TERMINOLOGY CONCENTRATING AROUND RIMFIRE SHOOTING / DISCIPLINES
ACTION: The working mechanism of a firearm involved with presenting the cartridge for firing, and in removing the spent casing and introducing a fresh cartridge.
AMMUNITION: The "packaged" components that are needed in order to fire in a case or shell holding a primer, (which produces the spark) a charge of propellant (gunpowder) and a projectile (bullets, slug or pellets.) Sometimes called "fixed ammunition" to differentiate from the individual components placed separately in muzzleloaders. A single unit of ammunition in modern firearms is called a cartridge. The units of measure for quantity of ammunition is rounds. There are hundreds of sizes of ammunition, examples include .22LR, .223 Remington, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, 30.06, .303, .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG). The ammunition used must match the firearm.
AMMO: short for ammunition
B:
BARREL: The metal tube through which the bullet or shot travels. The barrel serves the purpose of providing direction and velocity to the bullet.
BULL BARREL: "Bull barrels" are barrels that are not tapered at all. These very heavy barrels, designed for extreme accuracy, are usually seen on target rifles.
BACKSTOP: Anything that will safely stop a bullet and prevent it from hitting anything else after the target is struck.
BENCHREST: A shooting sport in which the competitors seek to place five or ten consecutive shots into the smallest possible group on a paper target at various ranges. All firing is done from an artificially supported shooting position. It is a severe test of the mechanical precision of both the small arm and its ammunition.
BERM: On an outdoor shooting range, a large pile of dirt that functions as a backstop
BIPOD: A two legged support for the front end of a rifle to stabilize the gun while shooting.
BLUING or BLUED: The chemical process of artificial oxidation (rusting) applied to gun parts so that the metal attains a dark blue or nearly black appearance.
BOLT: The mechanism of some firearms that holds the cartridge in place during the firing process. It must be moved out of the way to load and unload the gun; this action may be manually performed by the shooter pulling back on an exterior knob called the bolt handle and then sending it forward again, or the action may be performed by other moving parts within the firearm. When the user must move the bolt manually, the firearm is called a bolt-action firearm.
BOLT ACTION: A type of firearm, in which an empty shell casing is removed from the firing chamber by the turning and retraction of a metal cylinder shaped mechanism called a bolt. A new, unfired, cartridge is inserted and secured into the chamber by reversing the action of the bolt.
BORE: The hollow portion of a barrel through which the bullet travels during it's acceleration phase.
- A smooth-bore firearm is one that does not have rifling on the barrel's internal surface.
- A big-bore firearm is one that fires a large caliber.
- A small-bore firearm is one that fires a small caliber.
BREACH: That portion of the gun that contains the rear chamber portion of the barrel, action, trigger or firing mechanism, and the magazine. The rearmost end of a barrel, closest to the shooter.
BRICK - A box of ammunition roughly equal in size and weight to a brick. Most often used to describe a 500-round container of 22 Long Rifle ammunition.
BULLET: The single metal projectile expelled from a gun. It is not the same as a cartridge, the cartridge is complete package, which includes the case, primer, powder, and bullet, which is called cartridge or a round. Bullets can be of many materials, shapes, weights and constructions such as solid lead, lead with a jacket of harder metal, round-nosed, flat-nosed, hollow-pointed, etc.
BULLET TRAP: A type of backstop that catches the fired bullet and prevents it from exiting the area. Bullet traps are most commonly used on indoor ranges.
BULLPUP: A rifle configuration in which the action and magazine are located behind the trigger. This makes the overall length of the firearm shorter than it otherwise would be.
BUTT: The base of the grip on a handgun and the rearmost portion of the stock on a long gun that braces against the shoulder.
BUNNY BASHING: Slang for Rabbiting (Rabbit Hunting / Pest Control in the UK)
C:
CALIBRE / CALIBER: The diameter of the bore of a firearm measured as a fraction of an inch. Although such a measurement may be frequently stated in millimeters. It is correctly expressed as ".40 caliber" (note the decimal point) or as "10 millimeter" (without "caliber" or the leading decimal point). Caliber numbers when used to identify the size of the bullet a gun will file are usually followed by words or letters to create the complete name of the cartridge. These letters often represent a brand name or an abbreviation for the name of the company that first introduced the round. MORE
CARBINE: A rifle with a relatively short barrel. Any rifle or carbine with a barrel less than 16" long must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Shotguns with barrels less than 18" long fall into the same category. Commonly used today to indicate any rifle of short overall length.
CARTRIDGE: A single, complete round of ammunition which includes the case, primer, powder, and bullet
CASE or CASING: The envelope (container) of a cartridge. For rifles and handguns it is usually of brass or other metal; for shotguns it is usually of paper or plastic with a metal head and is more often called a "shell."
CENTER FIRE: A cartridge with its primer located in the center of the base of the case.
CHAMBER: The rear part of the barrel that is formed to accept the cartridge to be fired. A revolver employs a multi-chambered rotating cylinder separated from the stationary barrel.
CLICK / CLICKS: A unit of adjustment for a Telescopic Sights
COCK: The term referring to the action of manually drawing the hammer back against its spring until it becomes latched against the sear, or sometimes the trigger itself, arming the hammer to be released by a subsequent pull of the trigger. Some external hammers, and all internal hammers, may be cocked simply by pulling the trigger
CROSS HAIRS: The cross-shaped object seen in the center of a firearm scope. Its more-proper name is reticle.
CROWN: The area inside the bore nearest the muzzle. Damage to the crown can severely and adversely affect the firearm's accuracy.
D:
DOUBLE FEED: A malfunction in which the spent case fails to eject from a semi-automatic firearm and blocks the chamber. As the fresh round is brought forward it cannot enter the chamber. It is cleared by stripping the magazine from the gun, racking the slide several times to eject the spent case, and then reloading
DOWN RANGE: The area of a gun range where firearms are pointed when they are fired. The area of the range forward of the firing line.
DRY FIRING: The operation of a firearm without the use of ammunition, as a means of gaining familiarity and technique. Dry firing must be done very carefully with a verified unloaded gun.
Dud: A round of ammunition that does not fire.
E:
EJECTOR: A spring-activated mechanism for the ejection of ammunition or and empty shell casing. On doubles, each barrel has a separate ejector
EXTRACTOR: A device that withdraws or elevates a fired shell casing from the chamber as the breech mechanism (slide) is opened.
F:
FIRING PIN: A needle like metal part of a modern firearm that gives a vigorous strike to the primer initiating the firing of the cartridge.
FLASH SUPRESSOR: A muzzle attachment intended to reduce visible muzzle flash caused by the burning propellant. Flash reducers lessen glare as seen by the shooter, but do not hide the flash from other observers to the front or side of the firearm.
FOLLOW THROUGH: Holding the trigger to the rear after the shot has fired, until the sights are back on target, at which time the trigger is released.
FLAT POINT / FLAT NOSE: A bullet shape with a flat nose rather than a rounded one.
FOULING: The gritty residue that cleaned out of the barrel and all areas of the firearm in order to clean it.
FOREND: That part of the stock forward of the action and located below the barrel or barrels. It is designed to give the shooter a place to hold the front end of the gun and protects the shooter's hand from getting burned on the hot barrel.
G:
GRAINS / GRAIN: A unit of weight measurement used for bullets and gunpowder. The more grains, the heavier the bullet. Powder is also measured by grains, but this is generally of interest only to re-loaders. There are 7000 grains to a pound.
GROOVES: Spiral cuts into the bore of a barrel that give the bullet its spin or rotation as it moves down the barrel. Technically is is the portion of the bore in a rifled barrel that has been machined away.
GROUP: A gathering of holes in the target. The group size is measured by finding the bullet holes that are the furthest apart from each other and measuring from the center of one hole to the center of the other hole.The closer the holes, the better. Obviously the number of shots fired affect the group size. Typical numbers are three, five and ten. From a statistics viewpoint a three shot group is virtually meaningless as a measurement of firearm accuracy. Five shot groups are acceptable. Some advocate a seven shot group as a good tradeoff between economy and statistical relevance
H:
HAIR TRIGGER: A trigger that breaks from an extremely light touch.
HEEL: The top of the butt, when the gun is in position on the shoulder to be fired, is called the heel.
HEAVY TRIGGER: A trigger that requires a lot of pressure to pull it past the break point. Rifles tend to have considerably lighter triggers than handguns, and even a heavy rifle trigger is often lighter than a light handgun trigger.
HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINE: An inexact, non-technical term indicating a magazine holding more rounds than might be considered "average
HMR: Hornady Magnum Rimfire, a .17 Calibre Rimfire Hyper Velocity ammunition.
HOLLOW-POINT BULLET: A bullet with a concavity in its nose to increase expansion on penetration of a solid target. some hollow-point's are also designed to fragment as they expand. They are least likely to over-penetrate the target and harm an innocent bystander. Commonly used for self-defence
I:
IRON SIGHTS: The mechanical sighting system which usually comes with the firearm made of metal with no optics.
J:
JAM: A malfunction which locks up the gun so badly that sometimes tools are required in order to fix it. Sometimes used to denote a simple malfunction, but many people make a distinction between a complete jam and a simple malfunction.
K:
KEYHOLE: An oddly-shaped hole in the target caused by a bullet which was unstable during its flight and entered the target sideways rather than nose-on. Key-holing sometimes can indicate a safety issue such as using the incorrect caliber for the gun, or incorrect ammunition ie: .22Short in a .22LR rifle, the rifle twists (rifling) are not the suited for .22short ammunition.
KNOCKDOWN: A type of target which is normally balanced on a flat surface which is knocked down by the impact of the projectile - targets are normally made of thick steel and intended for re-use with minimum damage from impact.
L:
LEAD: To aim at a spot just in front of a moving target, so that the target moves into the line of fire as the trigger is pulled.
LEAD: The metal from which bullets are traditionally made. They may also be made of steel, copper, or other materials.
LEVER-ACTION: A rifle mechanism activated by manual operation of a lever. The user manually brings this lever down and back up again to eject the spent case and bring a new round into the chamber ready to be fired.
LOADED: A firearm is loaded when a cartridge is in its firing chamber. However, for safety reasons all firearms are always treated as loaded at all times. See The 4 Rules.
LR: Long Rifle, a type of Rimfire ammunition in .22Calibre (.22LR).
M:
MAGAZINE: A container, either fixed to a pistol's frame or detachable, which holds cartridges under spring pressure to be fed into the gun's chamber. Detachable magazines for the same gun may be offered by the gun`s manufacturer or other manufacturers with various capacities. A gun with a five-shot detachable magazine, for instance, may be fitted with a magazine holding 10, 20, or 50 or more rounds. Box magazines are most commonly located under the receiver with the cartridges stacked vertically. Tube or tubular magazines run through the stock or under the barrel with the cartridges lying horizontally. Drum magazines hold their cartridges in a circular mode. A magazine can also mean a secure storage place for ammunition or explosives.
MAGAZINE POUCH: Commonly shortened to mag pouch, this is a device to hold extra magazines which fastens to the shooter's belt.
MAGAZINE WELL: The opening in the bottom of the gun into which a box magazine is fed. On a semi-auto handgun, the magazine well is at the base of the grip; on a rifle, it is usually placed in front of the trigger guard.
MAGNUM: A term indicating a relatively heavily loaded metallic cartridge or shotshell and a gun safely constructed to fire it. It generally indicates a round which cannot be interchanged with other loadings of the same caliber (for example, a .22 Magnum shell does not fit within a firearm designed to fire .22 Long Rifle ammunition).
MATCH GRADE: A higher quality item used to increase accuracy -- generally used for competition in a match. Match grade ammo and barrels are the most common improvements made to a firearm to improve accuracy for competition.
MINUTE OF ANGLE (MOA): A unit of angle that is equal to one1/60 of one degree. Used to adjust sight angles to aim a firearm.
MISFEED: Is a failure of the next round to completely enter the chamber. Misfeeds and failures to feed are very similar, a failure to feed is a round that never even leaves the top of the magazine, while a misfeed is a round that leaves the magazine but does not enter the chamber.
MISFIRE: The condition of a cartridge not firing when an attempt to fire it is made. It can be caused by either a defective cartridge or a defective firearm. The term is frequently misused to indicate a Negligent Discharge of a firearm.
MUSHROOMED BULLET: A description of a bullet whose forward diameter has expanded after penetration.
MODERATOR: Another name for a Suppressor / Silencer. This highly regulated device is used to reduce the sound of a firearm's discharge.They do not actually silence most firearms but rather lower the intensity of the muzzle blast and change the sound charachteristics.
MUZZLE VELOCITY: The speed of the bullet, measured in feet per second or meters per second, as it leaves the barrel.
N:
NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE (ND): The unplanned discharge of a firearm caused by a failure to observe the basic safety rules, not a mechanical failure of the gun. See The 4 Rules.
NIGHT SIGHTS: A type of iron sights that glow or shine in the dark, intended for use in low light conditions. Some night sights consist of tiny tubes of tritium, while others use a phosphorus paint
NRA - The National Rifle Association. This organization coordinates shooting events on a national level, provides firearms training to civilians and law enforcement, fights restrictive firearms legislation and supports the constitutional right of law abiding citizens to own and carry firearms.NSRA: The National Small-Bore Rifle Association
O:
OPEN SIGHTS: A common type of iron sights in which the rear sight is an open-topped U or a V or a square-notch shape and with a blade type front sight, in contrast to the closed circle commonly found in aperture sights.
OVERSHOOT (TO): A term used in artillery to indicate a projectile impact beyond the designated target.
P:
PARALLAX :This occurs in telescopic sights when the primary image of the objective lens does not coincide with the reticle.Telescopic sights often have parallax adjustments to minimize this effect.
PLINKING: Informal shooting at any of a variety of inanimate targets. The most often practiced shooting sport in the USA.
PORT: An opening. The ejection port is the opening in the side of a semi-auto from which spent cases are ejected.
PRACTICAL SHOOTING: A shooting sport that simulates the use of a small arm in its intended role either as a tool for hunting or personal defense. True practical shooting limits the small arms, ammunition, and accessories used to those items that would actually be used in the role simulated.
PRIMER: A small metal cup that contains a tiny explosive charge that is sensitive to impact. A primer is placed in the base of a shell casing to ignite the powder of the completed cartridge. It is deto
PROPELLANT: In a firearm the chemical composition that is ignited by the primer to generate gas. In air or pellet guns, compressed air or CO2.nated by the striking of a firing pin in the firearm.
PRONE: A lying down position shooters use for stability and is an actual dicipline in some shooting competitions.
R:
RAIL: A feature on the underside of the frame below the barrel which allows various aftermarket accessories to be attached the firearm such as flashlights or lasers.
RAILS: The metal surfaces upon which a semi-automatic's slide travels to and fro as each shot is fired.
RED DOT SIGHT: An optical sight that uses an internal illuminated dot (normally red in color) as an aiming point.They provide for fast target acquisition. They may or may not offer magnification.
RECEIVER: The portion of a rifle that has the serial number on it. The stock, barrel, and other components such as the bolt are typically attached to the receiver. Some firearms may have a multipart receiver such as an upper receiver and a lower receiver.
RELOAD:
1) To refill the firearm with ammunition in order to continue shooting.
2) When a shooter reuses empty brass cases and fills them with new primers, powder, and bullets.
RETICLE: Typically crosshairs or a dot that are seen in the center of a firearm scope that assists the rifleman in aligning the shot, that is adjusted so that it appears to be on the same plane as the target.
REVOLVER: A gun, usually a handgun, with a multi-chambered cylinder that rotates to successively align each chamber with a single barrel and firing pin.
RIFLE: A firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and fire only a single projectile at a time, as opposed to a shotgun which can throw many small projectiles (shot) at the same time.
RIFLING: Spiral grooves in a gun`s bore that spin the projectile in flight and impart accuracy. Rifling is present in all true rifles, in most handguns and in some shotgun barrels designed for increasing the accuracy potential of slugs (a slug is a single projectile rather than the more common "shot".)
RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS: The unalienable right of all of the people, stated in the Second Article of The Bill of Rights, to possess and use personally owned firearms for sport, recreation, personal protection, and the defence of the nation.
RIMFIRE: A rimfire is a type of firearm cartridge. It is called a rimfire because instead of the firing pin of a gun striking the primer cap at the center of the base of the cartridge to ignite it (as in a centerfire cartridge), the pin strikes the base's rim. A rimmed or flanged cartridge with the priming mixture located inside the rim of the case. The most famous example is the .22 rimfire. It has been estimated that between 3-4 billion .22 cartridges are loaded in the U.S. each year.
ROUND: Synonym for a cartridge. A unit of measure for ammunition which is one complete unit of ammunition, which includes a bullet (or other projectile), powder, and a primer, and is contained in an outer shell or case. Typical quantities are 20 rounds and 50 rounds in single box.
S:
SAFETY (MECHANICAL): A mechanical device used to block the firing pin or trigger such that the firearm cannot be fired.
SAFE :
1) A firearm is said to be on safe when its safety is engaged and off safe when it is ready to fire. Always follow the Four Rules even when the safety is engaged.
2) A locking container in which firearms are stored when not in use.
SCOPE: A magnifying tube through which the shooter may see the target and aim the firearm. Scopes contain a reticle, commonly in the shape of a cross, which must be properly centered upon the target for accurate aim.
SHELL: An empty ammunition case.
SIGHT ALIGNMENT :The manner in which the sights are lined up properly in front of the shooter's eye, to form a straight path to the target.
SIGHT PICTURE: What the shooter sees when looking through the sights at the target.
SILENCER: Properly called a suppressor (AKA Moderator) this highly regulated device is used to reduce the sound of a firearm's discharge.They do not actually silence most firearms but rather lower the intensity of the muzzle blast and change the sound characteristics.
SILHOUETTE SHOOTING: A handgun or rifle shooting sport in which the competitors attempt to knock over metallic game-shaped targets at various ranges.
SLING: A long strip of leather, plastic, or nylon which is fastened at the fore and rear of the gun for the easy carry of long guns.
SPOTTER: The spotter is a helper who gives the shooter guidance on how to hit a particular target. In some cases the spotter may just report the location of the bullet impact. In other cases they may judge the speed and direction of the wind, determine the range, and give the shooter the settings to be used on the sights.
SQUIB: A round of ammunition which has less power than it is supposed to, often having no powder at all. Squib loads are very uncommon when shooting commercial ammunition.
STANCE: How the shooter positions her body while shooting. The three most widely-known handgun stances are Weaver, Chapman, and Isosceles.
STALKING: Term used in some Northern Countries in place of ''Hunting'' eg: Deer Stalking (UK).
STOCK:
1) The back part of a rifle or shotgun, excluding the receiver. It is commonly made of wood, wood laminate, metal, or plastics.
2) An unaltered firearm as it comes from the factory.
SUPPRESSOR, SOUND: Improperly called a "silencer" this highly regulated device is used to reduce the sound of a firearm's discharge.They do not actually silence most firearms but rather lower the intensity of the muzzle blast and change the sound characteristics. The possession, use, and transportation of silencers have been tightly controlled under federal law since 1934. Any device which reduces the sound of discharge by more than 2 dB is considered by the BATF to be a "silencer."
T:
TELESCOPIC SIGHT: A sight which has an integral telescope.
TIP DOWN: A Fold down forend on a rifle which essentially turns into a vertical grip tactical style handle.
TAKE DOWN: A rifle which is designed to dismantle (normally somewhere in the middle of the gun) with little or no need for special tools, the barrel dislodges from the gun when depressing a locking clip eg: Ruger 10/22 Takedown
TOE (OF A STOCK): The bottom of the butt, when the gun is in position on the shoulder to be fired, is called the toe
TRACER (AMMUNITION): A type of ammunition that utilizes a projectile or projectiles that contain a compound in its base that burns during its flight to provide a visual reference of the projectile's trajectory.
TRACKING: The method and skills used in finding your hunting quarry of following animals, also used to find wounded animals which did not take a clean kill shot.
TRAJECTORY: The arc described by a projectile traveling from the muzzle to the point of impact.
TRIGGER: The release device that initiates the cartridge discharge. Usually a curved, grooved or serrated piece that is pulled rearward by the shooter's finger, which then activates the hammer or striker and the gun fires.
Typically, pulling the trigger releases the striker or allows the hammer to fall, causing the firing pin to strike the primer. The primer then ignites the powder within the round. Burning gases from the powder force the bullet out of its case and through the barrel, causing the bullet to exit the muzzle end of the gun and strike the target. In addition to releasing the hammer or striker, some triggers may cock the hammer or striker, rotate a revolver's cylinder, deactivate passive safeties, or perform other functions.
TRIGGER GROUP: The entire collection of moving parts which work together to fire the gun when the trigger is pulled. It may include trigger springs, return springs, the trigger itself, the sear, disconnectors, and other parts.
TRIGGER PULL WEIGHT: How much pressure the trigger finger must put on the trigger before the gun will fire. Trigger pull weight is measured by the number of pounds and ounces of pressure required to pull the trigger past the break.
W:
WINDAGE: The setting on the sights used to accommodate the wind or adjust for horizontal errors in the alignment of the sights with the bore of the firearm.
Z:
ZERO: A firearm is said to be "zeroed in" when its sights have been adjusted so that the bullet will hit the center of the target when the sights are properly aligned upon the center of the target. The farthest distance from a firearm at which the bullet's path and the point of aim coincide. This term is also used to mean the process of insuring that the sights of a firearm are properly aligned so that where they indicate the bullet will strike is in fact where it strikes.
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