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Index:
| Accuracy - The inherent ability of a firearm to shoot consistently to the same point of impact. Sight adjustment and marksmanship are separate issues. |
| Falling Block |
| ADL, BDL - Suffix designations used by Remington to signify grades of various models of bolt action rifles. The ADL version is generally the basic model. The BDL version generally adds a hinged floorplate, slightly better wood, checkering, contrasting forend tip and pistol grip cap. ADL and BDL stand for A Grade DeLuxe and B Grade DeLuxe. Photo |
| Alex Henry Forend - A forend with a circumferential groove at the tip, typical of this fine Scottish maker, (for tying a rifle into a vehicle-mounted rack?). Adopted by the traditionalist Bill Ruger for his single shot Model No. 1.Photo |
| Alkanet Root - Alkanna tinctoria orAnchusa officinalis, related plants of theBoraginaceae family, whose root, when steeped in a solution of turpentine and/or linseed oil makes a reddish stain favored by the London gun trade to impart an underlying reddish hue to fine gun stocks. Dyers' Bugloss. Photo |
| Ambidextrous Safety - A safety catch that can be operated by either hand. Of benefit to left-handed shooters and in the event of an injury to the right hand. Photo |
| Ampersand "&" - A mark used by Colt to indicate a revolver having been returned to the factory for repair or refinishing. Photo |
| Annealing - Heating [steel] to above its austenitic temperature (around 1800and then letting it cool as slowly as possible in order to relax inner stresses and to make it as soft as possible for ease of machining, filing, engraving, etc. |
| Annulus - A tiny circular recess at the base of a cartridge case surrounding the primer pocket. Recoil from fired cartridges invariably impress a discernable ring on the breech or bolt face of a firearm, providing some evidence of the amount of use it has seen. Photo |
| Anson & Deeley Action - A type of boxlock action design for a break-open gun, patented in 1875, the essence of simplicity utilizing only two springs and three moving parts (per barrel). One of the most successful action designs ever, and still produced to this day by innumerable makers in many countries. |
| Anvil - A small metal block, inside a Boxer primer, against which the blow of the firing pin causes the priming compound to be pinched sharply---and thus detonated. In the Berdan system, the anvil is built into the cartridge case's primer pocket. Photo |
| Aperture Sight - See Peep Sight |
| APUN - Action Patent Use Number. Under patent law during the period of greatest creativity in the British firearms trade (circa 1860 - 1910) gunmakers typically numbered each patented component with its own number of use of the patent (not the number of the patent itself as registered with the patent office as in the USA)---irrespective of the serial number of the firearm. Photo |
| Arcaded Fences-Fences on a side-by-side gun decorated with a series of engraved crescents. A particular signature of James Woodward guns. Photo |
| Arrowheads -A signature stock-carving detail of Robert G Owen, renown English-born American stockmaker, active 1920s - 1950s. Photo |
| Assault Weapon - A vague, emotional term, used to instill fear into the ignorant, by persons with political agenda. Any weapon used in an attack: 18th century boarding pikes, Civil War Springfield muskets, World War II Garands, Vietnam M-16s are all assault weapons. |
| Autoloading [Action]- A type of firearm which, utilizing some of the recoil or some of the expanding-gas energy from the firing cartridge, cycles the action to eject the spent shell, to chamber a fresh one from a magazine, and to cock the mainspring in preparation for firing with a manual pull of the trigger. Semi-Automatic. Photo |
| Automatic [Action]- A type of firearm which, utilizing some of the recoil or some of the expanding-gas energy from the firing cartridge, cycles the action to eject the spent shell, to chamber a fresh one from a magazine, to cock the mainspring and to fire again. Such a firearm will fire continuously as long as the trigger is held back, until the magazine is empty. A machine gun. A firearm thus activated, but which shoots only one bullet with each separate pull of the trigger, while often erroneously referred to as "automatic" is more properly termed Semi-Automatic. Photo |
| B.Blinde - A Belgian proofmark indicating a rifled barrel suitable for use with jacketed bullets; Balle Blinde being French for Jacketed Ball, or bullet. [It is not a maker's name.] Photo |
| Backstrap - Rear, metal, part of a handgun---which together with the frontstrap, provides a mounting frame for the grips. Photo |
| Baker Ejectors - A type of mechanism, built into the forend of a break-open firearm, utilizing a direct-acting coil spring to kick out a spent shell while only raising an unfired shell far enough to remove manually. Photo |
| Balance- The handling characteristic of a break-open gun. Traditionally, the fulcrum of balance should be right at the hingepin. If the balance point is ahead of the hingepin the gun would be said to be barrel-heavy with more forward inertia; slower to swing and slower to stop. If the balance point is behind the hingepin the gun would be said to be stock-heavy with less forward inertia; whippier; faster to swing and faster to stop. Photo |
| Ball- A spherical projectile, normally of lead, as discharged from a firearm---as opposed to a cylindroidbullet. Photo |
| Ball Screw - SeeWorm |
| Ball & Shot Gun - A firearm, built to be able to shoot either a single projectile or a load of shot pellets; generally built heavier than their shotgun counterparts and fitted with rudimentary rifle sights; often either with robust rifling just at the muzzle or with Lancaster Oval Boring. SeeParadox |
| Ballistics - The study of the action of propellant powders upon projectiles, their speeds, energies and trajectories. Ballistics can be categorized into three phases:Interior (the projectile's behavior inside the bore),Exterior (the projectile's behavior in flight), andTerminal(the projectile's behavior upon contact with the target). |
| Banknote Engraving -SeeBulino |
| Bar-In-Wood - A style of gun configuration of breech-loading guns, aesthetically vestigial to muzzle loaders, where the hinge-pin and the knuckle of the action is housed as far as possible in wood. Photo |
| Barrel - An essential component of a firearm; a tube, sealed at one end (the breech) in which a propellant is ignited, whose rapidly expanding gasses create powerful pressure to force a single or multiple projectiles through its bore, out the open end (the muzzle) and down range towards a target. Photo |
| Barrel Band - A steel band encircling the barrel and forestock of a rifle or musket, helping to secure the barrel to the stock. Almost universal on US military firearms from the Revolution through World War II. Inherent to the definition of Carbine, in Winchester terminology. Photo |
| Barrel Band Front Sight; Barrel Band Swivel Base- A front sight base completely encircling a rifle barrel at the muzzle; a loop completely encircling the barrel of a rifle into which a provision for a sling swivel is integrally machined. Both details are in the interest of a more positive and reliable joint than a simple soldered attachment.Photo |
| Barrel Channel- The concave groove in the forend of a rifle stock into which the barrel is fitted. Photo |
| Barrel Shroud - A covering attached to a barrel designed to protect the shooter from burns when the barrel inside becomes too hot to touch as a result of heavy shooting. Photo |
| Battery - A group of firearms selected, as taken together, to be able to accomplish a broad variety of hunting or shooting situations. A 3-gun battery for Africa might consist of a .243 bolt rifle, a .338 Win. Mag. bolt rifle and a .470 Nitro Express double rifle. One could argue ad nauseum the relative merits of various combinations. |
| [In] Battery - A condition of a firearm where it is loaded, with the action closed, cocked and (with the possible exception of an engaged safety catch) ready to fire. |
| Bayonet - A knife, optionally mountable to the muzzle-end of a rifle or musket to add the function of a spear. For close-range combat and as a last resort when the ammunition is exhausted. Photo |
| BDL, ADL - Suffix designations used by Remington to signify grades of various models of bolt action rifles. The ADL version is generally the basic model. The BDL version generally adds a hinged floorplate, slightly better wood, checkering, contrasting forend tip and pistol grip cap. ADL and BDL stand for A Grade DeLuxe and B Grade DeLuxe. Photo |
| Beavertail Forend - |
| Beach Combination Sight -A type of front sight, hinged, to show either an ordinary bead or a very fine bead necessarily encircled by a protective ring. Photo |
| Beesley Action - An inherently assisted-opening action, designed by Frederick Beesley in 1880, the patent sold to Purdey who have used it for every side-by-side sidelock firearm they have built since that year. Photo |
| Benchrest - (1) A stout table from which to fire a rifle, removing as much human error as possible in the interest of testing rifles, loads and/or adjusting sights. (2) Both a type of rifle and the competition in which it is used. A heavy, invariably single shot rifle, made for stationary target shooting. The rifle often having a flat underside for unaided stability on the bench. An exercise for ultimate accuracy of rifle and load with the variables of human marksmanship purged from the formula. Photo |
| Belt- A circumferential ridgeline around the base of acartridge case, typically found on some high powered or "magnum" rifle cartridges to aid in the establishment of proper headspace. Photo |
| Belt Pistol- A general term referring to an antique handgun with a prominent clip on the side for easy attachment to a belt, sash or trouser. Photo |
| Bend - British term forDrop. |
| Berdan - Normally a cartridge case having aprimer pocket with two, off-center touchholes and an integral anvil built into the center. Commonly used in Europe. Theoretically provides more reliable ignition than Boxer primers by better distribution of the flash. Berdan primers must be pierced from the outside and pried out to remove for reloading. Photo |
| Best Gun - A pretentious English term for a gun that must have several specific details. To qualify for the title, it must have a action withIntercepting Sears, haveChopper Lump Barrels, beStocked to the Fences and have itslumps concealed by its floorplate. While almost any respectable gunmaker can accomplish these requirements, the implication, of course, is that it is also built to the highest standard of quality. |
| Big Five - Traditionally, the panoply of dangerous game to be accomplished by a determined, and necessarily wealthy hunter---consisting of elephant, rhinocerous, cape buffalo, lion and leopard. |
| Bipod - A two-legged stand, usually hinged and attached to the forend of a rifle, for use as a rest in the interest of increased stability in aiming. Photo |
| Bisley - Village in Surry, England, at which, in 1890, the national location for firearms competition was established, hosting the Olympic Games in 1908. The Colt Bisley Target revolver is named in its honor. |
| Bissell Rising Bite - A lockup design for break-open guns, usually serving as a third fastener to strengthen the lockup of a gun with double Purdey underbolts. Designed by J Rigby and T Bissell, patent number 1141 of 1879. A loop-shaped rearward extension of the rib, drops into a mating female recess in the top of the standing breech, surrounds a fixed central buttress and is secured by a rising post at the rear. Often seen on Rigby double rifles of the period circa 1880 - 1920; after which even Rigby discontinued it in favor of the Doll's Head, because it had been exceedingly expensive to build. A marvelous feat of gunmaking. Photo |
| Bite - A notch cut into a barrel's lump(s) into which a bolt slides to lock the barrels in battery. Photo |
| Black Powder- The first successful propellant harnessed for use in firearms. Composed, generally of 3 parts potassium nitrate, 2 parts powdered charcoal and 1 part sulphur. Black powder explodes---expending its energy in an instant of time, produces volumes of vision-impairing smoke, its residue promotes rust in gun bores and it is unpredictably dangerous to handle. Black powder was replaced in the marketplace by nitro-glycerin-based powders around the turn of the last century because they burned more slowly (maintaining pressure on the projectile longer during its travel through the bore, allowing higher velocities), did not blind shooters with the smoke, did not promote rust in bores and was much safer to store and to handle. For these reasons, it is dangerous to shoot modern nitro powders in vintage guns (such as those with barrels ofdamascus steel) originally designed and contoured for the pressure curve of Black Powder. |
| Blacking - British forBluing; see below. |
| BLE - Acronym for |
| Blind Magazine - A rifle magazine without a floorplate. Must be loaded from the top only. While less convenient to unload, it allows for slightly cleaner lines and slightly lighter weight.Photo |
| Blowback - A type of action in an autoloading firearm where the breech is not locked. Rather, the recoil of the firing cartridge overcomes the inertia of a spring-loaded breechblock, forcing it back to cycle the action. A simple design, but limited to relatively low powered firearms---typically pistols of calibre .380ACP or less---or an impractically heavy breechblock would be required. |
| Bluing - A controlled chemical rust process that produces a very dark, almost black, blue finish to the steel parts of a firearm which enhances the appearance and provides some protection from unwanted rust. Sometimes it can have a slight brownish undertone. The percentage of blue finish remaining on a gun can be a proxy for describing its condition. Photo |
| Blunderbuss - A short firearm with a barrel of expanding diameter and a bell-shaped muzzle. Enjoyed some popularity in the 18th century. It was supposed to fire a charge of shot with a widely dispersed pattern, suitable for stagecoach defense or for boarding an enemy ship. But, the theory didn't work; just because the barrel walls fell away from the body of discharging shot did not draw the shot pattern wider. Photo |
| Boat Tail - A type of bullet, tapered at the rear in order to decrease turbulence in flight and increase accuracy. More prevalent in target rather than hunting bullets. Photo |
| Bobbed Hammer -A double-action revolver with a hammer,either manufactured or modified as such, without a spur. While such a revolver cannot be cocked manually for single-action firing, it has the advantage of being able to be carried in the pocket, loaded and with the hammer down, and withdrawn quickly in an emergency, without the spur catching on the clothing. |
| Bockbchsflinte -German term for an over & under combination gun with one shotgun barrel over one rifle barrel. Photo |
| Bolstered Frame - A firearms action, most commonly on a heavily recoiling break-open weapon, in which the action forging has been enlarged with extra steel at its weakest point---the line extending downwards from the standing breech, at the beginning of the watertable. Also called a reinforced frame. Photo |
| Bolt - |
| Bolt Stop - A displaceable flange, usually towards the rear of a bolt action firearm which in normal position, either detented or under spring tension, prevents the bolt from falling completely out the rear when cycling the action. It is readily moved aside by the bolt stop release to allow removal of the bolt for cleaning or disassembly. Photo |
| Bore ( |
| Bore Sight(v) - A process by which sights are adjusted to converge on the same line as the bore. Accomplished by placing a rifle in a rest, sighting down the open bore on a prominent distant point at an appropriate range, then aligning the sights to superimpose on the same point. Alternatively, may be accomplished with a device known as a collimator. The process should conserve ammunition when sighting-in a rifle by approaching proper sight adjustment before actually firing the rifle with live ammunition. Photo |
| Bottleneck- A type of cartridge with a pronounced shoulder between the body of the case and the mouth---where the bullet diameter is noticeably less than the case diameter, allowing a larger powder capacity than would otherwise be possible in an altogether more cylindrical case, and to provide a datum point to establish correctheadspace. Photo |
| Boxer - A cartridge case having aprimer pocket with one central touchhole at the center bottom. A tiny anvil is built into the primer to provide a surface against which the detonating compound may be sharply pinched by the action of the firing pin. Most commonly used in the USA today. It is simple to remove the spent Boxer primer for re-loading the shell casing with a single, central, pin-shaped decapping punch.Photo |
| Brass - An alloy of approximately 2 parts copper and 1 part zinc, which because of its combination of strength and ductility, is commonly used for making cartridge cases, which fit easily into the chamber of a firearm and then when discharged, expand to seal the breech. Also, slang for cartridge cases. |
| Break-Action - A configuration of breech-loading firearm where upon the release of some kind of latch, the barrel(s), revolving about a hingepin, drop down some 45 degrees, exposing the breech for loading/unloading. Photo |
| Breechloader- A firearm that is loaded from the breech end of the barrel, usually with a cartridge (as opposed to a muzzle-loader). |
| Breech Face -The flat, normally-vertically-oriented steel wall through which the firing pin passes and which supports the base of a cartridge when it is fired. Photo |
| Breechblock - A moveable block of steel, sliding in a mortised raceway, or rotating on a hingepin, that seals the breech of a cartridge firearm and through which the firing pin passes to detonate the primer. Photo |
| Broadway Rib - Browning term for a particularly wide rib for their over & under target guns. Photo |
| Browning - An oxidation process applied to the surface of raw steel, undertaken with acids, to produce a finish that resists further rusting, providing as you might expect a brownish color, allowing the pattern of damascus barrels to show through. Popular in the 19th century and with people today desirous of evoking that time. Photo See also Bluing. |
| Browning, John Moses - The world's greatest firearms inventor. Born in Ogden, Utah. While he made some guns himself, normally, he licensed his designs to prominent manufacturers such as Colt, Fabrique National and Winchester. While Samuel Colt and Paul Mauser achieved fame basically as a result of one idea, John M. Browning produced dozens of the most successful firearms designs, including the Winchester 1885, 1886, 1892, 1894 and 1895 rifles; The Colt 1903, 1908, 1911 and Woodsman pistols; the Browning Auto-5 and Superposed shotguns; as well as the BAR, 1917 and M2 .50 calibre machine guns. Photo |
| Buckhorn Sight - A rear barrel iron sight, normally used on rifles, where the open-topped viewport is formed by a pair of symmetrical crescents. Rocky Mountain sight.Photo |
| Bull Barrel- A general term for a large-diameter, heavy, rifle barrel, used for target or varmint shooting. Photo |
| Bullet - A single cylindroid projectile fired from a rifle or handgun; either loaded from the muzzle or loaded into a cartridge which in turn is loaded into the breech of a firearm. Aball is not a bullet. Photo |
| Bullet Mold -A hand tool, in the general shape of a pair of pliers, with a two-part cavity of specific dimension at the working end, into which is poured molten lead in order to cast a bullet for a specific firearm. Normally affixed with a sprue-cutter to trim the excess lead from the bullet. Photo |
| Bullet Starter- A tool fitted with a concentric plunger used for starting a bullet on a balanced path into the bore of a rifle from the muzzle. Often used in conjunction with a false muzzle built for the specific rifle. Photo |
| Burgess Front Sight- An excellent easily retractable front sight blade, designed and built by genius gunsmith Tom Burgess.Photo |
| Burgess Mounts - An excellent quick-detachable scope mounting system, designed and built by gunsmith Tom Burgess. Operated by turning locking levers a detented 90 degrees. Photo |
| Burgess Folding Peep Sight - An excellent easily retractable rear aperture sight, built into the rear receiver bridge of a bolt action rifle, which when in the down position does not interfere with scope mounting. Designed and built by genius gunsmith Tom Burgess.Photo |
| Burnish(v) - To smooth a (steel) surface to a mirror finish by firmly rubbing with a hard, polished steel tool, compressing unevenness in the surface. Photo |
| Butt (2) - A fixed-position shooting station for British-style driven bird shooting, often rock-lined and partially underground, providing some effect of a blind for the shooter (the Gun) and his loader. Photo |
| Buttplate - A plate made of some material harder than the wood of the buttstock, fitted to the end of same to protect it. It may be made of hardrubber, horn, plastic or steel. It may be shaped relatively flat like a Winchester "Shotgun" butt on a rifle, like a crescent, or with all manner of protruding appendages in the interest of achieving consistency of mounting position as in a Swiss or scheutzen buttplate. It may be finished smooth, checkered, striated or engraved. Photo |
| C-Fastener - Westley Richards' proprietary toplever-actuated bolting system for break-open guns and rifles, whereby the toplever, when pushed to the right, cams against a facet on the top of the action body and withdraws the locking bolts rearward from their respective bites. Photo |
| C-Ring - An internal web machined in the front receiver ring of a Mauser Model 98 and of all the proper copies of this famous action. Not only does this internal ring provide additional strength to the receiver at its most stress-bearing point, this essential part of the design provides a stop for the barrel when screwed into the receiver, allowing positive control of headspace. Because there is a cut-out for the bolt's claw extractor, it appears in the form of a "C" when viewed from the loading ramp. Being difficult to machine, lesser actions' front receiver rings are simply bored straight through. Photo |
| Call Bead- A flat gold or brass disc, mounted into the face of a front sight, seen as a crisp circle. Photo |
| Camp Perry - National Guard facility near Port Clinton, Ohio containing the largest rifle range in the world. Site, since 1912 of the NRA's national rifle matches. Also, in its honor, the name of a model of Colt .22LR calibre single shot target pistol. Photo |
| Cannelure - A crimped or knurled groove, rolled onto a bullet or the neck of a cartridge case, to help retain a bullet in its case, and/or to provide a space for bullet lubricant. Photo |
| Cant(v)- To tilt a gun to one side or the other, complicating sighting considerably. Can cause material loss of accuracy, particularly with a rifle at longer ranges. Some better long range target rifles are equipped withSpirit Level sights to help the marksman control canting. |
| Cap - A percussion cap; a separate primer; fit over the tip of the nipple of a muzzle-loading percussion-actioned firearm. Photo |
| Cape Gun - A two-barreled, side-by-side, shoulder-fired gun having one smoothbore shotgun barrel and one rifled barrel. Photo |
| Capper / De-Capper - A hand tool used in the field for inserting live and removing spent primers from cartridges. Photo |
| Captive Ramrod - A rod, for loading and/or cleaning a muzzle-loading firearm (usually a pistol) that is permanently connected to the gun by some sort of swivel, so as to be utilized easily, but never lost. Photo |
| barrel band. In German, aStutzen. |
| Cartouche- |
| Cartridge - In its definition valid from circa 1870 to the present: a small usually cylindrical packet, containing a detonating primer, a powder charge, a load---either a single projectile for a rifle or a quantity of small pellets for a shotgun---and possibly some attendant wadding. The cartridge is placed into the breech of a firearm, comprising all required consumables for the firing of the weapon. Photo |
| Cartridge Trap - A compartment built into the buttstock of a long gun, usually with a hinged cover, in which are drilled holes deep enough to hold several spare cartridges of the type suitable for use in the specific gun. Photo |
| Cast On - |
| , then quenched in bubbling oil. Also called Carbonizing. The colors themselves are fairly perishable both from wear and fromsunlight. The percentage of original case colors remaining is therefore a quick proxy forthe cosmetic condition of the gun. Photo |
| Castellated Fences - SeeArcaded Fences |
| Centerfire Cartridge - Acartridge with a separate removable/replaceable detonating primer pressed into the center of its base---as opposed to arimfire cartridge. |
| Central Vision - A form of stock design, particularly for shotguns, having considerable cast, perhaps an inch and a half, to bring the line of sight centrally between the shooter's two eyes. |
| Chamber Cast - To pour a low-melting-point material such as "Cerrosafe" into the chamber of a firearm, let it just cool, knock out the plug and measure it with a micrometer against published dimensional specifications to determine the chambering of a possibly-unmarked or possibly-altered firearm. Photo |
| Chamber Depth Gauge - A cylindrical plug of hardened steel, precisely machined in relation to the standard dimensional specifications of a given cartridge, engraved with circumferential lines demarking the different typical lengths of cartridges available for that bore. By inserting the appropriate bore's plug-gauge into the chamber, one can read off the line indicating the nominal maximum length of the cartridge which should safely be able to be shot from that gun (provided, of course, the gun be in sound condition). Photo |
| Charger - A simple, disposable narrow spring-lined channel-rail in which cartridges are supplied for military weapons. The shooter positions the clip vertically above the firearm's internal magazine, then pressing down with the thumb, slides the cartridges from the charger and down into the magazine.. Photo |
| Checkered Butt - Checkering, applied to the otherwise-unfinished butt end of a gunstock. Photo |
| Cheekpiece - A broad, flat, raised area on the side of a buttstock. While considered a sign of a well-appointed gun, it actually may interfere with natural mounting and pointing---somewhat negating the positive effect of cast-off. The cheekpiece is carved on the left side of a stock for a right-handed shooter; it is on the right side for a left-handed shooter.Photo |
| Cherry - A rotary machine-tool cutting bit, in the precise shape of a specific bullet. Used for cutting the internal cavity of abullet mold. Photo |
| Chronograph - An device with a set of sensors through which a bullet is made to pass, connected to an electronic instrument which calculates bullet velocity. Photo |
| Churchill Rib - A relatively tall, narrow, matted, solid, top rib on a pair of side-by-side barrels, developed by Robert Churchill. Photo |
| Churchill, Winston - Engraver, studied under Josef Fugger at Griffin & Howe, Lived in Proctorsville, Vermont. Noted for relatively small animal scenes of exquisite skill and detail. Possibly America's finest engraver. Photo |
| Clip - A simple, disposable narrow spring-lined channel-rail in which cartridges are supplied for military weapons. The shooter positions the clip vertically above the firearm's magazine, then pressing down with the thumb, slides the cartridges from the clip and down into the magazine. Also: Stripper Clip or Charger. SeeMagazine. |
| Cock (n) - A firearm's exposed hammer. Photo |
| Cock (v) - To tension the mainspring of a gun in preparation for firing, such as by pulling back the external hammer, pulling back the slide of a pistol, or opening and closing the barrel(s) of a break-open gun. |
| Cocked and Locked - Proper condition for active carrying of a Colt 1911 pistol: a round in the chamber, the hammer cocked, and the thumb safety engaged. Somewhat unnerving to the uninitiated. Photo |
| Cocker/De-Cocker - A type of action on a break-open gun or rifle where, in place of a traditional top tang safety, a somewhat more robust tab is fitted. Normally such a gun is carried in the field loaded, but with the action not cocked---an exceedingly safe condition. Then, when ready to fire, the shooter, instead of pushing a safety tab forward, pushes this larger tab forward, cocking the mainspring, making the gun ready to fire. Then, if the shot is not taken, he may simply slide this tab rearwards again, de-cocking the gun and returning it to the still-loaded, but very safe position. Or, in German: Handspanner. Photo |
| Coin-finish generally refers to a high-polish finish, bright steel on the receiver of a break-open gun. Other action-body finishes could be, blued orFrench-gray (a chemical-finish, dull gray steel color). Coin-finish, when appearing typically on a modern, high grade Italian shotgun shows off the exquisite and delicate engraving better than other finishes. The term is sometimes used (incorrectly) by people dealing in old guns to describe the finish on a well-worn gun’s receiver when all the original case-hardening colors have worn or have been polished off. Photo |
| Collimator - An optical device, mounted to the muzzle of a rifle via a bore-sized mandrel, the purpose of which is to allow a reasonable approximation of correct sight adjustment before actually firing live ammunition. Photo |
| Combination Gun - A firearm with various different configurations of rifle and shotgun barrels. See various specific types:Bockb Drilling, Doppelbuches-Drilling, Vierling, German Combination Gun names, Compared |
| Commemorative - In firearms parlance, a gun that was manufactured in "limited" numbers (often into the thousands), marked, stamped or fitted with extra bells and whistles in such a way as to evoke reverence to some famous person, place or historical event. Rather than to be manufactured for honest use, a commemorative is manufactured specifically to be collected. Actually to shoot one will normally delete any supposed extra value such a questionable concept ever had in the first place. Photo |
| Condition -Descriptions of the condition of vintage firearms can be exceedingly subjective. Hallowell & Co endeavours to describe guns in terms of their mechanical function and their percentages of remaining original finish in different specified areas. Decent photography, however, can allow more accurate evaluation of current condition than any verbal description. While not exactly relevant for the evaluation of vintage modern firearms of the type handled by Hallowell & Co., the NRA has established formal definitions for various levels of condition for Antique firearms. NRA Condition Definitions |
| Controlled Feed- |
| Cordite - An early form of smokeless powder, developed in England in the late 1880s, taking the physical form of little strings---or cords. Unlike black powder which preceded it, it burned a bit more slowly, enabling pressure to build in a barrel more evenly, increasing the duration of the motive force, increasing its efficiency propelling the projectile down the bore to higher velocities. And, it didn't generate nearly as much smoke---which hitherto both obscured the vision of the shooter while revealing his position to an adversary. Photo |
| Counterbored Cylinder- In Smith & Wesson parlance, Recessed; which see. Photo |
| Crane - A swing-out arm on a revolver, to which the cylinder is mounted, and when opened facilitates loading and cleaning. Also: Yoke. Photo |
| Creedmoor - Site, from 1872 until 1912, in Queens, Long Island, of the National Rifle Association's first national matches. Name used by several riflemakers to invoke the concept of accuracy in their products. |
| Creep - Sloppy, indeterminate movement of a trigger before the actual point of let-off. |
| Crescent Buttplate - A sturdy, cast metal buttplate fitted particularly to many early lever-action rifles with a deep curve in the center of the butt, durable under rough use, but uncomfortable in use and extremely painful when carelessly mounting and firing a powerful rifle. Photo |
| Crimp - The star-shaped folded closure at the mouth of a shotgun shell. The nominal length of the cartridge is measured with the crimp open---for which the gun's chamber must be long enough to accommodate. Photo |
| Crosshairs - Basic form oftelescopic sightreticle, having one fine vertical line and one fine horizontal line with which to establish the point of aim. |
| Cross-eyed or Crossover Stock - A gunstock with extreme cast (Cast-off or Cast-on), usually custom made, for use by persons with disability so as to be able to shoot from the right shoulder using the left eye (or from the left shoulder using the right eye). Or, for a right-handed shooter with a left master eye. Photo |
| Cross Pin Fastener -A horizontal wedge, press-fit through the forend of a vintage gun, through a lump attached to the underside of the barrel and out the other side of the forend. To secure the forend in position. Also called a key fastener.Photo |
| Crown -The finish contour of the muzzle of a rifle. May be flat or rounded. Often shows effective chamfering to protect the critical rifling at the absolute end of the muzzle. Photo |
| Damascene -A form of decoration sometimes performed on firearms whereby very thin precious metal (normally gold) is hammered in artful designs directly onto the steel surface of the gun. Cheaper to accomplish, normally gaudier, and certainly less durable than gold inlay. Photo |
| Darne - A gunmaker founded 1881 in St. Etienne, France, famous for its sliding-breech action. (Pronounced: darn, not darnay) Photo |
| DBM - Detachable Box Magazine Photo |
| De-Capper -A tool used to remove spent primers from empty cartridge cases. Photo |
| De-Cocker - A type of action, usually of a break-open firearm, which readily allows release of mainspring tension, rendering the gun safe. In German: Handspanner. Photo |
| Demi-bloc Barrels - |
| Dent - Damage to a shotgun barrel from having taken a hit from a hard object. Thinner-walled barrels are more subject to the risk than thicker ones. While dents a few thousandths of an inch deep may not be dangerous, deeper ones ought to be raised by a skilled gunsmith before firing the gun, best done using a hydraulic dent-raising tool. Photo |
| Deringer - A small, single-shot, percussion pistol designed and manufactured by Henry Deringer of Philadelphia. Photo |
| Derringer - Spelled with two rs, any very small easily concealed handgun. Photo |
| Detonating -A gunmaker's term originally referring to the fitting of percussion hammers, Purdey uses it today to refer to the shaping of the action, particularly the fences. |
| Diamond Grip - The cross-sectional shape at the wrist of a long gun, describing a soft diamond shape (as opposed to a circle or an oval) in the interest of comfort---and a better frame of reference for the gun's position. Photo |
| Die- A piece of tooling used to form a sequence of uniform parts through the use of heat and/or pressure; especially, in firearms terminology used to form brass cartridge cases accurately to their correct size for reloading. Photo |
| Disc-Set Strikers - |
| Dog Lock - An early form of Flintlock, incorporating an external catch to lock the hammer. See a |
| Doppelbchs-Drilling - German term for a three-barrel firearm comprising two side-by-side rifle barrels over one shotgun barrel.Photo |
| Double Action - |
| Double Rifles for Sale |
| Doubling - The unwanted tendency for a double barreled gun to fire both barrels virtually simultaneously---the recoil from the first barrel's discharge jarring the sear for the second barrel of its notch, causing it, too, to fire. The result of worn parts, coagulated old oil or unskilled maintenance.. |
| Dram - A unit of measure traditionally used for black powder shotgun charges. Today, used for smokeless powders on the basis of the new propellant's equivalent performance to that weight of black powder. Thus, a shotgun shell marked 3 - 1 1/8 would be loaded with the smokeless powder equivalent of 3 drams of black powder, and with 1 1/8ounce of shot. 1 Dram = 1/16 ounce = 27.34 grains. |
| Drop-Box Magazine - An extra-deep magazine typical of large calibre rifles for dangerous game. The line of the underside of the wrist does not carry straight forward as with ordinary rifles. Rather the rear of the magazine aligns more towards the center of the forward edge of the triggerguard, typically allowing at least one extra cartridge to be carried. Photo |
| Droplock -A variation on the Anson & Deeley boxlock design, introduced by Westley Richards at the end of the 19th Century, whereby the locks themselves are removable, without tools, from the action body for cleaning or repair through a hinged or a detachable floorplate. A droplock action may be distinguished from an ordinary Anson & Deeley action at sight because it has no action pins visible on the side of the receiver. Photo |
| Drop Points - |
| DRP - Deutsches Reichspatent. Marked on patented inventions (including guns), adopted by recently-united Germany in 1877. |
| DRGM - Deutches Reichs Gebrauchs Muster. In Germany, a pre-patent registration of a (hopefully) patentable idea. A simpler, patent-like document of shorter duration. "Patent angemeldet" means, patent applied for. |
| Dry Fire(v) - To pull the trigger and release the hammer of a firearm without having a cartridge in the chamber. While benign enough with a Mauser action, it can shatter the differentially-hardened internal parts of a break-open gun which, upon firing, are designed to have the shock of the hammer's blow absorbed somewhat by the soft brass of the primer. If you must experiment with the trigger(s) and the action of a fine double gun, be sure to usesnap caps---which safely replicate the buffering effect of an actual cartridge. |
| Duelling Pistols - Single shot pistols, of a design originating in England, in vogue circa 1770 - 1850, built necessarily in pairs, either of flintlock or percussion ignition, usually finely made and cased together with loading accessories. Dueling pistols tended to be lighter and sleeker than their contemporary service pistols. They tended to have smoothbore (or sometimes secret, scratch-rifling), octagon (or octagon-to-round) barrels around nine or ten inches long of some form of damascus steel, bores just over a half-inch, ramrods, rudimentary sights front and rear, single-set triggers, roller-bearing frizzens and curved grips integral with full or half-stocks. They were usually of high quality construction, sometimes with silver furniture, but normally of relatively plain decoration. Photo |
| Dural- An early alloy of aluminum containing 4% copper which, after being quenched, hardens over a period of several days. Often used as a substitute for steel in the receivers of German and Austrian combination guns to save weight. Photo |
| Dust Cover - A small hinged or sliding door covering the ejection port of a firearm to prevent detritus from clogging the works. Photo |
| Ejector Timing- The adjustment of the ejector mechanism by gunmaker or gunsmith so that both ejectors of a double gun will fire at the correct instant whengape is sufficient as the barrels are dropped, simultaneously, and with identical force. |
| Engine Turned |
| English Casing - A style of gun case whereby all the cased components are secured into more open box-like compartments---the barrels and action secured well enough, but the accessories liable to moving about a bit. An alternative to French casing, where all the cased components---barrels, action and accessories are fitted into shaped compartments with no space around them. Photo |
| Erosion - Deterioration of the inner surface of a firearm's barrel due to the intense heat of a cartridge's discharge. High-velocity rifles are particularly susceptible to this wear, especially near the throat. |
| Extended Top Tang - A display of gunmaking skill with a possible benefit of strengthening the wrist of a heavily-recoiling rifle, whereby the top tang of the action is made extra long, shaped and inletted into the top of the buttstock, extending along the top of the wrist and up over the comb. Popularized by Holland & Holland and adopted by several of the finest contemporary riflemakers in the USA. Photo |
| Eye Relief- The distance that equates the exit pupil size of a rifle scope's ocular lens to the entrance pupil of the user, in order to achieve the largest, unvignetted view. This distance must be sufficient to ensure that the ocular rim of the scope does not lacerate the shooter's eyebrow upon recoil. And, the scope should be positioned so that eye relief is suitable when the rifle is comfortably mounted. |
| Facile Princeps -"Easily the Best".A proprietary boxlock action design by W W Greener, similar to the Anson & Deeley, but more easily cocked with the fall of the barrels; the forend iron pressing on a rod passing through the front barrel lump and acting upon cocking bars just below and behind the front Purdey underbolt. Photo |
| Falling Block - A type of action used primarily for single shot rifles whereby some kind of lever actuates a breechblock, moving it downwards in a vertical recess to expose the chamber. May have visible or enclosed hammer. For any given barrel length, it allows a shorter overall rifle length compared to a bolt action because no space is taken up by the forward-and-back cycling of the bolt. Most of the better British makers produced them in limited numbers around the turn of the last century, the Farquharson being the most iconic. Perhaps the best-known falling block action today is the Ruger No.1. Photo |
| False Muzzle- An attachment made for the muzzle of an individual rifle barrel in the interest of extreme accuracy. The bullet is loaded through the false muzzle, which begins to swage grooves into the projectile exactly in line with the rifle's bore, and is then ramrodded fully to the breech. Then, the rifle (which can be either breech or muzzle loading) is set up to fire a mechanical bullet, precisely pre-rifled to fit that particular bore. Often used in conjunction with a bullet starter. Photo |
| Fancy Back -Any of a number of different contour variations to the rear of a boxlock action abutting the head of the stock to improve the look and justify a higher price than for a plain gun. Also: Scalloped Receiver. Photo |
| Farquharson Action - One of the classic British falling block single shot rifle actions, patented by John Farquharson in 1872, adopted by George Gibbs and others.Photo |
| Fauneta - Westley Richard's trademark name for a Paradox-rifled-barreled gun, in 20 and 28-bore. SeeParadox |
| Feed Ramp -An inclined, polished area on a repeating firearm, just behind the chamber, that helps guide a cartridge into the chamber when pushed forward by the closing bolt. Photo |
| Ferlach- A city in south-central Austria, famous since the 1500s for its concentration of makers of fine sporting guns and rifles. Home of the Technical school and an Austrian proof house. Even if no maker's name be found on a Ferlach-built gun, his identity should be revealed by the first two digits of the serial number. Table |
| Field Grade - A generic term for a plain, functional, unembellished firearm used to hunt in rough terrain where one might prefer not to put a more expensive, deluxe grade gun at risk of damage. Photo |
| Field Gun - A shotgun, generally stocked to shoot where it is pointed and of relatively light weight because one often carries it a great distance for upland birds---the consequent recoil not being an important factor because one actually shoots it very little. |
| [No mention] - Plain wood, perhaps with visible grain, but without swirls. Straight and strong. |
| Plain wood, perhaps with visible grain but without swirls. Straight and strong. |
| Lightly figured walnut - Some figure to elevate it from the ordinary. |
| Figured walnut - Very pleasing figure, covering about half the buttstock. |
| Highly figured walnut - Beautiful figure, covering virtually all the buttstock. |
| Exhibition walnut - Stunning figure, dramatically covering the entire stock. We rarely use this term. |
| Fingers - The forward-most part of a sidelock gun's stock; the slender flutes of wood extending along the lockplates, heading up to the receiver body. Also: Horns Photo |
| Firearm- A device which, on demand by activating some sort of switch like a trigger, ignites a very-rapidly burning propellant or an explosive, expels a projectile such as a bullet, or projectiles such as shot, from a tubular barrel (or barrels) with sufficient force as to cause acute bodily harm to the target, animal, or person which it hits. |
| Fire Blue - A Brilliant, slightly iridescent, and perishable blue finish on highly-polished steel achieved by heating to a temperature of about 500 |
| Fire Form - The act of firing a relatively smaller cartridge in a rifle with a relatively somewhat larger chamber in order to expand the cartridge case to the larger size. This action should not be undertaken except in very particular instances or catastrophic damage may occur. It should only be done when the larger chamber is of a closely related design to that of the smaller cartridge case---such as firing a .375 H&H Magnum cartridge in a .375 Weatherby chamber, or firing a .22 Hornet cartridge in a .22 K-Hornet chamber to re-form the brass to the latter "improved" cartridges. |
| Firing Pin - The narrowly rounded, pointed component of a cartridge firearm that impacts and causes detonation of the primer. This may be mounted coaxially with a coil mainspring in a bolt rifle, may be a small replaceable tit mounted into the breech face of a sidelock break-open gun or an integral part of the [enclosed] hammer of a boxlock gun. Photo |
| Five-Screw - Four Screw - Three Screw - Terms relating to Smith & Wesson double-action revolvers. The five screws were four retaining the sideplate and one at the front of the triggerguard. From the introduction of the Hand Ejector in 1905, there were five screws. Then, around 1955 S&W deleted the top sideplate screw. Around 1961, they deleted the triggerguard screw. Collectors find cheapening of fine products irritating. Consequently, all other things being equal, with Smith & Wesson revolvers, the more screws, the better. Photo |
| Flaking - The tendency for blue finish to deteriorate into rust, seemingly without either wear or ill treatment. Winchester Model 1892 receivers are particularly vulnerable to this defect. But, at least the condition indicates that, almost certainly, the remaining finish at least is original.Photo |
| Flanged - A cartridge with a pronounced rim at the base. While not as easy-feeding in a repeating firearm as a rimless cartridge, far more reliably extracting in a break-open firearm---particularly important in a heavy double rifle for use against big game that might fight back. Photo |
| Flash Pan - A tiny bowl-shaped vessel, attached to the side of a flint lock, to hold the priming charge of gunpowder, which in turn is protected from wind, rain and the adverse effects of gravity by the combination hinged frizzen-flashpan cover. Photo |
| Flat-Point Checkering - A traditional English style of checkering gunstocks whereby the diamonds are not brought to sharp points. While not offering as firm a grip as standard sharp point-pattern checkering, it is both more durable and allows the grain structure of the wood to show through better. Photo |
| Fleur-de-Lys - A design element used on the French royal coat of arms, a stylized lily flower, frequently appearing in the checkering designs of American custom rifles. Photo |
| Flinch (v) - To jerk a firearm off target inadvertently at the instant of firing in timid anticipation of recoil. |
| Flint - A hard, sedimentaryform of quartz |
| Flintlock -A system of firearms ignition, in general use circa 1660 - 1825, whereby the pull of a trigger releases a sear from a notch in a spring-loaded hammer, which holding a properly knapped piece offlint, strikes a vertical slab of steel (called a frizzen) scraping off tiny molten particles of the steel, and pushing it forward causes an integral flashpan cover to open forward, exposing a bit of fine gunpowder below, which when contacted by the falling sparks, ignites and sends a flash of fire through the touchhole, into the loaded breech setting off the main charge and firing the gun. Photo The Flintlock system was supplanted by thePercussion system around 1820. |
| Floorplate - A cover, usually of metal, usually hinged and latched, on the bottom of a bolt action rifle action which, when opened, allows the internal magazine to be emptied. Photo |
| Fluted Barrel -A rifle or pistol barrel, into which longitudinal grooves have been milled. Fluted barrels, while more expensive to make than round barrels, dissipate heat more rapidly and they provide a better stiffness-to-weight ratio. Photo |
| Fluted Comb- A carved detail at the point of the comb---a concave groove---for more graceful aesthetics, and to allow a more clearance for a more comfortable position for the thumb as it wraps over the wrist than does a fatter, non-fluted comb. Photo |
| Follower- A smooth, sometimes contoured plate, within a magazine, at the top of a spring, across which cartridges slide when being loaded into a chamber. Photo |
| Photo |
| Forend Iron- The steel skeleton of the forend (above), into which any moving parts are fitted and which mates to and revolves about the action knuckle when the gun is opened. Photo |
| Francotte, Auguste - A prominent gunmaker founded in Liege, Belgium in 1805. (Pronounced frauncot, not francottie) |
| French Casing - A style of gun case, where all the cased components---barrels, action and accessories are fitted into shaped compartments with no space around them. An alternative to English Casing whereby all the cased components are secured into more open box-like compartments---the barrels and action secured well enough, but the accessories liable to moving around a bit.Photo |
| French Gray - An acid etched or phosphate finish, applied typically to shotgun actions, forming a gray-colored, non-reflective matte finish which also provides some protection from rust. Also called, gray-etched. Photo |
| Frizzen - That part of a flintlock action that receives the blow of the flint-tipped hammer, which then yields tiny molten fragments of steel---sparks---which fall into theflashpan, igniting the priming charge and thence, through thetouchhole, the main charge. Photo |
| Frontstrap - Front, metal, part of a handgun's grip---which together with the backstrap, provides a mounting frame for the grip panels. Photo |
| FTF - Acronym for Failure to Fire. |
| FTE - Acronym for Failure to Eject. |
| Fugger, Josef - Austrian-born engraver, spent most of his professional life at Griffin & Howe in New York. Photo |
| Funeral Grade - A colloquial term to describe a break-open gun, of any quality but often of the very highest, bearing the least possible decoration; having an all-blued receiver with either no engraving at all or only a simple borderline. Photo |
| Fünfling -A break-open combination gun, typically of Germanic origin, mounting five barrels simultaneously, in an almost limitless variety of rifled and smooth bores. Very expensive. And, in the effort to meet any hunting situation, argueably is too heavy to do any of them well. See configurations of |
| Gain Twist - A form of rifling where the helical angle sharpens progressively down the bore in the interest of maximizing the bullets ultimate rotational speed by initiating it slowly. |
| Gas Vent- A passage built into a firearm to allow the safe conduct of unexpected gas, as from a pierced primer, to minimize damage both to the gun and to the shooter. Photo |
| Gesichert - German word for SAFE. Photo |
| Grain- A unit of weight widely used to express the weight of bullets and of powder charges. 1 Grain = 1/7000 pound = 1/437.5 ounce = 1/27.34 dram. |
| Graticule - British forReticle. |
| Green Man - A mythical humanoid forest creature whose head is sometimes used as a firearms engraving motif. Photo |
| Griffin & Howe Sidemount -A quick-detachable scope mount system built by the company of that name. The base fits to the side rail of a bolt action. The slide locks in place on the rail with two levers. (Pre-war mounts had a single lever.) Rings of various heights and diameters attach the scope of your choice to the slide. Mounting a scope high enough allows use of iron sights. Photo |
| Grip - The area of a gunstock held by the shooter's rearmost hand. Also, in British: the Hand. |
| Grip Safety - An interlock, often found on semi-automatic handguns, which helps prevent accidental discharge while adding no perceptible inconvenience when firing the arm intentionally. By the mere act of gripping the pistol in the hand, the shooter operates the grip safety, releasing its lock on the firing mechanism.Photo |
| Grooves - The cut-away, concave portions of the rifling inside the barrel of a firearm discharging a single projectile. SeeRifling |
| Group - A set of holes in a target left by a succession of bullets fired from the same rifle or handgun, using the same ammunition and sight setting. Fired (within the limits of one's marksmanship ability) to determine the inherent accuracy of the rifle/ammunition combination---and to aid in the proper adjustment of the sights. Measured by the distance, on center, of the two widest-disbursed holes.Photo |
| "Guild Gun" - Deriving from the concept of the "Masterpiece" required of applicants to submit to their guild for formal admission to the trade, a generous (but inaccurate) term used to describe a (usually Belgian or Germanic) gun with no maker's name at all. Before World War II, thousands of provincial gunsmiths would purchase unmarked finished guns and/or semi-finished components from larger gun factories and build individual shotguns for customers, some engraved with the retailer's name, some with no makers' name to be found anywhere on the gun. Photo |
| Gun- (American) Afirearm. (British) 1. Ashotgun. 2. A person shooting a shotgun from abutt at a formal driven shoot. |
| Gutta-percha - A tree, of the genusPalaquium, noted for the rigid natural latex produced from its sap. An early form of "plastic", preceding Bakelite. Used to make molded handgun grips and cases for Smith & Wesson Model One revolvers. Photo |
| Hagn Action - A modern, strong, simple, solid, well-engineered, falling-block, single-shot action designed by Munich-born Martin Hagn, now of British Columbia and made both by him and by Hartmann & Weiss of Hamburg. Photo |
| Half Cock - A middle position for an external hammer that effectively provides a safety function. With a firearm with non-rebounding hammers, when on half-cock, the firing pin will not rest on the firing-pin. And, whether rebounding or non-rebounding, an inadvertent pull of the trigger should not release the hammer and fire the gun. Photo |
| Hammer - The part of a gun lock, which driven by a spring and released by a pull of the trigger, falls and (usually via an intervening firing pin) strikes the detonating primer of the load and discharges the gun. Hammers may be external or internal. Photo |
| Hammer Shroud -A cover, fitted normally to a double-action revolver, to allow its quick, easy and safe withdrawl directly from a pocket. Photo |
| Hammerless - A firearm with a coil-spring-actuated firing pin, or with its hammer enclosed inside the action body; i.e.. no externally visible hammer. Photo |
| Hand (1) - In any mechanism, a small lever that engages a notch to actuate movement in one direction only. Specifically, a small spring-loaded lever attached to the hammer of a revolver which actuates the cylinder to advance one increment and move the next chamber into battery as the hammer is cocked. Also: Pawl.Photo |
| Hand(2, British) - The wrist, or the grip of a long gun. |
| Handgun - A small, short-barreled firearm, possibly small enough to be concealed on the person, and able to be held and discharged in one hand. The term includes antique dueling pistols, modern single-shot, semi-automatic pistols and revolvers. Photo |
| Handloading- The process of assembling cartridge case, bullet or shot, wads and primer to produce a complete cartridge with the use of hand tools in the interest of loading for firearms for which cartridges are not available, experimenting with loads to achieve better performance, or to save money. Not to be attempted without knowledgeable instruction and careful study of the process. |
| Handspanner - German for Hand-Cocking or Cocker/De-Cocker. A type of action on a break-open gun or rifle where, in place of a traditional top tang safety, a somewhat more robust tab is fitted. Normally such a gun is carried in the field loaded, but with the action not cocked---an exceedingly safe condition. Then, when ready to fire, the shooter, instead of pushing a safety tab forward, pushes this larger tab forward, cocking the mainspring, making the gun ready to fire. Then, if the shot is not taken, he may simply slide this tab rearwards again, de-cocking the gun and returning it to the still-loaded, but very safe position. Photo |
| Hang Fire - A dangerous situation resulting occasionally from the use of outdated old ammunition where the primer does not fire instantly upon being struck by the firing pin. The cartridge may fire in a virtual instant or some seconds later. In the event that a cartridge fails to fire immediately upon the pull of the trigger, always count out ten seconds before opening the breech. |
| Hanging Tag - The manufacturer's descriptive tag, tied to the triggerguard of a brand new gun on the dealer's sales rack. For such ephemera to have survived in the company of an older gun is both unusual and a small indication of the care it has enjoyed since new. Photo |
| Head [of a Stock] - The forward end of a buttstock, where it meets the receiver and accepts the bulk of the gun's recoil when fired. Photo |
| Headspace Gauge - Plugs of hardened steel, precisely machined in relation to the standard dimensional specifications of a given cartridge, normally in sets of three: "GO", "No-Go" and "Field". By loading these plug-gauges into the chamber in succession, one can check that the action should close on the "Go" gauge. It should not close on the "No-Go" gauge---but might were enough force to be used. And, it absolutely should not close on the "Field" gauge. Photo |
| Headstamp - Markings impressed into the base of a cartridge case, normally identifying the maker's name, the cartridge calibre designation, and sometimes the date. Photo |
| Heat Treating [Carbon Steel] -A process to achieve the desired balance between hardness and resilience for the intended purpose of the metal. First, the steel is heated to above its austenitic temperature (around 1800 |
| Heel & Toe Plates - Protective plates, usually of steel or horn, covering the top and bottom of a gunstock's butt only (the heel and the toe); leaving wood exposed in the center.Photo |
| Heeren- A compact Germanic falling block single shot action developed ca 1880, which both opens and cocks when the front of the triggerguard is pulled downwards, and which incorporates an integral cocking/de-cocking mechanism. Photo |
| High Brass - By convention, powerfully loaded shotgun cartridges for hunting are generally manufactured with relatively longer brass end-caps than lower powered cartridges intended for target shooting. While different-sized brass bases are of virtually no consequence to the strength of the shell in relation to the steel breech of the gun itself, they do help the shooter identify the relative power of cartridges at a glance. Photo |
| Hollow-Point - A bullet type with a concavity at its tip, designed to promote expansion upon hitting a solid target. Photo |
| Hood [Front sight hood] -A hollow cylinder fitted to a rifle's front sight ramp, both to protect the delicate front sight bead from impact, and to shade it from oblique sunlight which could have the effect of altering the sight's apparent position. Photo |
| Hook - A concave, semi-cylindrical surface cut into the forward lump of a barrel set of a break-open firearm which revolves about the hinge-pin when the gun is opened. Photo |
| Horns - The forward-most part of a sidelock gun's stock; the slender flutes of wood extending along the lockplates, heading up to the receiver body. Also: Fingers Photo |
| Howdah Pistol - Normally, a break-open, double-barrel, side-by-side pistol of large calibre, used by a maharaja when hunting tiger on the back of his elephant (in the howdah---the basket compartment in which he sits). The howdah pistol is the weapon of last resort in case the tiger tries to join him in the howdah. Photo |
| "Improved"Cartridge - A derivative version of a basic established cartridge, typically whose shoulders have been expanded outward and forward for increased powder capacity for use in a rifle whose chamber has been enlarged accordingly, but whose bore remains unaltered. A concept promoted by P. O. Ackley. "Improved" cartridges are normally shaped byFireforming a standard case in an "Improved" chamber. Photo |
| Inlay - A form of decoration performed on firearms whereby precious metal, usually gold, is hammered into recesses in the steel surface that have been undercut at the edges so that the soft gold flows under the overlapping steel and is locked securely in place. The gold is then normally engraved, carved, and chased into the image of a game animal, or linework or lettering. Photo |
| Inletted Swivel Studs - A type of base for detachable sling swivels whereby the steel base is inletted into the stock for a cleaner look, rather than simply being screwed onto the surface. A sign of a better custom-made rifle. Photo |
| Inletting -The process of carving out recesses in wooden stocks with precision, using gouges, chisels and scrapers to accept the steel components of a firearm.Photo |
| Interrupted Thread -A screw with about half of its threading removed in longitudinal sections. Often used at the breech end of a takedown firearm's barrel. When the barrel's interrupted female threads are inserted into the receiver's complementary interrupted male threads, only a partial rotation is necessary for assembly rather than many full turns. Photo |
| Involuntary Pull - The primary obstacle to the development of a successful single trigger for double barreled guns. When a gun is fired and it recoils, as a reflex, the shooter grips the gun tighter, inadvertently pulling the trigger again. The first attempts at single trigger design, therefore tended to double-fire. The first reliable single trigger, accommodating the involuntary pull, was patented by John Robertson of Boss. |
| Iron Sights - A set of two metallic protuberances fitted normally to the top of a firearm; one near the muzzle and the other near the breech, which when adjusted and aligned properly with the target, aid in the placing of the projectile in the desired location---as opposed to a telescopic sight. Photo |
| Island Lock - A sidelock,inletted into the wood at the side of a (vintage) gun, in its own recess, independent of the steel receiver. Photo |
| Island Rear Sight - A rear barrel sight base, more articulated than having the sight simply dovetailed into the barrel, but not requiring as much gunsmithing as having it mounted onto a proper quarter-rib. Photo |
| J-Bore - In reference to variations of the German military cartridge, 8x57. This cartridge was originally manufactured using a bullet with a diameter of .318 inches. It is known in Germany as the 8x57I or in the USA as 8x57J. (I and J are interchangeable.) In 1905, the German military adopted a slightly larger bullet diameter, .323 inches, also with a slightly larger neck diameter, and named it 8x57S. Commercial sporting arms makers adopted the new cartridge at a glacial pace. Rimmed versions of both these cartridges are available for use in break-open and single shot rifles, denominated respectively 8x57JR and 8x57JRS. Often, it is difficult to ascertain which bore size a vintage rifle might have. Markings can be confusing and rifles may have been altered. The only safe way to determine the exact bore size is to take a cast of the chamber extending a bit into the bore proper and measure it with a micrometer. It may be safe to shoot a .318 inch bullet in a .323 inch bore, but accuracy will be unpredictable. To shoot a .323 inch bullet in a .318 inch bore is dangerous. |
| Jacketed Bullet - A (normally) lead bullet, with a full or partial sheath of copper, nickel or steel, designed both to withstand rotational stresses during its travel down a rifled bore and to control expansion upon contacting the target. Photo |
| Jaeger Patent Breech -A lock-up system for break-open guns that sidesteps the inherent weakness of the bar action system. Between the breech end of the barrels and the traditional standing breech, in battery, a separate tilting block fits into a recess on the underside of an integral rear extension of the barrel(s). When the gun is opened, that barrels raise at their breech end leaving the tilting block behind.Photo |
| Jug Choke - A form ofchoke boring sometimes performed on an older gun with less constriction than now desired---achieved by reaming the bore to a larger internal diameter a few inches back from the muzzle so that the existing diameter at the muzzle becomes, de facto, a constriction. Recessed choke. Photo |
| Jurjevic - The finest and most reliable of the retrofit single triggers for double guns. Operating by the principle of a sprung, sliding inertia block, invented and installed by Austrian master gunsmith, Josef Jurjevic, resident upstate New York, 1970s and 1980s. Photo |
| Keeper's Gun - General term for a plain, sturdy, functional, economical gun---as provided by a landowner to his gamekeeper. |
| Kentucky Rifle - A long-barreled, small calibre, flintlock or percussion, muzzle-loading rifle of the period ca 1750 - 1850. Usually stocked to the muzzle with maple and with a decorated patchbox in the right side of the butt. Something of a misnomer, as the form developed in Pennsylvania from the jaeger rifles imported there by immigrants from Germany.Photo |
| Key Fastener - A horizontal wedge, press-fit through the forend of a vintage gun, through a lump attached to the underside of the barrel and out the other side of the forend. To secure the forend in position. Also called a crosspin or a wedge fastener.Photo |
| Keyhole - The undesirable tendency of a bullet to tip in flight and hit a target sideways, leaving a distinctly oblong hole. This destabilization of the spinning bullet in flight is typically caused by a bullet aspect ratio inappropriate for the rate of twist of the rifled barrel, an out-of-balance bullet or its having nicked an impediment such as a twig, in flight. Photo |
| King Cockeyed Hammer - A custom hammer with a sidewards-extending spur, as fitted to revolvers by the King Gunsight Company. Photo |
| King Sights - Sights made and installed by the King Gunsight Company, noted for their elegant target enhancements to Colt and Smith&Wesson revolvers---particularly, their mirror-lit front sight. Photo |
| Kipplauf -German term for a break-opengun. From the words Kippen (tilt) and Lauf (barrel). (Courtesy, Dietrich Apel.) |
| Kipplaufbchse - German term for a break-open single shot rifle. Photo |
| Knife Terminology-Drawing |
| Knuckle - The curved, forward end of the bar of a break-open firearm's action, about which the mounted forend iron revolves downward. This area should be kept lightly greased to avoid galling the bearing surfaces. Photo |
| KOor Knock-Out Value -An attempt by Englishman, African hunter and gun writer John "Pondoro" Taylor to compare the relative effective power of various cartridges. Calculated by: (Bullet Weight in Grains x Bullet Velocity in feet per second x Bullet Diameter in inches) ÷ 7000. Chart |
| Rudolph Kornbrath - Born in 1877 in Ferlach, Austria. Emigrated to the USA in 1910. Engraved guns in Hartford, Connecticut as an independent artist until suffering a debilitating stroke in 1937. Died 1946. Did much of his work for Colt and for Hoffman Arms as well as private commissions. Photo |
| Krupp - The pre-eminent family-owned steelmaking company founded in Essen, Germany around 1587 as a blacksmith shop, manufacturers since of every manner of heavy industrial production, but particularly noted for firearms barrelmaking and cannon production, aided in its continuity until 1968 by a German law exempting the family from inheritance tax. The Krupp name may appear on guns with no other maker's name. But, that will not indicate them as the gunmaker; only the barrel maker. Photo |
| Lancaster Oval-Bore. No obviously visible rifling. Rather, an oval-shaped bore cross-section that spirals as it proceeds down the barrel. Photo |
| Lands - The raised, convex portion of the rifling inside the barrel of a firearm discharging a single projectile that remains of the original smooth bore after the grooves have been cut. SeeRifling |
| Lanyard Loop - A ring, often swivel-mounted, usually at the butt of a handgun to enable securing the firearm to a holster or to a belt with some kind of cord, or lanyard. Photo |
| Lap -(v). To polish with a fine abrasive paste, as to remove machining marks. Bores may be lapped to improve velocities and minimize fouling. Bolt actions may be lapped to improve the smoothness of operation. |
| Lefaucheaux, M. - Patented one of the first practical breech-loading shotgun actions, using his proprietaryPinfire cartridge. The action operated by a forward-facing lever on the underside of the forearm, which when moved 90 degrees to the right, caused the barrels to slide forward and then to drop down exposing the chamber. Photo |
| Lever Action - A type of action especially for repeating rifles where cycling an underlever down and forward extracts and ejects a spent cartridge and cocks the mainspring. Then, cycling the lever rearwards and back upwards feeds a fresh cartridge from the magazine into the chamber, closes and locks the bolt in preparation for firing again with a manual pull of the trigger. Photo |
| Lever Forend Release - |
| Lifters- Another name forExtractors. |
| Limb- A component part of a gun's mechanism---particularly an internal moving part, such as a transfer bar, plunger, sear, cam, lever, hammer, etc. Photo |
| Loading Gate - A sprung trapdoor, often seen on the side of the receiver of a lever-action repeating rifle having a tubular magazine. Photo |
| Loading Tools - A selection of hand tools included with a properly cased vintage gun to ensure its usefulness in the outer reaches of the Empire, far from reliable sources of ammunition. Photo |
| Lock - Part of the action of a gun; the mechanism by which a pull of the trigger causes a blow to be struck to the detonating primer, firing the gun. It can have an internal or external hammer, be aflintlock,percussion lock,blitz lock or of any number of different designs. |
| Lockplate - The plate on the side of a sidelock action (or a blitz action) to which the components of the lock mechanism are attached. Photo |
| Loop - A bored-through projection beneath the barrel(s) to secure them to the forestock of a muzzle-loading gun via the pass-through of akey fastener. Or, the lug by which the detachable forend of a break-open gun is secured to the barrels by means of an Anson, Deeley, lever, or other mechanism. Photo |
| Low Brass - By convention, lower powered cartridges intended for target shooting are generally manufactured with relatively shorter brass end-caps than powerfully loaded shotgun cartridges intended for hunting. While different-sized brass bases are of virtually no consequence to the strength of the shell in relation to the steel breech of the gun itself, they do help the shooter identify the relative power of cartridges at a glance. Photo |
| Low Number Springfield - Receivers of US Model 1903 rifles built at Springfield with serial numbers below 800,000 and at Rock Island with serial numbers below 286,506 have a reputation for having been improperly heat-treated and consequently dangerous to shoot. There were 68 documented failures between 1917 and 1929. More information. |
| LTFK-Long Tang, Flat Knob, full pistol grip. |
| Lug- A protuberance from a major component of a firearm for attachment to another part, such as a forend fastening lug fitted to the underside of a set of shotgun barrels, a recoil lug fitted to the underside of a heavily recoiling rifle's barrel and inletted into the forend, or a bayonet lug attached near the muzzle of a military rifle. Also, an extra mass of steel machined integrally with the barrel of a revolver to provide resistance to upward barrel flip and to reduce overall recoil. Photo |
| Lumps Concealed by the Floorplate - One of the attributes of a "Best" gun. Photo |
| Machinegun - A firearm which, utilizing some part of the energy from a discharging cartridge to eject the spent shell, re-cock the gun and chamber the next cartridge, is designed to shoot continuously until either the trigger is released or the magazine is empty.Photo |
| Magazine - A spring-operated reservoir for cartridges for a repeating firearm; often removable. Photo |
| Magazine Follower - A plate, mounted to the top of a spring, inside a magazine, over which cartridges may slide smoothly as they are guided into the chamber of a repeating firearm. Photo |
| Magna - Smith & Wesson term for a revolver grip design introduced in the 1930s where the top of the grip extends higher than it had in earlier configurations, to provide a more comfortable hold. Photo |
| Mainspring - The spring in a firearm which powers either the hammer, or the firing pin directly, to strike the priming charge and fire the gun. Photo |
| Mannlicher Stock - An (incorrect) term used to describe a Germanic-styled rifle or carbine with a stock extending all the way to the muzzle. The term came into use because the Steyr Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles, so styled, were many American's first introduction to that configuration. Photo |
| Manton, Joseph -Born in 1766, founder of the London gun trade, perfector of the flintlock action; inventor of a cannon rifling system, the shot cup, the self-contained artillery cartridge/shell, the platinum touchhole, the tubelock (precursor of the percussion system) and even a marine chronometer. Employer and mentor to subsequently-famous gunmakers Thomas Boss, William Greener, Charles Lancaster, Joseph Lang and James Purdey. Photos of his guns:Flintlock Duellers,Flintlock Coach Pistols |
| Manual Safety - A safety catch that does not re-engage itself automatically each time the gun is opened; one that simply remains in the position as set. |
| Marksmanship - The ability of an individual to place shots consistently at the desired point of impact. Having an accurate firearm helps. |
| Martini - A hammerless single shot action type whereby a breech-block, hinged at the upper rear, operated by an underlever, tilts downward to expose the chamber.Photo |
| Matchlock -An early system of ignition for muzzle-loading firearms where a priming charge is loaded into a flashpan with a separate, manually-operated cover. To fire, the cover is opened and then a slowly smoldering wick, held in the nose of the curved arm, is lowered by means of a lever (precursor to a trigger) to ignite a priming charge which then ignites the main propellant charge inside the barrel.Photo |
| Mauser Model 1898 Action- The premier bolt action, whose design by Paul Mauser coalesced in 1898, and from which were derived the Springfield 1903, the Winchester Model 70 and many others. Some of its salient features are: dual opposing forward locking lugs, web inside the front receiver ring, hollow bolt housing a coil-spring-loaded firing pin, non-rotating large claw extractor and safety which locks the firing pin. Photo |
| Mauser Action Lengths -The Mauser 98 action was available, basically, in three action lengths,as measured from the front of the front receiver ring to rear of the top tang: Kurz: 8 ¼”, Standard: 8 ¾”, Magnum: 9 ¼” Photo |
| Mauser Extractor - |
| Mauser Safety - A small lever mounted to the cocking piece of a Mauser 98 action (and its copies such as the Springfield 1903), rotating on a longitudinal axis from left (Fire), up to the top (Safe, but allowing bolt movement), and over to the right (Bolt and firing pin locked Safe). While commendable for locking the firing pin instead of just the trigger, its up-and-over arc of operation requires a scope to be mounted awkwardly high. Paul Mauser is not to be blamed; when his safety was developed, telescopic sights were in such infancy as not to be worthy of mainstream consideration. Photo |
| Mercury Recoil Compensator - A device fitted inside the buttstock of a heavily-recoiling gun or rifle, usually containing mercury and a valve. As the gun recoils, the mercury is displaced temporarily, increasing the duration, and thus diminishing the perceived impact of the recoil. The added half-pound of weight doesn't hurt either. Photo |
| Merkel Grade Numbers -Confusing because traditionally not marked on the guns - |
| Mirage- A tendency for layers of air of different temperatures near the warm ground to cause refraction in the line of sight and disturbance of the perceived point of aim. Photo |
| Misfire- A dangerous situation resulting typically from the use of outdated old ammunition where the primer does not fire upon being struck by the firing pin. The cartridge may fire in a virtual instant or some seconds later---a hangfire. In the event that a cartridge fails to fire immediately upon the pull of the trigger, always count out ten seconds before opening the breech. |
| Model 70-type Safety - A small lever mounted to the cocking piece of a Winchester Model 70 rifle, rotating fore and aft on a vertical axis from front (Fire), halfway back (Safe, but allowing bolt movement), and fully back (Bolt and firing pin locked Safe). While, like the Mauser, commendable for locking the firing pin instead of just the trigger, its fore and aft movement is both easier to operate and it allows lower mounting of telescopic sights, reducing parallax between the line of sight and the line of the bore and increasing the range of distances for which the scope may be reliably sighted-in. Photo |
| Monogram - An personalized marking consisting of initials, often artistically engraved or inlaid in which the letter for the surname is central and prominent. Photo |
| Monolithic Solid - A bullet made of one homogeneous material, the implication being bronze or some material harder than lead, which while of lower specific gravity, being much harder and able to penetrate dangerous game deeply, with little or no expansion. Photo |
| [Half] Moon Clip - A metal stamping, vaguely in the shape of a half-moon, which holds three cartridges, typically .45ACP, for use in revolvers, particularly those originally manufactured for .45 Colt or .455 Eley whose cylinder has been subsequently milled down at the rear. In WW2, to allow the use of the ubiquitous .45ACP cartridge with a variety of different revolvers. Also acts as a speed-loader. Photo |
| Motor Case - A English style of carrying case for a breakdown gun, where compactness for convenient carrying in a motorcar is more important than display. Photo |
| Mullered Borders - A borderline at the edge of a checkered area on a gun stock. It is made by using a convex cutting tool which is slightly larger than the normal pointed checkering tool used for the body of the pattern. Typical of better English guns and of fine American guns built to evoke an English style.Photo |
| Musket - An older form of military long arm. Usually with a long barrel, a long forestock with barrel bands and a smooth bore, designed normally to shoot a single projectile. |
| Muzzle Energy -The power of a projectile or a load of shot at the point that it exits the muzzle of a firearm, normally expressed in foot-pounds. |
| Muzzle Velocity -The speed of a projectile or a load of shot at the point that it exits the muzzle of a firearm, normally expressed feet per second. |
| Nicht fur Kugel - A German proof marking for shotgun barrels meaning "not for ball", that is, the barrels have too much choke. To fire a ball would cause dangerous pressure at the muzzle. |
| NID - New Improved Design. An improved version of the Ithaca shotgun: the "Knick" model---stronger and more reliable than its predecessor, the "Flues" model. |
| Nipple - A small, tubular protuberance, screwed into the breech end of a percussion-system firearm's barrel, upon which is fitted the percussion cap and through which, at the moment of the hammer's impact the detonating flash passes to the main propellant charge. Photo |
| Nitro- |
| Non-Rebounding Lock- The lock of a hammergun where the hammer, in the lowered position, rests on the firing pin---which, in turn, rests on the primer of a chambered cartridge. Photo |
| Ordinarily, modern firearms do not require special obturating breeches because ductile brass cartridges swell slightly when fired, effectively sealing the rapidly expanding gas within the breech. |
| Obturating- The effect of the base of a bullet expanding under the pressure of the detonating powder charge to make a better seal within the bore of a firearm and to make for more efficient utilization of the propellant's energy. And, the effect of a soft brass cartridge case to expand fully against the walls of the chamber to seal against loss of expanding gas everywhere but for propelling the projectile through the bore. |
| Off the Face -A condition of a well-used break-open gun where, when in battery, the breech end of the barrels no longer has tight contact with the standing breech. By holding the receiver in one hand, the end of the butt in the other, and giving the gun a good shake, one should be able to detect the looseness---especially with the forend removed. The condition is caused by wear to the hingepin and/or the barrel hook. If left to persist, now that there is motion between the gun's main components, with further shooting that wear will increase more rapidly. It should be addressed by a skilled gunsmith by fitting a new, appropriately oversized hingepin. |
| Oil Bottle - A small vessel, one of many accessories often found in the case of a fine gun; its cap normally fitted with a small dipper for application of the tiniest amount of oil to individual bearing surfaces. Photo |
| Open Sight - A metallic attachment to a firearm, designed as an aid in aiming; an iron sight---as opposed to an optical or telescopic sight. Photo |
| [Lancaster] Oval-Bore. No obviously visible rifling. Rather, an oval-shaped bore cross-section that spirals as it proceeds down the barrel. Photo |
| +P - A marketing term for a commercial (usually handgun) cartridge loaded a bit more powerfully than its dimensionally-interchangeable, standard counterpart. |
| Pair (of Shotguns) -Two shotguns of a matched Pair are identical in every way---same barrel lengths, same chokes, stocks of the same dimensions cut from the same piece of wood, identical weights, balance, etc. They should be consecutively numbered and all the readily-detachable components should be numbered 1 and 2 respectively. Usually, they are cased together. Ideally, in the heat of a driven shoot when the birds are coming hard and fast, working with a loader, the shooter shouldn’t be conscious at all of which gun of the pair he has in hand at any given moment. A "pair' of guns ordered with different chokes or other differences, in the interest of increasing their range of utility, defeats the entire concept of a matched Pair. Most makers will charge an extra 10% over the cost of two single guns for their trouble insuring the precise matching of the two guns. A Composed Pair of guns is one where two separate guns, made individually, are subsequently stocked or altered to match as closely as possible. Photo |
| Palm Rest -A handle, mounted to the underside of the forend of a rifle built for off-hand target shooting. In use, a right-handed person would place the butt to the shoulder, grasp the wrist with the right hand, cock the left elbow to the left hip and by triangulation of his forearm support the palmrest with the palm of his left hand. Photo |
| Palm Swell - |
| Pan - SeeFlashpan. |
| Pancake Cheekpiece - A cheekpiece confined completely to the side of a buttstock---as opposed to one in which the forward borderline flows into the wrist or one that flows up and over the comb.Photo |
| Paper-Patched Bullets - In the early cartridge era, in the interest of improving the accuracy of cast lead bullets, they were normally first swaged, then wrapped precisely two times with a parallelogram-shaped piece of tough, moistened paper. Photo |
| Paradox - A barrel boring system invented by G V Fosbery to allow use as an ordinary shotgun and also to be able to fire a single projectile with reasonable accuracy approaching that of a rifle. The barrel is smoothbore for most of its length. Then, about three inches from the muzzle, a normal shotgun choke begins its smooth constriction. Finally, about an inch and a half from the muzzle, a deep, robust series of spiral rifling lands and grooves are cut. Shot is not unduly effected by the rifling. A conical bullet or a slug is given a real spin by the rifling---achieving far superior accuracy to that of a modern “rifled” slug shot through a normal shotgun bore. Sometimes referred to as a "Ball & Shot Gun".Photo |
| Parallax - A condition, when looking through a telescopic sight, when a movement of the eye, up, down or sideways, changes the position of the reticle with respect to the target. This condition is caused by the reticle not being in proper focus with the objective lens. It is difficult to achieve reliable accuracy while there is a parallax problem. And, the higher the magnification, the more likely parallax will be an issue. The cure is to focus the scope for the range it is to be used. Most scopes may be focused by rotating the ocular bell. Many high-powered scopes have a parallax adjustment---the ability to focus via the objective bell. Photo |
| Parkerizing - A chemical phosphate process developed during the second world war to provide an economical, durable and non-reflective surface finish to military firearms. Photo |
| Patridge Sights - A relatively thick, flat-topped front blade sight and a square-notched rear sight, used normally on handguns. Designed by E. E. Patridge in the 1890s. Photo |
| Patch - A small piece of cloth, wrapped around a ball when loading a muzzle-loading firearm, or attached to a rod for cleaning the bore of a firearm after use. |
| Pattern - The shape of the shot cloud as it deploys from the muzzle of a shotgun. Whilechoke determines the degree of concentration of the shot, it is primarily skilled boring of the barrel that determines the highly-desirable evenness of the pattern. Cartridge design can also effect evenness and concentration of pattern. Adjudged, traditionally, against a 30 inch circle, fired at a range of 40 yards at a paper target or a metal plate painted white. |
| Pawl - A small hinged lever used to push a moving part in steps, in one direction only---such as advancing a revolver's cylinder by one increment. Also: Hand.Photo |
| Pedestalled - A stockmaking detail where a small metal component such as a sling swivel stud is mounted to a raised flat area of wood. Photo |
| Peep Sight- A type of gunsight, mounted towards the rear of a rifle through which one simply looks, placing the front sight on the target. Also called an aperture sight. With a small aperture, it can be very accurate. With a larger aperture, it allows faster target acquisition. Typically adjustable for windage and elevation. It is superior to the open rear buckhorn or express sight because it requires the shooter to focus on two planes only (the front sight and the target) instead of three (the open rear sight, the front sight and the target. The attribute is especially beneficial for older people who have trouble focusing at near distances. And, the small aperture, by bending light rays at the edge of its metal-to-air interface, effectively acts as a lens. Photo |
| Pellet - A small, individual ball of lead, steel, bismuth or other material, which together with a small handful of its kind, comprises a charge for a shotgun.Pellet Size Chart |
| Pennsylvania Rifle - A long-barreled, small calibre, flintlock or percussion, muzzle-loading rifle of the period ca 1750 - 1850. Usually stocked to the muzzle with maple and with a decorated patchbox in the right side of the butt. Developed in Pennsylvania from the jaeger rifles imported there by immigrants from Germany.Photo |
| Pepperbox - An early form of muzzle-loading revolver wherein, instead of the current practice of having one barrel mated to a multi-chambered rotating cylinder, multiple joined barrels revolve together around a central axis. Photo |
| Percussion Lock -Based on a discovery by the Rev. Alexander Forsyth, patented in 1807, that a blow to fulminate of mercury will detonate it, through several designs to utilize the concept with limited success, culminating in the adoption of the copper priming cap. This small, cup-shaped cap, containing a bit of fulminate, after the hammer is cocked, is placed upside-down on the tubular-conical nipple. To fire the gun, one pulls the trigger, releasing the spring-loaded hammer which falls on the head of the percussion cap, detonating the fulminate, sending fire through the hole in the nipple to the main charge inside the breech (having been loaded from the muzzle) touching it off and discharging the weapon. The percussion system superseded theflintlock system generally around 1820 because it was more reliable in the wind and the rain, quicker to load, of faster lock time and because it was cheaper to manufacture. Photo |
| Picatinny Rail- A metal bar, available in a variety of lengths, with a continuous row of Weaver-like scope mount base slots, which when attached to a firearm, allow convenient attachment of a variety of sights, lights, slings, bipods and other accessories designed to fit this standard system. Photo |
| Pigeon Gun - A double-barrel shotgun, with relatively tight choke boring and a relatively high-combed stock used for shooting live pigeons (euphemistically known as flyers) which normally rise when released. To better absorb recoil, a pigeon gun is normally heavier than a field gun as one shoots heavy loads and walks only a little. Complementing the inevitable expense of this shooting discipline, pigeon guns are often built to a high standard of quality and reliability in deluxe grades with highly figured walnut stocks and fine engraving. Photo |
| Pillar Bedding - In the interest of accuracy, a method of fitting a bolt action to a stock whereby carefully-sized metal cylinders sleeve around the action screws and act as spacers, precisely controlling the dimensional relationship between the action and the bottom metal, reducing its dependence on a wood stock---which can expand or contract with fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Photo |
| Pin - British for Screw. |
| Pinned - In Smith & Wesson parlance, a pin (in its American definition---a small-diameter cylinder of steel) fitted through the top front of a revolver frame and through the breech end of the barrel, to lock it into position after it has been screwed in place. The extra expense of fitting this pin was generally deleted during the early 1980s. All other things being equal, most people would rather have this feature than to see their revolver cheapened in such a petty way. Photo |
| Pinfire -An early form of complete, self-contained cartridge. It included bullet, powder and ignition primer, all in one package. The primer was located towards the base of the cartridge, but completely internally. The pin, shaped like a little finishing nail, pointed on the inside end and resting on the internal primer, projected radially about a quarter-inch to the outside of the base of the cartridge. When loaded, a pinfire gun showed the tips of the pins exposed through small slots in the tops of the breech faces of the barrels. To fire, hammers fell on the pins, driving them (through the wall of the cartridge) into the internal primer. The exposed pins made the cartridges vulnerable to surprise ignition when dropped or knocked about in one’s pocket. As a system, it was rather short-lived. Photo |
| Pipe - A cylindrical loop affixed to the underside of a barrel, to retain aramrod. Photo |
| Pistol- A short-barreled firearm, often concealable, normally held and discharged in one hand. In today's vernacular, especially a semi-automatic, repeating handgun---as opposed to arevolver. But, the term can actually mean any one-hand-held firearm: matchlock, flintlock, percussion or the latest technology from Heckler&Koch. Photo |
| Pistol Grip - The generally-vertical part of the stock of a rifle or shotgun held by the trigger-finger hand---as opposed to a straight English grip---resembling the grip on a handgun. |
| Pistol Grip Cap - A decorative disk of metal, contrasting wood, horn, plastic or other material finishing off the pistol grip of a better gun. Photo |
| Pit - A small void---particularly in a firearm's bore---caused by the loss of steel to oxidation (rust). If evident, usually found in the plural. May be removed by reaming, honing or lapping the inside of the bore---but at the considerable danger of making the barrel walls too thin for safety. |
| Polygonal Rifling - A further development ofLancaster Oval-bore rifling where, instead of an oval-shaped bore cross-section that spirals as it proceeds down the barrel, that cross-sectional shape is a soft hexagon, octagon or other multi-lobed shape. Advocated in the modern period by German manufacturer Heckler & Koch as offering slightly lower bullet resistance within the bore and consequently slightly higher velocities than with more common Enfield rifling. Photo |
| Postal Proof - A Winchester mark, stamped at the factory on barrels supplied mail-order to independent gunsmiths, who then fitted them to customer's rifles. An indication of a re-barreled rifle. Photo |
| Pre-'64 - A collectors' term, specific to Winchester firearms. In 1964 the Winchester board took a decision to cheapen their entire product line in a vain attempt to compete with their imitators on price. On their Model 70, the Mauser-based controlled-feedclaw extractor was deleted. On their lever action guns, the forend was no longer dovetailed into the front of the receiver. Collectors resent the accountant's power over the engineers and craftsmen and the watershed erosion of quality that occurred in that year. Consequently, all other things being equal, Pre-'64 Winchesters are worth more than Post-'64 Winchesters. |
| Primer - A small capsule of soft metal containing a detonating compound, press-fitted into the head of a cartridge. When the primer is struck by the firing pin, the small charge explodes, touching off the main powder charge inside the cartridge, launching the bullet or shot charge. Photo |
| Prince of Wales Grip - A sleek, elongated pistol grip for a gun; a compromise between a straight English grip and a full pistol grip. Photo |
| Pull-Through - A string with a weight on one end and a small mop on the other, conveniently carried, and used for swabbing the bore of a gun in the field. Photo |
| Pump - A type of action for shoulder-mounted, repeating firearms, whereby pulling the forend rearward ejects the spent shell and re-cocks the mainspring, and sliding the forend forward again chambers the next cartridge and locks the breech, preparatory to firing again with another pull of the trigger. Photo |
| Punt Gun - Typically, a large, smoothbore, gun of between 1 and 2-inch bore, and with perhaps a 10-foot-long barrel, mounted in the bow of a punt (a small, low-lying rowboat). Used, particularly by market gunners to shoot waterfowl by the flock. Photo |
| Quarter Rib - A raised section of top rib, running from the breech end of a barrel or barrel set, partly towards the muzzle, found on better quality rifles, to act as a base for express sights, and possibly for scope mounts, as well as in itself an aid for quick pointing.Photo |
| Quarter sawn - A pattern of cutting a [walnut] tree that results in its annual rings being oriented horizontally across a gunstock blank, resulting in crisply defined grain figuring in the completed stock. See also, Slab sawn. Photo |
| Rail Gun - A heavy rifle, normally single-shot, without a traditional stock, with adjustments for windage and elevation, mounted on a stationary base which allows the rifle to slide rearward to absorb recoil. Used for testing the accuracy of ammunition as well as for competition. Photo |
| Rail Mount - A telescopic sight with an integral rail on the underside. The rail provides rigidity to the scope and it provides a convenient point of attachment for a typically European quick-detachable mounting system. Longitudinal positioning is more flexible because the rail is less obstructed by objective or ocular bells and windage/elevation turrets. Photo |
| Rainproof Pan - A late development during the flintlock period where the frizzen/flashpan-cover is rounded at the top, fits so well, and incorporates drain passages for the flow of water that it can be expected to function properly, even in the rain. Photo |
| Ramrod - A long, slender, dowel-like tool used to force powder and shot down the bore of a muzzle-loading firearm. For hand-fired weapons, normally retained in some kind of receptacle attached to the gun's barrel. Carried separately for muzzle-loading cannon. Photo |
| Recessed - In Smith & Wesson parlance, a revolver cylinder whose chambers have been counterbored to accept the cartridge's rims---the base of the cartridges then resting flush with the rear of the cylinder. In later guns, the expense of counterboring the chambers has largely been deleted. All other things being equal, most people would rather have a revolver with recessed chambers. Photo |
| Rebounding Lock - An action design developed by John Stanton in 1867 wherein the released hammer comes to rest slightly rearward and out of contact with the firing pin. Previously, with non-rebounding hammers, unless the hammer was kept on half-cock or cocked and on safe, the hammer would rest on the firing pin---which in turn would rest on the primer; a decidedly perilous condition. Photo |
| Recessed Choke -A form ofchokeboring sometimes performed on an older gun with less constriction than now desired---achieved by reaming the bore to a larger internal diameter a few inches back from the muzzle so that the existing diameter at the muzzle becomes, de facto, a constriction. Jug choke. Photo |
| Recoil -The tendency of a firearm when fired to move backwards, and a little upwards as a reaction to the force of the projectile moving down the barrel. As Newton says, to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. The mass of the firearm provides some inertia to counteract the momentum of recoil. What remains is absorbed by at the shoulder or the hand. The heavier the gun, the less the recoil. The more powerful the cartridge, the more the recoil. |
| Recoil Compensator - A device fitted inside the buttstock of a heavily-recoiling gun or rifle, usually containing mercury and a valve. As the gun recoils, the mercury is displaced temporarily, increasing the duration, and thus diminishing the perceived impact of the recoil. The added half-pound of weight doesn't hurt either. Photo |
| Recoil Lug -A stout flange, invariably incorporated into the underside of the front receiver ring of a bolt action, and also frequently incorporated into the underside of the barrel of a heavily-recoiling rifle, which when properly bedded, transfers recoil to the stock. Photo |
| Recoil Pad -A soft appendage, usually of some kind of rubber, often fitted to the butt end of a shoulder-mounted firearm to reduce the sensation of recoil. A recoil pad has the additional benefit of being less vulnerable to damage than a checkered wood butt or a brittle horn or plastic buttplate. Photo |
| Recoil Shields -Flanges protruding laterally from the sides of a revolver frame, flush with the standing breech, that prevent cartridges from slipping out of the rear of the cylinder. Photo |
| Registration -An attribute of the visible screws in better quality guns such that all their slots are made to line up in parallel. Photo |
| Regulation ofDouble Rifles - If the two barrels of adouble-barrel shotgun shot 3" apart at 25 yards, not many people would notice becausethe pattern from each barrel, spreading two feet across at that range, would largelyoverlap. If, on the other hand, the two barrels of a double rifle shot 3" apart at 25yards, it would probably shoot 6" apart at 50 yards and 12" apart at 100 yards,limiting its utility. |
| One cannot build a double rifle, using sophisticated mass-production machinery withbarrels perfectly parallel and expect both barrels to shoot to a common point of impact.While the bullet is traveling down the right barrel (of a side-by-side double rifle) therifle will be pushed up and to the right, throwing the bullet up and to the right when itexits the muzzle. While the bullet is traveling down the left barrel, the rifle will bepushed up and to the left, throwing the bullet up and to the left when it exits themuzzle. To compensate for the movement of a double rifle while bullets aretraveling downthe barrels, it must be built with the barrels converging towards the muzzle (by amysterious amount). Because different powder charges, bullet weights, rifle weights,shooter body weights, ambient temperatures, etc., all effect the way a rifle moves underrecoil, the only way to balance these factors is by trial and error. This process iscalled regulation. |
| The goal of regulation is to make the rifle shoot both barrels to a common point ofimpact at a range appropriate for the calibre. |
| One can proceed generally in either of two ways: adjusting the relative position of thebarrels or adjusting the load. If one has a fixed load in mind, the former method must beused. It involves repetitive unsoldering and resoldering the barrels until the requiredconvergence is achieved, then relaying the ribs and finally refinishing the barrels. |
| A simpler method is to vary the load.The longer the time a bullet spendstraveling downthe barrel, the greater the force is exerted on the rifle to cause it to move while underrecoil. If bullets from the left and right barrels strike the target too far apart atthe desired range, and have crossed before they reach the target, the velocity is toogreat. The bullet weight must therefore be increased or the powder charge decreased. Ifbullets from the left and right barrels strike the target at the desired range too farapart, but have not crossed before they reach the target, the velocity is too slow. Thebullet weight must therefore be decreased or the powder charge increased. |
| Another thought: To fit a scope to a double rifle---particularly on quick-detachable mounts---will alter the weight of the rifle when the scope is mounted or removed, which will alter it's recoil movement during the bullet's passage down the bore, which will will alter the direction in which the separate barrels (previously regulated by a careful convergence of the bores towards the muzzle) throw their respective bullets. You cannot expect both barrels of a double rifle to shoot to a common point of impact when you change its weight by fitting a scope. |
| The construction of an effective double rifle is the apogee of the gunmaker's art. If,however, one comes into possession of a double rifle for which the original load isunknown, one can often make it shoot well by adjusting the load to the rifle. Double Rifles for Sale |
| Reinforced Frame - A firearms action, most commonly on a heavily recoiling break-open weapon, in which the action forging has been enlarged with extra steel at its weakest point---the line extending downwards from the standing breech, at the beginning of the watertable. Also called a bolstered frame. Photo |
| Repeater, Repeating - A type of firearm capable of discharging multiple individual shots in sequence, fed from a magazine, via the operation a lever, bolt, slide or some other form of manual operation for each individual shot. Photo |
| Restrike Capability - A feature of some modern semi-automatic handguns whereby if it fails to fire upon the pull of the trigger, the shooter may simply pull the trigger again for another chance, without manually operating the slide to re-cock and chamber a fresh round. |
| Reticle - A matrix of dots, posts or lines, visible inside a rifle's telescopic sight, normally adjustable via exterior knobs for windage and elevation. After careful adjustment at a known range, the shooter aims the rifle by superimposing this matrix onto the target. With good estimation or range, cooperation from the wind, a clear eye and a steady hand, he may have a reasonable expectation of hitting his target. Also, less correctly: Reticule. Or, in British: Graticule. Photo |
| Revolver - A firearm (normally a handgun) with a multiple-chambered cylinder which rotates incrementally to bring each successive loaded chamber into battery. Photo |
| Rib - A steel strip, often fitted down the top centerline of a firearm's barrel, or between the two barrels of a side-by-side gun to aid in pointing. Rib design can be as varied as its different proponents' creativity allows---solid orventilated,swamped, polished, matted, broad, tall, narrow,quarter-length etc. |
| Rifling - Spiral grooves cut into the inside of a barrel |
| Rifling Methods - |
| Hook, or Cut Rifling - A single-toothed tool is repeatedly pulled through the bore in a spiraling twist, cutting one groove at a time to a slightly greater depth with each pass. It is then incremented to the next groove, the process repeated until all grooves are cut to the required depth. |
| Broaching – Similar to hook rifling, but with a succession of multiple-toothed tools in which all grooves are cut simultaneously to a greater depth with the passage of each incrementally larger cutter. |
| Button rifling – A multi-headed tool of extremely hard steel or tungsten carbide is either pushed or pulled through the bore, in one pass, forge-pressing grooves by displacing the barrel steel rather than removing it. |
| Hammer Forging – Using heavy specialist machinery, a slightly oversized barrel blank is hammered-swaged externally over a pre-contoured mandrel having the desired spiral lands and grooves, and sometimes even the chamber, already machined in place. |
| Rigby Flat - A raised, machined detail at the breech end of a round barrel; a vestigial quarter-rib. Photo |
| Rim - A flange at the base of a cartridge case that provides purchase for the firearm's extractor to grasp and remove or eject the spent case. Photo |
| Rimfire firearms cartridges have their priming compound spun by centrifugal force into the crevice of the hollow rim on sophisticated equipment in factories. Rimfire cartridges, such as the .22 Long Rifle, cannot be reloaded with consumer equipment, at home. Rimfire cartridges are detonated when the firing pin hits the edge of the base of the cartridge and pinches the priming compound between the folds of the rim. Photo |
| Rising Bite - A lockup design for break-open guns, usually serving as a third fastener to strengthen the lockup of a gun with double Purdey underbolts. Designed by J Rigby and T Bissell, patent number 1141 of 1879. A loop-shaped rearward extension of the rib, drops into a mating female recess in the top of the standing breech, surrounds a fixed central buttress and is secured by a rising post at the rear. Often seen on Rigby double rifles of the period circa 1880 - 1920; after which even Rigby discontinued it in favor of the Doll's Head, because it was exceedingly expensive to built. A marvelous feat of gunmaking. Photo |
| Rivelled- A shotgun barrel damaged by having a series of slight ring-bulges or wrinkles. Caused by heavy loads or the reflected shock from a minor obstruction in the bore. Best detected by viewing along the outside of the barrel at a very shallow angle against a point-source of light. Very difficult to repair satisfactorily. |
| Rolling Block - A type of action, normally confined to 19th century single shot rifles, especially by Remington, where cocking the hammer releases a hinged breechblock to be swung back easily and to expose the chamber. When the hammer moves forward, its underlying cam locks the hinged breechblock in battery just prior to discharge. Photo |
| Roper Grips - Fine classic American custom target grips for revolvers; recognizable by their distinctive scalloped ribbon pattern within the checkering. Photo |
| Rough Shooting - A British term for the quaint pastime of hunting upland birds in the field, usually with a dog---instead of the normal arrangement of having fifty proletarians walk in a line over a section of an estate driving birds and other game towards a half-dozen or so emplaced shooters standing in wait. |
| Round Action -Name commonly used to describe the MacNaughton / Dickson / McKay Brown Triggerplate Action ---Which see. |
| Rounded Action - Not truly a Round Action; one of ordinary (boxlock or sidelock) design, whose sharp edges have been comfortably radiused and, perhaps, the exterior of whose lockplates have been subtly curved. Photo |
| S-Bore - In reference to variations of the German military cartridge, 8x57. This cartridge was originally manufactured using a bullet with a diameter of .318 inches. It is known in Germany as the 8x57I or in the USA as 8x57J. (I and J are interchangeable.) In 1905, the German military adopted a slightly larger bullet diameter, .323 inches, also with a slightly larger neck diameter, and named it 8x57S. Commercial sporting arms makers adopted the new cartridge at a glacial pace. Rimmed versions of both these cartridges are available for use in break-open and single shot rifles, denominated respectively 8x57JR and 8x57JRS. Often, it is difficult to ascertain which bore size a vintage rifle might have. Markings can be confusing and rifles may have been altered. The only safe way to determine the exact bore size is to take a cast of the chamber extending a bit into the bore proper and measure it with a micrometer. It may be safe to shoot a .318 inch bullet in a .323 inch bore, but accuracy will be unpredictable. To shoot a .323 inch bullet in a .318 inch bore is dangerous. |
| Sabot- An oversized, lightweight housing that allows a sub-calibre projectile to be fired in a larger-diameter bore, usually in the interest of increased velocity. The sabot falls away from the actual projectile upon exiting the muzzle. From the French, for Shoe. Photo |
| Saddle Ring- A steel ring, around an inch in diameter, mounted to a stud, usually on the left side of the receiver of a carbine, to which may be tied a leather thong to secure it to a saddle or a scabbard so as not to lose the carbine when riding a rambunctious horse. Photo |
| Safety - A device, incorporated into the design of most firearms actions that, when engaged, should prevent the discharge of the firearm. Some safeties are more positive than others. A safety device is not a perfect substitute for the general principles of responsible gun handling. Never point a gun in a direction you do not intend to shoot. Photo |
| Safety Lug - An extra flange behind the bolt handle, at the rear of a bolt action receiver (notably the Mauser Model 1898), which uses the bolt handle as an extra locking surface in the extremely unlikely event of forward bolt lug failure. Photo |
| Salt Wood - An unfortunate issue suffered by Browning in the late 1960s where a supplier had accelerated the drying of gunstock wood blanks by lacing them with [hygroscopic] salt. While the salt did draw out moisture, its residue reacted with the subsequently-fitted metal parts, causing corrosion---commonly known as rust---where they joined. Photo |
| Scheutzen Rifle - A single-shot rifle of German conception for off-hand target shooting. Typically heavy, with long (often fluted octagonal) barrel, high comb with prominent sculptured cheekpiece, palm rest and extended-curve buttplate. Photo |
| Scope- SeeTelescopic Sight |
| Scope Mounts- Fittings designed to attach a telescopic sight to a firearm---normally a rifle. They may be fixed or quick-detachable.Photos of various major types of scope mounts. |
| Scott's Crossbolt - |
| Scott's Spindle - A type of fastening actuator for a break-open gun consisting of a vertical shaft, rotated by a lever on the top of an action body, operating a cam fixed to its bottom, which when rotated, withdraws (typically) a Purdey bolt which unlocks the barrels allowing the gun to open. Patented by William M Scott in 1865. Photo |
| Scratch Rifling -A faintly-visible series of helical grooves cut into the bore ofone of a pair of duelling pistols, for concealment, often extending just short of the muzzle, to impart a stabilizing spin to the projectile, giving an advantage to the duellist cognizant of their existance---the cad. |
| Sectional Density - The relationship between a bullet's weight and its diameter. A long bullet, such as the original 6.5x54mm loading for the Mannlicher Schoenauer Model 1903, will have a high sectional density and consequently greater penetration than a shorter bullet of similar construction. A shorter bullet with less sectional density will have relatively less penetration, but greater knockdown power. Photo |
| Select Fire - A firearm with a switch allowing a choice of either semi-automatic operation or fully-automatic [machinegun] operation. The State of Connecticut tried to write a law prohibiting machineguns, but they thought they were being sophisticated by using the term Select Fire in stead of the more plebeian Machinegun. Consequently, firearms that operate in fully automatic mode only, are not prohibited in Connecticut. Photo |
| Self-Opening(Assisted Opening) - Attribute of abreak-open gun whereby the barrels drop down simply by pressing the toplever withoutmuscling them open manually. The Holland & Holland system utilizes a coil springwithin a cylindrical housing mounted just ahead of the forward lump to urge the barrelsopen. The Purdey system utilizes residual energy remaining in the mainspring after the gunhas been fired. Both systems enable a shooter to load more quickly when birds are coming fast. Photo |
| Selous Plates - Form-fitting panels of thin sheet steel inletted and screwed onto both sides of the wrist of a shoulder-fired weapon, either as a reinforcement or repair. Named for the famed African hunter Frederic Courtney Selous. Photo |
| Semi-Automatic [Action]- A type of firearm which, utilizing some of the recoil or some of the expanding-gas energy from the firing cartridge, cycles the action to eject the spent shell, to chamber a fresh one from a magazine and to cock the mainspring, placing the gun in position for another shot with nothing more needing to be done than to provide another pull on the trigger. Autoloader. Often erroneously referred to as automatic---but automatic actually refers to a machine gun. The Colt Model 1911 pistol and the Browning Auto-5 are semi-automatic designs. Photo |
| Shelhamer Chinstrap -A fillet detail in wood, wrapping around the underside of a buttstock, just behind the pistol grip where it transitions to the buttstock, proper. Although not actually invented by famed stockmaker Tom Shelhamer, his frequent use of it as a kind of signature detail has connected his name to it. Photo |
| Shoe Lumps - A method of jointing a pair of barrels where the two barrel tubes mate with, and are brazed or silver-soldered to, conforming concavities in the top of a steel plate having integrally-machined lumps extending from the underside. Also called platform lumps. Photo |
| Shooting Sticks - A pair of slender and easily-carried wooden dowels or sticks, which when held, crossed, in the fingers of the left hand while also supporting the forend of a rifle, usually shooting offhand, provides somewhat enhanced stability for a more accurate shot |
| Shot -Small pellets, formed by pouring (traditionally) molten lead through a sieve over a tall column of water, then graded for size by passing over an inclined plane perforated with holes of successively increasing diameter. Loaded in small handfuls into a shotgun, either directly through the muzzle or more commonly at the breech viacartridges, which when fired throw a cloud of pellets for more effective results hitting a (usually) moving target. |
| Shot bag - A soft tube, normally of leather, fitted with a dispenser mechanism at one end and with a strap for carrying over the shoulder. Used to facilitate swift loading of a muzzle-loading gun. Photo |
| Shotgun - A shoulder-mounted firearm with one or two (or very occasionally more) smoothbore barrels through which is fired a charge of a small handful of tiny pellets, usually at flying birds or other moving targets. Photo |
| Sidepanels - Flat protrusions along the side of a rifle stock, to reinforce the stock in the area weakened by wood having been removed to receive the action. Or, A flat area on the side of the head of a stock of a break-open gun. This sidepanel allows more wood in the area in contact with the receiver, allowing a stouter wood-to-metal connection, without resulting in an ungainly bulky line to the wrist. Photo |
| Sight - Small accessory(s) fitted to a firearm, (eitheropen iron, or opticaltelescopic) as an aid to aiming. |
| Sight Radius - The distance between the front and rear sights. As a longer lever provides greater mechanical advantage, the greater the distance between the two sights, the more inherently accurate they will be. Photo |
| Silver's Pad - A very traditional English recoil pad made of solid orange/red rubber with smooth sides and face, bonded to a black base. Two conspicuous matching flush-fitting rubber plugs cover the mounting screws. Originally made by S. W. Silver & Co., the name is often used to describe both the original and several veritable facsimiles. Photo |
| Skeet- A game of competitive clay pigeon shooting on a formally designed layout. In plan view, two launching machines are located at the corners of a semicircle, firing targets across and slightly forward of the front line; one machine firing targets higher; one firing targets lower. Competitors shoot a menu of 25 targets from stations at various positions along the circumference of the semi-circle, and finally from the centerpoint of the front line. Although each target is presented throughout the progress of the game in an absolutely predictable geometry, skeet emphasizes a broad variety of shots, outgoing, incoming and crossing. Photo |
| Skeet Gun - A double-barrel shotgun with relatively short barrels and relatively open chokes, used for the game of Skeet, which requires crossing shots at clay pigeons at relatively close range that can travel with high angular velocity. A skeet gun is normally heavier than a field gun because one shoots a lot but walks only a little. Two barrels are required because the game calls for shooting doubles---but, theoretically an infernal contraption repeater could be used. |
| Skeet Set - A shotgun built for the sole purpose of competition in the specific game of skeet where one must shoot the course separately with four different gauges: 12, 20, 28 and .410. By using four different interchangeable barrel sets on the same receiver/stock, the dimensions of the stock remain constant and all the barrel sets can be weighted identically. Photo |
| Skeleton Buttplate; Skeleton Grip Cap - A steel rim, surrounding and protecting the edge of the butt (or of the pistol grip) of a long gun allowing the wood to show through---which is normally checkered. Popularized by Parker Brothers. Photo |
| Skelp Twist - A rudimentary pattern of damascus forging for shotgun barrels. Photo |
| Slab sawn - A pattern of cutting a [walnut] tree that results in its annual rings being oriented vertically through a gunstock blank, resulting in amorphously flowing grain figuring in the completed stock. See also, Quarter sawn. Photo |
| Slack - Idle movement of a trigger prior to its engaging the sear. Common in military rifles. A sign of poor attention to detail in a sporting arm. |
| Slacum - Purdey's proprietary stock finish, the formula being a closely guarded secret, but rumored to be a blend of boiled linseed oil and some waxes, which when rubbed into the surface of the wood by hand over a period or around eight weeks, imparts their signature rich, deep, glowing, lustrous finish. Photo |
| SLE - Acronym for |
| Photo |
| Sleeving is not the same thing as Monoblocking.Monoblock barrels are built that way from new, using a solid homogeneous machined lump of steel for the entire breech end of the barrel set. Sleeved barrels involve fitting new tubes into what may look at a glance to be a monoblock but which most likely had been assembled from two separate tubes and lumps bya variety of different methods. |
| Slide Action - SeePump |
| Sling - A strap, usually of leather or sturdy webbing, fitted to the fore and aft (usually) of a rifle as an aid to carrying over the shoulder and as an aid to holding the rifle steadily while aiming. Photo |
| Sling Swivel - A slender steel bale about which a carry sling is folded. May be permanently affixed or quick-detachable.Photo |
| Sling Eye - A small donut-shaped loop mounted to the underside of a gun's butt and to either the underside of the barrel or to the forend, designed to accept a metal hook, or, through which a silent thong of rawhide ties on a carry sling. Photo |
| SMLE - Short Magazine Lee Enfield. The standard British Army rifle from around 1895 to 1957. |
| Smithson Mount - An elegant, well-engineered and well-built quick-detachable scope mount system, developed by gunmaker Joseph Smithson. Male dovetails on the underside of the scope rings, unlocked by a button on the left side, slide forward into complementary female dovetails, either in the bases or directly into cuts made in double-squarebridge receivers. Photo |
| Smokeless Powder - A nitro-based propellant introduced around the beginning of the last century, an improvement over black powder (which see) because it burned more slowly (maintaining pressure on the projectile longer during its travel through the bore, allowing higher velocities), did not blind shooters with the smoke, did not promote rust in bores and was much safer to store and to handle. |
| Smoothbore - A gun, or its barrel(s), without rifling; a shotgun. |
| Snap Action - An early break-open action design whereby one pushes forward on a spring-loaded underlever to drop the barrels. One then closes the gun simply by raising the barrels and the action snaps closed. Easier to operate than aJones Underlever which normally must be locked manually. Photo |
| Snaphance -An early type of ignition system for muzzle-loading firearms; a spring-loaded lock whereby upon pulling a trigger, a hammer holding a flint falls, striking a steel frizzen and while pushing it forward scrapes particles from its surface, which as sparks, fall into a flashpan containing a priming charge of fine gunpowder, igniting first it and then, through a touchhole, the main propellant charge. A separate pan-cover would allow the gun to be carried loaded, but for safety, not cocked.Photo |
| Snapping Block - A flat-faced lump of rather tough, but not dead-hard material, such as dense wood or horn, used against the standing breech of a break-open gun, after having dismounted the barrels, when pulling the trigger to release the tension on the mainspring. It absorbs the impact of hardened firing pin in order to avoid breakage, Photo |
| Snider - An early type of breech-loading single-shot action whereby a block, hinged at the side, is manually rotated to expose the breech. Although designed by an American, Jacob Snider, it was first mass-produced by the British army in 1866.Photo |
| Solid Rib - A strip of steel, often fitted to the full length of the top of over and under firearms' barrels or to the top centerline of side-by-side firearms, matted or smooth, normally hollow for lightness, as an aid to pointing. Made without ventilation slits, the solid rib offers a cleaner look and no susceptibility to collecting grass, twigs and other effluvia. Photo |
| Soper - An early type of breech-loading single-shot action whereby a block, hinged at the side, is rotated via a sidelever to expose the breech. Although considerably faster to operate, it lost out to the Martini action in British Army trials because of its complexity and high cost of production. Photo |
| Southgate Ejectors -A type of mechanism, built into the forend of a break-open firearm, utilizing a spring and an over-center cam to kick out a spent shell while only raising an unfired shell far enough to remove manually.Photo |
| Spindle- The vertical rod inside a break-open gun's action connecting the toplever to the underbolt. Photo |
| Spirit Level Front Sight - A front sight with a bubble-level to allow careful orientation of a rifle in a level position, avoiding canting. Seen in better quality long range target rifles and "buffalo" guns. Photo |
| Spitzer Bullet - A bullet with a pointed nose, designed to lower aerodynamic drag and to maintain velocity longer than earlier round-nose types. Also: Spire Point. Photo |
| Sporting Clays- A game of clay target shooting where the competitor walks along a usually-picturesque course of different stations, where at each one an altogether different type of target is presented, designed to replicate a variety of live hunting situations, the difficulty of which is limited only by the devious creativity of the course designer. Often described as golf with a shotgun---however unkind that simile may be to the shooting fraternity. |
| Spring Compressor - A small tool which, via the mechanical advantage of a screw, is used to compress a leaf spring for ease of its installation or removal from a gun lock. Photo |
| Sprue - The extra casting material, usually lead, remaining on a ball or bullet, residual to the opening in the mold through which the material is poured. Photo |
| Sprue-Cutter - An attachment to a bullet mold for trimming off the excess after molten lead has been poured into the cavity of a bullet mold. Photo |
| Squarebridge - The shape of (most often) the rear receiver bridge of a bolt action. Popularized by Mauser on their Model 98 commercial sporting actions, providing an extra mass of steel onto which or into which a skilled gunsmith could integrate a (typically quick-release) scope mount. Mauser supplied integral scope mounts on their commercial rifles, to order. When the front receiver bridge is also enlarged square, it is a double-squarebridge. Such rifles are rare---beware of fakes. Often incorporated into the design of quality bolt actions made for the custom gun trade today. Photo |
| Squib Load - An underpowered powder charge, an old deteriorated cartridge, or a cartridge with primer fitted but no powder at all, caused by a fault in cartridge loading, often insufficient to expel a projectile from the muzzle of a firearm. If such a blockage is not noticed because of the greatly reduced recoil, and then cleared, the bullet from the next attempted shot could be blocked, the extreme pressure causing the barrel at least to bulge, and very possibly to burst. |
| Stadia Lines (1) - Fine engraved lines, usually in pairs, incised into the steel of a gun's barrel(s) or receiver as a guide for the straight layout of lettering. So faint they are not intended readily to be seen. But, if still present, unworn, they are an indicator of a gun that has seen relatively little use and almost certainly has not been refinished.Photo |
| Stadia Lines (2) - Fine, secondary lines in the reticle of a telescopic sight to aid in rangefinding. Photo |
| Standing Breech - The face of the action of a break-open firearm which houses the firing pins and receives the direct recoil of the fired round. Photo |
| Star - A five-pointed Star - A mark used by Smith & Wesson to indicate a revolver that has been returned to the factory for repair or refinishing. On the face of a Colt cylinder, it indicates "Machine Gun" steel. On the top tang of a Marlin rifle it indicates a product as near perfection is it can be. Photo |
| Star Gauged Barrels - Barrels made for US Springfield Model 1903 rifles by Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal, measured internally for precision of boring and rifling, by hand, throughout their full length with a special feeler gauge and subsequently marked at the bottom of the muzzle with a circular six-pointed star. Used first on National Match rifles, this star is reputed to be the sign of a particularly accurate barrel---although noted authorities William Brophy and E C Crossman had their doubts.Photo |
| Stith Mount - A brand of scope mount from San Antonio, Texas, noted for utilizing a rifle's existing slots and holes, requiring no extra holes to be drilled or tapped. Photo |
| St.m.G. -Stahlmantle Geschoss.German proofmark indicating a rifle barrel suitable for use with steel-jacketed bullets. Photo |
| Stock - That part of a firearm a person holds when shooting. The term normally applies to rifles and shotguns, but can also refer to the grips on a handgun. Usually made of walnut or other wood, but increasingly of fibreglass and other synthetics. Photo |
| Stocked to the Fences- A detail, typical of traditional London "Best" guns, whereby the head of the stock comes fully up to the fences. On lesser guns, a bit of receiver forging is visible just behind the fences. Photo |
| Stovepipe -Especially in a semi-automatic pistol,the tendency of a cartridge to fail to chamber properly because it has approached the loading ramp at the wrong angle and to become pinioned by the rear edge of the ejection port, causing a jam. Or, the event of the fired case failing to clear the ejection port and becoming caught between the rear of the port and the breech end of the barrel. Also: Smokestack. |
| Straddle Floorplate - A hinged plate covering the bottom of a rifle magazine and extending rearward on either side of the triggerguard. This design allows it to be more securely fastened for one more imperceptible step towards total reliability.Photo |
| Strike(v) - To draw-file and polish a barrel, or a pair of barrels, lengthwise, for bluing. |
| Striker - British forFiring Pin. |
| Stripper Clip - An expendable retainer for a small quantity of cartridges suitable for filling the magazine of a repeating firearm. Photo |
| Stutzen - German for a short rifle or carbine. Photo |
| Submachinegun - A fully-automatic weapon---a machinegun---designed to fire pistol ammunition. Photo |
| Swage - To extrude a bullet through a die under pressure in order to achieve more precise dimensions than would likely be accomplished by casting alone. Also, the die used to accomplish this task. Photo |
| Swamped Rib - A minimalist, smooth, concave, practically hidden, top rib on a side-by-side gun that connects the two barrels together, but provides no obvious extra aid to pointing---leaving the whole silhouette of the barrels themselves as the shooter's frame of reference. Photo |
| Swiss Buttplate - A prominent buttplate, usually cast of brass and then plated, with prongs at heel and toe to help stabilize the butt of a rifle on one's shoulder. Often fitted to Scheutzen target rifles. And, also known as a Scheutzen buttplate. Photo |
| Swivel (1) - On a sidelock action, a connecting shackle fitted between the lower hook of the mainspring and the forward arm of the tumbler. This layout allows a faster lock time than with a Boxlock. The swivel causes the angle of the force applied to the hammer to change as the hammer falls, maintaining pressure and even increasing it as the mainspring's energy is released. Photo |
| Swivel (2) - Normally one of a pair of loop fittings attached to either the barrel or the forend of a rifle, and to the wood of the toe, sometimes permanently, sometimes quick-detachable, through which is woven a carrying strap or sling made of leather or fabric. [Sling] swivels are often found on European shotguns as well as rifles. Photo |
| Take-Apart-Most anything that has been assembled by man can be disassembled by man---often with the aid of tools. A "Take-Apart" firearm is one designed to anticipate relative ease of disassembly, but which may still require the use of a tool. Example: A bolt action rifle, the barreled action of which may be easily removed from the stock, with the barrel still affixed to the action. Photo |
| that can be separated into (at least) two subassemblies in order to make a shorter package than when put together---without tools. There is no specific requirement regarding how this disassembly must be accomplished; the mechanical design is up to the creativity of the maker. |
| Tanegashima - A Japanese matchlock firearm with a very short buttstock, adopted from Portugese technology introduced there in the 1540s, used by the Samurai class with disdain, gradual abandonment, and no technological advancement until Admiral Dewey's arrival in Tokyo in 1853. Photo |
| Tang- An extension of a firearm's metalwork, for securing it to the stock. Photo |
| Telescopic Sight- An optical sight, offering some magnification, often variable, with some kind of adjustable aiming grid inside (areticle), which when mounted on a firearm, usually a rifle, makes sighting easier. Photo |
| Tempering - A phase in the heat treatment of metals, particularly steel. After hardening, re-heating to a lower temperature than before, then re-quenching, to draw out brittleness and to achieve the desired balance between hardness and malleability for the purpose intended. |
| Through Bolt - A simple method of attaching a buttstock to a break-open firearm's receiver. Rather than using the traditional English method of upper and lower tang screws, augmented by positioned triggerplates, action screws and triggerguard screws---one long bolt only, extends from a longitudinal hole in the end of the butt, through the wrist to the rear of the receiver. The steel bolt has the advantage of reinforcing the weak wrist area as well as snugging the stock tightly against the receiver, even in the case of less than totally perfect inletting. It has the disadvantage of making it more difficult for a gunsmith to bend a stock for better fit to the shooter. Common on Browning Superposed and Perazzi shotguns. Normally built with a short triggerguard tang for ease of disassembly. Photo |
| Thumbcut - Detail on a left receiver rail of a Mauser Model 1898 action to facilitate rapid loading of the magazine from a stripper-clip. As a military affectation, under US law it is currently illegal to import any rifle having such a detail. Photo |
| Thumbhole Stock - A rifle stock, with a sculptured throughole at the wrist for the thumb, said to be more ergonometric to hold than a traditional stock. Apart from being slower to mount, totally useless for a counter-dexterous person, it is so unmitigatedly graceless as to be beneath consideration. Photo |
| Timing- The proper adjustment of the various interrelated moving parts of a gun so that every operation works in proper sequence, such as that the two ejectors of a double gun kick out the spent cases at the same instant and with the same force. |
| Toplever - A lever on a break-open gun mounted to the top of the receiver which, when pushed with the thumb (normally) to the right, operates (usually) a Scott Spindle, which in turn withdraws (usually) a Purdey Underbolt from the bites in the lumps of the barrels, allowing them to hinge downwards and the gun to open. Photo |
| Topstrap (1) - The rearward steel extension from the top of a break-open gun's action, normally mounting the safety tab, and by which the action is fastened to the head of the stock. Also: Top Tang. Photo |
| Topstrap (2) - The part of a revolver's frame connecting the recoil shield to the barrel-mounting recess; adding considerable strength compared to that of early black powder Colt revolvers, and providing a base for a rear sight. Photo |
| Touch Hole -A small orifice at the breech end of the barrel of a muzzle-loading firearm through which the exploding priming charge is conducted from the flash pan to the main charge. Photo |
| Touchmark - A craftsman's signature stamp, discretely placed to identify his work. See:A selection of Touchmarks and other identifying marks. |
| Trademark - A company's signature stamp, discretely placed to identify its work, even if the name of another maker or retailer appears more prominently. See:A selection of company Trademarks. |
| Trajectory - The arc described by a projectile (or a load of shot) after it exits the muzzle of a firearm. Falling objects accelerate downwards at a rate of 32 feet per second, per second. The faster a projectile travels, the greater the distance it can cover in a given time before dropping too far. Hence, the higher the velocity of a bullet, the flatter the trajectory it will achieve. |
| Trap - A game of competitive clay pigeon shooting on a formally designed layout. In plan view, one launching machine is located 16 yards in front of a straight line, firing rising targets perpendicular to and away from that line. Five competitors shoot five individual targets at each of five stations along that line. Although each target is presented at slightly randomized vectors, trap emphasizes generally a single type of shot---outgoing and rising---and targets are broken at generally longer ranges than Skeet. Photo |
| Trap Gun - A shotgun, often with only a single relatively-long barrel, with relatively tight choke boring and a relatively high-combed stock used for shooting clay pigeons in the game ofTrap, where the birds are launched at least 16 yards ahead, usually rising and going away from the shooter at relatively low angular velocity. To better absorb recoil, a trap gun is normally heavier than a field gun because one shoots a lot but walks only a little. Photo |
| Trapdoor - As in Trapdoor buttplate or Trapdoor Pistol Grip Cap---one of these articles of furniture including a hinged plate, covering a small compartment below in which may be stored several extra cartridges, sight bits, extra springs or pins, cleaning rod, etc. Photo |
| Treble Wedge-fast - Greener's name for the combination ofScott spindle toplever,double Purdey underbolts and his own rib-extensionround crossbolt |
| Trigger - The small lever on a cartridge firearm, which one pulls to cause the spring-loaded firing pin to impact the primer, causing the gun to discharge. Normally, the trigger simply connects to the sear. Pulling the trigger moves the sear out of its notch, releasing the spring-loaded hammer to strike the firing pin which in turn strikes the primer; or the coilspring-loaded firing pin directly. Other, often-Germanic systems have their own miniature lockwork which, when cocked, allows an exceedingly light trigger pull to discharge the firearm---a setting that would be perilous to carry in the field. Photo See also:Single Set Trigger, Double Set Trigger andRelease Trigger. |
| Trigger Group - The complete action, entirely removable from the receiver of a break-open gun without the need for tools. Often seen in better competition guns, allowing rapid replacement with a backup set in the event of a malfunction. Photo |
| Triggerguard - A bow-shaped flange, normally made of steel, but sometimes of horn or other material, designed to cover the trigger well enough to reduce the possibility of accidental discharge, while not being so obtrusive as to prevent the firing of a quick shot. Photo |
| Triple-Lock - An early centerfire revolver design of Smith & Wesson, more properly named the .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model or New Century, identified by a third lock at the front of the cylinder pin. Photo |
| Triggerplate Action orRound Action- Originated by MacNaughton, furthered by Dickson and then by David McKay Brown. The lockwork is behind the receiver, mounted to the triggerplate. Little steel needs be machined from the bar of the action, allowing it to be smaller and more streamlined than Anson&Deeley or Sidelock actions---truly rounded on the underside---while maintaining required strength. And, less wood needs to be removed from the head of the stock, strengthening the wood-to-metal connection. Photo |
| Trunnion - In pairs, cylindrical protuberances on the side of a set of barrels or within the receiver of a break-open gun, comprising part of a hinge about which the barrel(s) rotate. Photo |
| Try Gun - Typically a shotgun, a firing model or not; typically English or pre-war American, built with multiple adjustments for length of pull, drop at comb and heel as well as cast-off. Not built for retail sale, but used by custom gunmakers to establish the proper stock dimensions for a client ordering a custom fitted (or bespoke) gun. Photo |
| Turk's Head - A tip for a cleaning rod---a jag---with spirally-radial wires for vigorously scrubbing a gun's bore. Photo |
| Turnscrew - An expensive English screwdriver. Photo |
| Twilight Sight -A rifle front sight with a extra-large, folding bead. Typically, in addition to the normal fine bead (which allows for more precision) the larger bead, while at a cost of potential accuracy, is more readily acquired in marginal light. Also called a Gloaming sight. Photo |
| Twist - Or, Pitch. The length, within a rifled barrel, required for a bullet to accomplish one full rotation. 1:12 Twist means a bullet passing down the bore would complete one revolution in twelve inches. Generally, the longer the bullet in relation to its diameter, the higher the rate of twist is indicated. The long, slender 6.5x54MS bullet might stabilize best at a fast 1:8 rate of twist. The short, fat .505 Gibbs bullet might stabilize best at a slow 1:16 rate of twist. |
| Two-Tone Magazine- A feature of early Colt semi-automatic pistol magazines. Colt, at the time, was concerned that the bluing process could alter the hardness of the steel at the critical point of the lips at the top of their magazines, causing durability problems, ultimately affecting their reliability in feeding properly. Photo |
| VC Case - Aeryompact trunk case with a wood frame, covered in leather or cloth, typically for a taken-down double shotgun, wherein to save space, the toe of the stock slides under the muzzle end of the barrels. Also called a Toe-Under case. Photo |
| Varmint Rifle - A relatively heavy rifle, firing a relatively small-bore, high-velocity bullet, with precision optical sights and great accuracy, (often single-shot), used to kill vermin such as prairie dogs and gophers with no thought to harvesting the meat. Photo |
| Vent Plug -A flush-mounted, threaded insert in the side of the breech of a percussion gun, normally made of platinum in order to resist erosion better than steel, with a very tiny hole bored through to allow the escape of a bit of gas, the passage of which cleans the ignition pathway. Photo |
| Vented Breech - A passage built into a firearm to allow the safe conduct of unexpected gas, as from a pierced primer, to minimize damage both to the gun and to the shooter. Photo |
| Vernier Tang Sight - A tall (usually folding) aperture/peep sight, mounted to the upper rear tang of a rifle, adjustable over a wide range of elevation (and sometimes windage) suitable for long range shooting with a long screw-adjustment and stadia lines for accurate adjustment and repetition of settings. Photo |
| Wad - An inert substance such as fibre or plastic that acts as a buffer, filler and/or a seal between a powder charge and a projectile or shot. Photo |
| Wadcutter - A cylindrical bullet with a flat face, designed to cut a clean hole in a paper target making scoring more precise. Photo |
| Wad Punch - A steel tool with cylindrical bore, chisel-shaped outside surface and a striking face extension, which when driven with a hammer through a suitable material such as leather, card, cork or fibre, will produce a cylindrical shaped wad of suitable diameter for the firearm for which it was made. Photo |
| Walnut - The type of wood most commonly used for gunstocks because of its combination of attributes: lightness and resilience to shock, its close grain, ease and predictability of working, stability, and its handsome appearance. Several different types of walnut are English/French/Circassian (Juglans Regia), American Black (Juglans Nigra), Bastogne and Claro. Photo |
| WCF - Winchester Center Fire. Winchester's designation for many of its proprietary cartridges, mostly their rifle/revolver crossover cartridges such as the .44-40 Winchester, also known as .44WCF; and the .32-20 Winchester, also known as .32WCF. |
| Webley-Fosbery - A semi-automatic revolver patented in 1900, whereby the recoiling upper frame cocks the hammer and causes the cylinder to index one half-step, and its return forward completes the movement of bringing the next cartridge into battery. Photo |
| Wedding Band - A ring-shaped transition between the octagon and round sections of a gun barrel. Photo |
| Wheellock -An early system of ignition for muzzle-loading firearms where a steel wheel is wound up a partial turn against a spring and set with a catch. An arm, holding a flint, is manually lowered to the edge of the wheel. Upon the pull of a trigger, the wheel revolves smartly, producing sparks which ignite the main propellant charge.Photo |
| Whip - The tendency of a barrel to rise at the muzzle under the recoil of firing---because the line of the bore is normally above the axis of rotation around the point where the firearm is held against one's shoulder or in one's hand. Photo |
| Whitworth Steel - An early form of fluid steel for gun barrels, hydraulically forged from molten to prevent air inclusions. An expensive product, of which gunmakers were justifiably proud. Apart from being so marked literally, identified by Whitworth's trademark wheat-sheaf.Photo |
| Widow's Peak - A pointed detail where one material joins another. As at the top of a buttplate or under a forend tip. Photo |
| Wildcat Cartridge - A specially-designed cartridge, usually conceived by an individual in search of the proverbial better mousetrap, often derived from an existing design, not available off the shelf through ordinary channels of commerce, but which must be custom loaded with custom dies. |
| Worm - A screw-like attachment to a ramrod or cleaning rod, designed to bore into a lead ball previously loaded into a muzzle-loader's barrel, with which to extract the ball and unload the gun without firing it. Also: Ball Screw Photo |
| X-Ring - A smaller ring inside the 10-ring bullseye of a rifle or pistol target. Counting the number of shots within the X-Ring is used to decide the winner of an otherwise tied match. Photo |
| XXV - Roman numeral designation used by Robert Churchill when promoting his signature 25-inch shotgun barrels. He maintained that 25 inches was the ideal barrel length because they utilized all of the energy of modern powders, and because they provided a gun of livelier handling characteristics than more traditional, longer barrels, particularly when fitted with his high, narrow, matted, tapered rib. Photo |
| Yoke - A swing-out arm on a revolver, to which the cylinder is mounted, and when opened facilitates loading and cleaning. Also: Crane. Photo |
| Zero (v) - To adjust the sights of a firearm so that, with competent marksmanship, the projectile should hit the desired target. |
| Zimmerstutzen - A smallish single-shot rifle, rather like a miniature scheutzen rifle, of very small calibre, with the firing mechanism around five inches from the muzzle, but operated by a normally-positioned trigger, for use in indoor target shooting, particularly in Germany and Austria..Photo |
Index:
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