A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger. It uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and automatically loads another cartridge into its chamber. This is in contrast to bolt-action rifles, which require the user to cycle the bolt manually before they can fire a second time, and fully automatic rifles which fire continuously until the trigger is released.
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.
The Colt AR-15 is a product line of magazine-fed, gas-operated, autoloading rifle manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company ("Colt") in many configurations. The rifle is a derivative of its predecessor, the lightweight ArmaLite AR-15, an automatic rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and other engineers at ArmaLite in 1956.
John Moses Browning was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.
A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm, is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a following round of cartridge into the chamber and prepares it for subsequent firing, but requires the shooter to manually actuate the trigger in order to discharge each shot. Typically, this involves the weapon's action utilizing the excess energy released during the preceding shot to unlock and move the bolt, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber, all without input from the user. To fire again, however, the user must actively release the trigger, and allow it to "reset", before pulling the trigger again to fire off the next round. As a result, each trigger pull only discharges a single round from a semi-automatic weapon, as opposed to a fully automatic weapon, which will shoot continuously as long as the ammunition is replete and the trigger is kept depressed.
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, the design was outwardly based on the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its own gas system design.
Sako Limited is a Finnish firearm and ammunition manufacturer located in Riihimäki, Tavastia Proper in southern Finland. It also has owned the Tikka brand of bolt-action rifles since 1983, and is now owned by the Italian firearm holding company Beretta Holding. The name Sako comes from the company's former name Suojeluskuntain Ase- ja Konepaja Oy.
Rotating bolt is a method of locking the breech of a firearm closed for firing. Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse developed the first rotating bolt firearm, the "Dreyse needle gun", in 1836. The Dreyse locked using the bolt handle rather than lugs on the bolt head like the Mauser M 98 or M16. The first rotating bolt rifle with two lugs on the bolt head was the Lebel Model 1886 rifle. The concept has been implemented on most firearms chambered for high-powered cartridges since the 20th century.
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing rim, in spite of the fact that some cartridges are known as "rimless cartridges". The rim may serve a number of purposes, including providing a lip for the extractor to engage, and sometimes serving to headspace the cartridge.
The Heckler & Koch SL8 is a semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It is a civilian version of the Heckler & Koch G36.
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher was an Austrian engineer and small arms designer. Along with James Paris Lee, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading box magazine system. Later, while making improvements to other inventors' prototype designs for rotary-feed magazines, Mannlicher, together with his protégé Otto Schönauer, patented a perfected rotary magazine design, the Mannlicher–Schönauer rifle, which was a commercial and military success.
The Remington Model 14 is a pump-action repeating rifle designed for the Remington Arms company by John Pedersen. It is part of a series of rifles that include the Remington Model 14-1/2 and the Remington Model 141.
The Remington Model 11-48 is a semi-automatic shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms as the first of its "new generation" semi-automatics produced after World War II. Released as the replacement for the Remington Model 11, it was manufactured from 1949 to 1968 and was produced in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge and .410 variations.
The Winchester Model 1907 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company beginning in 1907 with production ending in 1957. It fired a cartridge of intermediate power, cycled through a semi-automatic operating mechanism, fed from a 5, 10, or 15 round detachable box magazine located immediately forward of the trigger guard. In size and handling, it is much like an M1 carbine, though the 1907 is heavier and fires a much harder hitting round.
The Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 is a .22 Long Rifle variant of the Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle, but is blowback-operated rather than direct impingement-operated. It is intended for recreational shooting ("plinking") and small game hunting. It is made with a polymer upper and lower receiver rather than the aluminum alloy that is normally used in AR-15 style rifles, and uses proprietary polymer box magazines.
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the propellant gas.
The FN FNX pistol is a series of semi-automatic, polymer-framed pistols manufactured in Columbia, South Carolina, by FN America, a division of Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal. The pistol is chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP cartridges. It was introduced in 2009 as the successor to the FN FNP.
The 7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced in 2011 by Wilson Combat. The goal was to produce an accurate, low-recoil .30-caliber hunting cartridge that could be used in an AR-15-type rifle using as many standard components as possible.
The Deerfield carbine or Model 99/44 is a .44 Magnum semi-automatic rifle produced by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It uses a rotating-bolt short-stroke gas piston. It was introduced in 2000 and discontinued in 2006.
A cadet rifle is a rifle used by military cadets and others for basic firearms and marksmanship training. Generally .22 caliber and bolt-action, they also come in semi-automatic versions. They are often miniature .22 caliber versions of standard issue service rifles.
