor in the British and Dutch militaries. A doglockcarbine was the principal weapon of theharquebusier, the most numerous type of cavalry in the armies of theThirty Years War and theEnglish Civil War era.
Main article:Double-barreled shotgun
Ashotgun with twobarrels that are usually of the samegauge orbore. The two types of double-barreled shotguns areover/under (O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked on top of each other, andside-by-side (SxS), in which the two barrels sit parallel to each other.Combination guns are double-barreled guns that use one shotgun barrel and one rifle barrel.Main article:Double rifle
Arifle that has twobarrels, usually of the samecaliber. Likeshotguns, they are configured either inover-and-under orside-by-side.Main article:Combination gun § Drillings
A firearm with threebarrels (from theGerman:drei,lit. 'three'). Typically it has twoshotgun barrels in aside-by-side configuration on the top, with a singlerifle barrel underneath.Main article:Drum magazine
A type of firearmsmagazine that is cylindrical in shape, similar to adrum.Main article:Dry fire
The practice of "firing" a firearm withoutammunition. That is, to pull thetrigger and allow thehammer orstriker to drop on an emptychamber.Main article:expanding bullet
Abullet designed to expand on impact, increasing in diameter to limit penetration and/or produce a larger diameter wound. The two typical designs are thehollow-point bullet and thesoft-point bullet.Main article:Military dummy
A round ofammunition that is completelyinert, i.e., contains noprimer,propellant, or explosive charge. It is used to check weapon function, and for crew training.[13] Unlike ablank, it contains nocharge at all.Main article:Hearing protection device
Devices used to help reduce the sound of a firearm, to prevent hearing damage. Most commonlyearplugs orear defenders.Main article:Electronic firing
The use of an electric current to fire acartridge, instead of apercussion cap. In an electronic-fired firearm an electric current is used instead to ignite the propellant, which fires the cartridge as soon as the trigger is pulled.Main article:Eye relief
For optics such as binoculars or a rifle scope, eye relief is the distance from the eyepiece to the viewer's eye that matches the eyepiece exit pupil to the eye's entrance pupil. Short eye relief requires the observer to press their eye close to the eyepiece in order to see anun-vignetted image. For a shooter, eye relief is an important safety consideration. An optic with too short an eye relief can cut skin at the contact point between the optic and the shooter's eyebrow due to recoil.Main article:Expanding bullet
An expanding bullet is a bullet designed to expand on impact, increasing in diameter to limit penetration and/or produce a larger diameter wound. The two typical designs are the hollow-point bullet and the soft-point bullet.Main article:Extractor (firearms)
A part in a firearm that serves to remove brass cases of firedammunition after the ammunition has been fired. When the gun's action cycles, the extractor lifts or removes the spent brass casing from the firing chamber.Main article:Falling block action
Asingle-shot firearmaction in which a solid metalbreechblock slides vertically ingrooves cut into thebreech of the rifle and actuated by alever. In the top position, it locks and resistsrecoil while sealing the chamber. In the lower position, it leaves the chamber open so the shooter can load a cartridge from the rear.Main article:Ferritic nitrocarburizing
A case hardening processes that diffuse nitrogen and carbon into ferrous metals at sub-critical temperatures to improve scuffing resistance, fatigue properties and corrosion resistance of metal surfaces. Also callednitriding.Main article:Feed ramp
A detail which leads the cartridge from the magazine into the chamber.
Main article:Field strip
Disassembling a firearm for the purpose of repair or cleaning, without tools. When using tools, this is called adetail strip.Main article:Firearms
A weapon that fires bullets, and of such a size that is designed for usage by one individual.Main article:Fire forming
The process of reshaping ametallic cartridge case to fit a new chamber by firing it within that chamber.[14]Main article:Firing pin
The part of a firearm that strikes the primer, discharging the round.Main article:Flash suppressor
A device that is attached to the muzzle of a firearm, that lowers the temperature at which gases disperse upon firing.Main article:Flintlock
An obsolete mechanism for discharging a firearm.Main article:Forward assist
A button, found on firearms firing from closed bolt only and with non-reciprocating cocking handles, commonly onAR-10/AR-15-styled rifles, usually located near thebolt closure, that when hit, pushes thebolt carrier forward, ensuring that the bolt is lockedin-battery position.Main article:Fouling
The accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling material can consist of either powder, lubrication residue, or bullet material such as lead or copper.Main article:Frangibility#Bullets
A bullet that is designed to disintegrate into tiny particles upon impact to minimize their penetration for reasons ofrange safety, to limit environmental impact, or to limit the danger behind the intended target. Examples are theGlaser Safety Slug and thebreaching round.[17][18]Main article:Free gun
A term for a General Purpose Machine Gun used byDoor gunners that is not installed on a weapon mount but a bungee/sling allowing more free movement.Main article:Frizzen
An L-shaped piece of steel hinged at the rear used in flintlock firearms. The flint scraping the steel throws a shower of sparks into the flash pan.Main article:Gas check
A device used in some types of firearmsammunition when non-jacketed bullets are used inhigh pressurecartridges, to prevent the buildup oflead in thebarrel and aid in accuracy.[19]Main article:Gas-operated reloading
A system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms.Main article:Gatling gun
A hand-crank operated cannon named after its inventor,Richard Gatling. In modern usage, a Gatling often refers to arotary machine gun.Main article:Gauge (bore diameter)
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel..jpg)
Main article:General purpose machine gun
A machine gun intended to fill the role of either a light machine gun or medium machine gun, while at the same time being man-portable.Main articlle:Grain (unit)
Aunit of measurement ofmass that is based upon the mass of a single seed of a typicalcereal. Used in firearms to denote the amount of powder in a cartridge or the weight of a bullet. Traditionally it was based on the weight of a grain of wheat or barley, but since 1958, thegrain (gr) measure has been redefined using theInternational System of Units as precisely64.79891 mg.[20][21] There are 7,000 grains peravoirdupois pound in theImperial andU.S. customary units.Main article:Safety (firearms)#Grip safety
Asafety mechanism, usually a lever on the rear of apistol grip, that automatically unlocks the trigger mechanism of a firearm as pressure is applied by the shooter's hand.[16]Main article:Gunpowder
Alsoblack powder.
Main article:Gun serial number
Aunique identifier given to a specific firearm.Main article:Hang fire
An unexpected delay between the triggering of a firearm and the ignition of thepropellant. This failure was common infirearm actions that relied on open primer pans, due to the poor or inconsistent quality of the powder. Modern weapons are susceptible, particularly if theammunition has been stored in an environment outside of the design specifications.Main article:Half-cock
The position of thehammer where the hammer is partially but not completely cocked. Many firearms, particularly older firearms, had a notch cut into the hammer allowing half-cock, as this position would neither allow the gun to fire nor permit the hammer-mounted firing pin to rest on a livepercussion cap orcartridge. The purpose of the half-cock position has variously been used both for loading a firearm, and as a safety-mechanism.Main article:Hammer (firearm)
The function of the hammer is to strike thefiring pin in a firearm, which in turn detonates the impact-sensitivecartridgeprimer. Thehammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool.Main article:Handgun
A type of firearm that is compact enough that it can be held and used with only a single hand.
Main article:Headspace (firearms)
The distance measured from the part of the chamber that stops forward motion of thecartridge (thedatum reference) to the face of thebolt. Used as a verb, headspace refers to the interference created between this part of the chamber and the feature of the cartridge that achieves the correct positioning.[24]Main article:Headstamp
A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a cartridge case designed for a firearm. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber, if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added.Main article:Heavy machine gun
A machine gun firing large diameter rifle cartridges, considerably larger than a medium or light machine gun. Most heavy machine guns fire larger rounds, such as the.50 BMG or12.7×108mm.Main article:Holographic weapon sight
a non-magnifying gunsight that allows the user to look through a glass optical window and see a cross hairreticle image superimposed at a distance on thefield of view.[25] Thehologram of the reticle is built into the window and is illuminated by alaser diode.
Main article:Improved Military Rifle (IMR)
A series of tubularnitrocellulosesmokeless powders evolved fromWorld War I throughWorld War II for loading military and commercial ammunition and sold to private citizens forreloading rifle ammunition for hunting and target shooting.Main article:Improvised firearm
A firearm manufactured by someone who is not a regular maker of firearms, often as part of aninsurgency.Main article:Internal ballistics
A subfield ofballistics, that is the study of aprojectile's behavior from the time itspropellant's igniter is initiated until it exits thegun barrel. The study of internal ballistics is important todesigners and users of firearms of all types, from small-boreOlympicrifles andpistols, to high-techartillery.Main article:Iron sights
A system of aligned markers used to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm,crossbow, ortelescope, and exclude the use ofoptics as in ascope. Iron sights are typically composed of two component sights, formed by metal blades: a rear sight mounted perpendicular to the line of sight and consisting of some form ofnotch (open sight) oraperture (closed sight); and a front sight that is apost,bead, orring.
Main article:Bullet#Modern bullets
A metal, usually copper, wrapped around a lead core to form a bullet.Main article:Khyber Pass Copy
A firearm manufactured by cottage gunsmiths in theKhyber Pass region betweenPakistan andAfghanistan.See:recoil.
Main article:Laser sight (firearms)
an attachment that projects a laser beam onto the target, providing a rough point of impact.Main article:Length of pull
The distance between the trigger and the butt end of the shoulder stock of arifle orshotgun.
Main article:Lever-action
A type of firearmaction with a lever that encircles the trigger guard area, (often including the trigger guard itself) to load freshcartridges into thechamber of thebarrel when the lever is worked.Main article:Light machine gun
a class of machine gun often defined as being designed for carry and use by a single operator and firing the same intermediate-power cartridge as other soldiers in a unit.Main article:Live fire exercise
Anyexercise that simulates a realistic scenario for the use of specific equipment. In the popular lexicon this applies primarily to tests of weapons or weapon systems associated with a branch of a nation'sarmed forces, though the term can also apply to civilian activity.Main article:Lock (firearm)
the mechanism of a firearm that is used to initiate the ignition and propel the projectile down thebarrel.Main article:Machine gun
A fully automatic weapon capable of sustained fire over a long period of time.Main article:Machine pistol
A pistol capable of automatic fire. Also used interchangeably withsubmachine gun..jpg)
Main article:Magazine (firearms)
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm (fixed) or removable (detachable). The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm.Main article:Match grade
Firearm parts and ammunition that are suitable for a competitive match. This refers to parts that are designed and manufactured such that they have a relatively tight-tolerances and high level of accuracy.Main article:Matchlock
An obsolete mechanism for discharging a firearm.Main article:Medium machine gun
A class of machine gun often defined as being designed for carry and use by multiple operators, firing a full-power rifle cartridge.Main article:Mine shell
A high explosive round used for armour piercing etc.Main article:Muzzle (firearms)
The part of a firearm at the end of thebarrel from which theprojectile exits.Main article:Muzzle brake
Devices that are fitted to the muzzle of a firearm to redirect propellant gases with the effect of countering both recoil of the gun and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire.Main article:Muzzle energy
thekinetic energy of abullet as it is expelled from themuzzle of a firearm. It is often used as a rough indication of the destructive potential of a given firearm or load. The heavier the bullet and the faster it moves, the higher its muzzle energy and the more damage it does.Main article:Muzzle velocity
The speed at which aprojectile leaves themuzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately 800 ft/s (240 m/s) for somepistols and oldercartridges to more than 4,000 ft/s (1,200 m/s) in modern cartridges such as the.220 Swift and.204 Ruger. In conventional guns, muzzle velocity is determined by the quality (burn speed, expansion) and quantity of thepropellant, the mass of the projectile, and the length of the barrel.Main article:National Rifle Association
American organization that lists its goals as the protection of theSecond Amendment of theUnited States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship,firearm safety, and the protection of hunting andself-defense in the United States. The NRA is also the sanctioning body for most marksmanship competition in the United States, from the local to international level (particularly bullseye style events).Main article:National Rifle Association (disambiguation)
A National Rifle Organization of a non-US country or state.Main article:Out-of-battery
The status of a weapon before the action has returned to the normal firing position. The term originates from artillery, referring to a gun that fires before it has been pulled back into its firing position in a gun battery. In firearms where there is an automatic loading mechanism, a condition in which a live round is at least partially in the firing chamber and capable of being fired, but is not properly secured by the usual mechanism of that particular weapon can occur.Main article:obturation
An ordnance word; to close (a hole or cavity) so as to prevent a flow of gas through it, especially the escape of explosive gas from a gun tube during firing. The process of obturation is where a recess in the base of a bullet allows for expanding gases to press against the base and inside skirt of the bullet creating a gas tight seal to the bore. See alsoswage.Main article:Offset mount
A situation wherein it may not be practical to mount a telescopic sight directly above the receiver and barrel of a firearm. This was noted with many military and service arms where new ammunition was fed from above along a similar path, in reverse, to the spent cartridge cases being ejected clear. Not often seen or used today, although complete or partial sets of offset mounts attract keen interest from restorers and collectors.Main article:Open bolt
Open-bolt weapons have thebolt to the rear of thereceiver when ready to fire. This means that when the trigger is pulled the bolt moves forward, feeds a cartridge into thechamber and fires that cartridge in one movement.Main article:Open Tip Match
A type of bullet. The open tip design employs a precision deep drawn jacket with lead inserted from the front tip and ogival forming from the open tip mouth, and originated strictly for competitive match.Main article:Parkerizing
A method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of an electrochemical phosphate conversion coating. Also called phosphating and phosphatizing.Main article:Parts kit
A kit of firearm parts minus the receiver. Used to build a complete firearm with the purchase or manufacture of a receiver (regulated in the US).Main article:Percussion cap
a small cylinder ofcopper orbrass that was the crucial invention that enabledmuzzle-loading firearms to fire reliably in any weather. The cap has one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such asfulminate of mercury. The percussion cap is placed over a hollow metal "nipple" at the rear end of the gun barrel. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer, which strikes the percussion cap and ignites the explosive primer. The flame travels through the hollow nipple to ignite the main powder charge.Main article:Picatinny rail
A bracket used on some firearms to provide a standardized mounting platform.Main article:Pinfire
An obsolete type of brass cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin that protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge.Main article:Plinking
Informal targetshooting done at non-traditional targets such astin cans, glass bottles, and balloons filled with water.[34]Main article:Pistol
A type of firearm that can be held and fired with one hand. The word pistol is usually used to refer specifically to asemi-automatic pistol.
Main article:Pistol grip
A feature on some firearms that gives the user a slightly curved area to grip, just rear of the trigger.Main article:Powerhead (firearm)
A specialized firearm used underwater that is fired when in direct contact with the target.Main article:Pump-action
Arifle orshotgun in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth to eject a spent round ofammunition and tochamber a fresh one. It is much faster than abolt-action and somewhat faster than alever-action, as it does not require that the shooter remove theirtrigger hand during reloading. In rifles, this action is also commonly called aslide action.Main article:Ramrod
A device used with early firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly gunpowder).Main article:Rate of fire
The frequency at which a firearm can fire its projectiles. Usually measured in RPM (rounds per minute).Main article:Receiver (firearms)
the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts.Main article:Recoil
Alsokick orkickback.
Main article:Recoil operation
An operating mechanism used in locked-breech, autoloading firearms. As the name implies, these actions use the force of recoil to provide energy to cycle the action.Main article:Red dot magnifier
Anoptical telescope that can be paired with a non-magnifying optical sight turning the combination into atelescopic sight.Main article:Red dot sight
A type of reflector (reflex) sight for firearms that gives the uses a redlight-emitting diode as areticle to create an aim point.Main article:Reflector sight
A generally non-magnifying optical device that has anoptically collimated reticle, allowing the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see aparallax free cross hair or other projected aiming point superimposed on thefield of view.[35] Invented in 1900 but not generally used on firearms until reliably illuminated versions were invented in the late 1970s (usually referred to by the abbreviation "reflex sight").Main article:Reversed bullet
A bullet placed in the cartridge backwards as an ad-hoc way of armour piercing.Main article:Revolver
A repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing.Main article:Ricochet
A rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of aprojectile.Main article:Rifle bedding
A process of filling gaps between the action and the stock of a rifle with anepoxy based material.
Main article:Rifling
Helical grooves in thebarrel of a firearm, which imparts a spin to aprojectile around its long axis. This spin serves togyroscopically stabilize the projectile, improving itsaerodynamic stability and accuracy.Main article:rimfire ammunition
A type of firearmcartridge that used afiring pin to strike the base'srim, instead of striking the primer cap at the center of the base of the cartridge to ignite it (as in acenterfire cartridge). The rim of the rimfire cartridge is essentially an extended and widenedpercussion cap that contains the priming compound, while the cartridge case itself contains thepropellant powder and the projectile (bullet).Main article:Riot gun
A gun that has been loaded forrubber bullets,smoke grenades, or any other projectile that is not designed to kill its target.Main article:Rolling block
A form of firearmaction where the sealing of thebreech is done with a circular shapedbreechblock able to rotate on a pin. The breechblock is locked into place by the hammer, thus preventing the cartridge from moving backwards at the moment of firing. By cocking the hammer, the breechblock can be rotated freely to reload the weapon.Main article:Rotary cannon
A type ofautocannon that contains multiple rotating barrels. If in a machine gun caliber it is referred to as arotary machine gun.Main article:Cartridge (firearms)
A single cartridge.Main article:Sabot (firearms)
A device used in a firearm to fire a projectile, such as a bullet, that is smaller than the bore diameter.Main article:Safety (firearms)
A mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm in case of unsafe handling. Safeties can generally be divided into sub-types such as internal safeties (which typically do not receive input from the user) and external safeties (which typically allow the user to give input, for example, toggling a lever from "on" to "off" or something similar). Sometimes these are called "passive" and "active" safeties (or "automatic" and "manual"), respectively.
Main article:Sawed-off shotgun
A type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or deleted stock.Main article:Sealed round
A sealed round is a munition which is typically stored in some kind of container (usually a cylinder or box, but the container may in fact be the outside of the munition), so that the munition does not require any sort of maintenance and is stored in this container until use.Main article:Selective fire
A firearm that firessemi–automatically and at least oneautomatic mode by means of a selector depending on the weapon's design. Some selective fire weapons utilizeburst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in this mode. The most common limits are two or three rounds per pull of the trigger.Main article:Semi-automatic firearm
Firing a single round of ammunition each time the trigger is pulled.Main article:Semi-automatic pistol
A pistol that has a single chamber, and is capable of semi-automatic fire.Main article:semiwadcutter
A type of all-purposebullet commonly used inrevolvers that combines features of thewadcutter target bullet and traditional round nosed revolver bullets, and is used in both revolver andpistol cartridges for hunting, target shooting, andplinking. The basic SWC design consists of a roughly conical nose, truncated with a flat point, sitting on a cylinder. The flat nose punches a clean hole in the target, rather than tearing it like a round nose bullet would, and the sharp shoulder enlarges the hole neatly, allowing easy and accurate scoring of the target. The SWC design offers betterexternal ballistics than the wadcutter, as its conical nose produces less drag than the flat cylinder.Main article:Shooting butt
Mounds of earth used at shooting ranges to place the targets and weapons clearing stations to 'absorb' the bullets.Main article:Shooting range
Specialized facility designed for firearms practice.Main article:Shooting sticks
Portable weapon mounts.Main article:Short-barreled rifle
Alegal designation in the United States, referring to a shoulder-fired, rifled firearm with a barrel length of less than 16" (40.6 cm) or overall length of less than 26" (66.0 cm).Main article:Shotgun
A type of firearm designed to fireshotshell, which releases a large number of small projectiles (shot) or a single large projectile (slug) upon firing.Main article:Suppressor
A device attached to or part of thebarrel of a firearm to reduce the amount ofnoise andflash generated by firing the weapon.Main article:Single-action
Usually referring to apistol orrevolver, single-action is when the hammer is pulled back manually by the shooter (cocking it), after which the trigger is operated to fire the shot. See also double-action.Main article:Single-shot
A firearm that holds only a single round ofammunition and must be reloaded after each shot.Main article:Slamfire
A premature, unintended discharge of a firearm that occurs as a round is being loaded into the chamber.Main article:Sling (firearms)
A type of strap or harness designed to allow an operator carry a firearm (usually a long gun such as arifle,carbine,shotgun, orsubmachine gun) on his/her person and/or aid in greater hit probability with that firearm.Main article:Snap cap
An inert device shaped like a cartridge or shotshell used for function checks or training, such asdry firing.Main article:Snubnosed revolver
A revolver with a very short barrel.Main article:Speedloader
A device used for loading a firearm or firearmmagazine with loose ammunition very quickly. Generally, speedloaders are used for loading all chambers of arevolver simultaneously, although speedloaders of different designs are also used for the loading of fixed tubular magazines ofshotguns andrifles, or the loading of box or drum magazines. Revolver speedloaders are used for revolvers having either swing-out cylinders or top-break cylinders.Main article:Spin cocking
A quick reloading technique for lever-action firearms using a full rotation of the weapon with one hand. A similar example exists, flip cocking but this differs as the previously mentioned full rotation is not used.Main article:Spitzer (bullet)
An aerodynamic bullet design.Main article:Sporterising
The practice of modifying military-type firearms either to make them suitable for civilian sporting use or to make them legal under the law.Main article:Squib load
A firearms malfunction in which a fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck. Squib loads make the firearm unsafe to shoot, unless the projectile can be removed.Main article:Stock (firearms)
The part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. The stock provides a means for the shooter to firmly support the device and easily aim it.Main article:Stopping power
The ability of a firearm or other weapon to cause a penetrating ballistic injury to a target, human or animal, sufficient to incapacitate the target where it stands.Main article:Stripper clip
Aspeedloader that holds severalcartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm'smagazine.Main article:Submachine gun
A type of automatic, magazine-fed weapon that fires pistol cartridges.Main article:swaging
To reduce an item in size by forcing through adie. Ininternal ballistics, swaging refers to the process where bullets are swaged into the rifling of the barrel by the force of the expanding powder gases.Main article:Synchronization gear
A device usually used on aircraft for the weapon to shoot through the propeller without damaging the rotating blades. The term can be used to describe a rate of fire moderator.Main article:Tack driver
A term used in the firearms industry to a firearm regardless of form one is trying to promote.Main article:Tapering (firearms)
Firearm components that narrow down to a conical fashion hence the name taper, notably with barrels and cartridges.Main article:Taylor KO Factor
Mathematical approach for evaluating thestopping power of huntingcartridges, which favors cartridges with a highmomentum and a large bullet diameter.Main article:Telescoping stock
Astock on a firearm that can telescope or fold in on itself to become more compact. Telescoping stocks are useful for storing arifle or weapon in a space that it would not normally fit in.Main article:Terminal ballistics
A sub-field ofballistics, the study of the behavior of aprojectile when it hits its target.[38]Main article:Third Arm Weapon Interface System
A stabilizing device used to redistribute the weight of heavy firearms to make them easier to weild.Main article:Tip-up barrel
A type of firearm barrel arrangement to ease maintainability. Mostly found on handguns.Main article:Traveling charge
A traveling charge is an additional explosive charge attached to the bottom of the projectile so that it travels with the projectile inside the gun barrel while burning.Main article:Trigger (firearms)
A mechanism that actuates the firing sequence of a firearm. Triggers almost universally consist of levers or buttons actuated by the index finger.Main article:Trunnion
a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting and/or pivoting point. On firearms, the barrel is sometimes mounted in a trunnion, which in turn is mounted to the receiver.Main article:Turn bolt
A turn bolt refers to a firearm component that where the whole bolt without using a bolt carrier turns to lock/unlock. This is mostly used to describe manually operated bolt action firearms, but also on some automatic firearms.Main article:Forging#Upset forging
A process that increases the diameter of a workpiece by compressing its length.Main article:Underwater firearm
A firearm specially designed for use underwater.
Main article:Varmint rifle
A small-caliber firearm or high-poweredair gun primarily used forvarmint hunting—killing non-native or non-game animals such asrats,house sparrows,starling,crows,ground squirrels,gophers,jackrabbits,marmots,groundhogs,porcupine,opossum,coyote,skunks,weasels,[41] or feralcats,dogs,goats,pigs, and other animals considered a nuisancevermin destructive to native or domestic plants and animals.[42]Main article:Velocity
The speed at which a projectile travels.Main article:Wadcutter
A special-purposebullet specially designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities typically under 800 ft/s (240 m/s). They are often used inhandgun andairgun competitions. A wadcutter has a flat or nearly flat front that cuts a very clean hole through the paper target, making it easier to score and ideally reducing errors in scoring the target to the favor of the shooter.Main article:List of Winchester Center Fire cartridges
An acronym for a family ofcartridges designed byWinchester Repeating Arms Company, calledWinchesterCenterFire, as in the.30–30 WCF or.32-20 WCF.[43]Main article:Wheellock
An obsolete mechanism for discharging a firearm.Main article:Wildcat cartridge
A customcartridge for whichammunition and firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created to optimize a certain performance characteristic (such as the power, size or efficiency) of an existing commercial cartridge. Seeimproved cartridge.Main article:Windage
The side-to-side adjustment of a sight, used to change the horizontal component of the aiming point. See alsoKentucky windage.Main article:Flight dynamics
The heading of a bullet, used inexternal ballistics that refers to how theMagnus effect causes bullets to move out of a straight line based on their spin.Main article:Sighting in
The act of setting up atelescopic or other sighting system so that the point of impact of a bullet matches the sights at a specified distance.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)