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Terminology

Actions: Are the physical parts of a firearm (inside and out) that carry out the system of operation.

Automatic: Used to describe a firearm which using the energy produced from the firing of ammunition will do the following:
1. Move the guns slide to the rear of the gun
2. Eject the spent cartridge out of the ejection port
3. As the slide rocks forward it will grab a new cartridge from the magazine to load the chamber
4. Fire the gun as long as the trigger is pulled.

Ballistics: The study of how projectiles fly. More specifically, external ballistics refers to how a projectile behaves after it leaves the barrel of a gun, while internal ballistics refers to the chemical and mechanical processes which occur with a gun after the trigger is pulled but before the projectile leaves the barrel. What happens when the bullet strikes a target is referred to as terminal ballistics.

Barrel: The metal tube which allows a bullet to travel out of the gun on the way to it's target.

Bore: The inside of a barrel. Barrels contain lands and groves which make up the 'rifiling'.

Breech: The back-most end of the barrel. The opposite of muzzle.

Chamber: Is that portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired

Cock: To ready the mechanism of a gun for firing, e.g., as in "to cock the hammer." (n.) Obsolete term for hammer.

De-cock: To un-ready the mechanism of a gun for firing, e.g., as in "using the decock level to remove the tension off of the hammer."

Double Action: Pulling the trigger does two things:
1. It will first cock the hammer if it hasn't been cocked
2. It will release the hammer.

Double Action (DA): The trigger pull is longer and heavier than SA, but the user can cock the hammer first if they want to fire in "Single Action Mode." If the gun is semi-automatic, the first shot is DA, subsequent shots are SA due to the slide cocking the hammer for you, resulting in differing trigger feel as described above. Example : Beretta 8045, Heckler and Koch USP series, etc.

Double Action ONLY: Any Double Action gun which does not allow pre-cocking the hammer because the hammer won't stay cocked, and is often bobbed or hidden. No decock is ever needed, and trigger pull is consistent between first and subsequent shots.

Firing pin: Part of a gun which strikes the primer, firing the gun. Motion may be imparted to the firing pin by striking it with a hammer, or it may itself be spring-loaded and released.

Groove: The recessed portion of rifling.

Hang fire: Is a perceptible delay in the ignition of a cartridge after the primer has been struck by the firing pin or hammer. This is also commonly known as a "Slow Cook".

Land: The raised portion of rifling.

Magazine: A device for holding cartridges to be loaded into a repeating gun's chamber. A magazine can be a fixed, non-removable part of a gun, or it can be a detachable box. A magazine is sometimes improperly referred to as a clip.

Miss fire: Is a failure of the cartridge to fire after the primer has been struck by the firing pin or hammer.

Muzzle: The end of the barrel which the fired projectile comes out. The opposite of breech.

Rifling: The spiral grooves that are cut in to the bore of a gun barrel. Rifling will which cause the bullet to spin upon firing, thus stabilizing it much like a thrown football. Rifling may be cut, swaged, or forged into the barrel.

Sear: Is the part of the trigger mechanism which holds the hammer or striker back until the correct amount of pressure has been applied to the trigger; at which point the hammer or striker is released to discharge the firearm. The sear may be a separate part or can be a surface incorporated into the trigger.

Single Action: Pulling the trigger does one thing. If the hammer has been cocked, it will release the hammer. The trigger pull is light, short, and consistent between first and subsequent shots.

Striker Fire: Rather than a hammer, an internal striker is cocked and released to fire. The striker is cocked by the first motion of the slide, and there is no way to de-cock other than squeezing the trigger. Example: Glock pistols

Squib Load: Is a less than normal pressure or velocity after the ignition of the cartridge. Squib loads will often fuse themselves in to the barrel rendering the firearm inoperable.

Today is: Thursday, August 28, 2008