midterm

• Marksmanship


  The ability to shoot accurately
• ACP


  Automatic colt pistol - Designates various John Browning cartridge designs and calibers primarily used in colt and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal semi-automatic pistols like .45 ACP, .380 ACP, .25 ACP
• AK-47


  • Incredibly popular automatic assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov
  • First used in active service back in 1948
  • They are reliable and cost very little to make so they're the gun of choice for many military and revolutionary outfits
  • As of 2004, he estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three quarters are AK-47s
• Ammunition (ammo)


  • A package of components that includes gunpowder, a primer, projectile encased in a casing
  • Amount of ammunition is measured in rounds which is what's loaded into a gun
  • Comes in hundreds of sizes, and must match the firearm in order for it to be used
• AR-15


  • ARMALITE RIFLE 15
  • It's a lightweight semi-automatic rifle that comes in a wide variety of models
  • Considered modern sporting rifles by some and assault rifles by others
  • Have been used in various mass shooting in us
• Assault Rifle


  • Technical term for a selective-fire rifle, usually used by a military or police officer
  • Fires reduced-power ammunition from a detachable magazine
  • It can fire in either semi-automatic or fully automatic models
  • Examples: AK-47 and M16
• Assault Weapon


  • Political term, not technical term but changes depending on who uses it
  • Connecticut: "selective-fire firearms capable of fully automatic, semi-automatic, or burst fire at the options of the user
  • Virginia: "as any weapon with a magazine capacity greater than 20 rounds
• Automatic


  • A gun that continuously fires bullets as long as the trigger is pressed or held down
  • Machine gun
• Ballistic


  • Science and study of cartridge discharge, and the launch, flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles
  • Ballistic experts can determine where a bullet was fired where it went and what it did
• Beretta


  • An Italian firearm manufacturing company – Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta
  • The oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world
  • They make semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, submachine gun, machine pistols, and more
• Blank


  • A round of ammunition loaded with black power but no bullet
  • Commonly used in film, TV, theatre, military exercised, and for starting races
• Bolt Action


  • A type of rifle that fires one round at a time
  • Once a round is fired, the user must manually pull back a cylindrical metal mechanism called the bolt to unload the empty shell and load another round into the chamber
• Buckshot


  • Shotgun ammunition that contains medium or large-sized pellets (.24 in diameter or greater)
  • Used for self-defense and hunting large game
• Bullet


  • The projectile in a cartridge or round of ammunition
  • When the primer is struck, the gunpowder is ignited, and the bullet is propelled down the gun's barrel and towards its target
• Casings


  • Containing unit of a cartridge or round
  • It holds the gunpowder, the projectile, and has a built-in primer
  • Usually made of metal for rifles and handguns, plastic for shotguns sometimes called shell
• Caliber


  • The diameter of a gun's bore measured as fractions of an inch
  • Also determines the size of ammunition that can be fired by the gun
• Clip


  • A unit of multiple ammunition rounds that are ready to be quickly loaded into a firearm or magazine
  • Often used a slang term for a magazine
• Cock


  Action of manually drawing the hammer of a gun back, arming the hammer to be released at the pull of the trigger which would fire the weapon
• Double Tap


  Simply two shots fired in rapid succession usually without re-aiming the firearm between shots
• Firearm


  • It's a rifle, shotgun, handgun using gunpowder as a propellant
  • Air guns and other devices that fire projectiles without combustion are not considered firearms
• Flash Suppressor


  • An attachment at the end of a firearm's barrel that lets hot air and gas escape the barrel
  • It makes for a smaller flash of light when a round exits the barrel, improving visibility for the shooter
• Folding Stock


  A rifle or shotgun stock that can be doubled over for compact storage
• Gauge


  • The bore size (width inside of the barrel) of a shotgun
  • Based on the number of round lead balls of bore diameter that equals a pound
• Glock


  • A series of popular semi-automatic handguns designed and produced by Austrian company Glock Ges.m.b.h
• Hair Trigger


  A trigger that can be pulled with little pressure and an extremely light touch
• Hollow point


  • A bullet with a concave nose designed to increase expansion and fragment upon penetration of a solid target
  • Does more internal harm to the target but is considered safer for innocent bystanders who might be struck with a bullet that passes through a target
• High-capacity magazine


  • Its any magazine that holds over 10 rounds
  • Some high-capacity magazine can hold as many as 100 rounds
  • Modern semi-automatic pistols = 15 and 18 rounds
  • Modern Semi-automatic rifles = 20 and 30 rounds
• Magazine


  • A container that holds cartridges or rounds under spring pressure to be fed into a gun's chamber
  • Usually detachable and refillable
• Pistol


  • A type of handgun that fires bullets
  • Small, portable, concealable firearm designed to be easily fired from one or two hands
  • They can be single shot, semi-automatic or fully automatic in the form of a machine pistols
  • Examples: Glocks, revolvers, snubbies, and desert eagles
• Pistol Grip


  Extra handle attached to a rifle or shotgun behind the trigger like you'd find on a pistol
• Point Blank


  • Distance at which a firearm can be directly aimed at a target without worrying about trajectory
  • Believed to come from old bowmen terminology in England and France referring to practice conducted with white bull skull targets
• Private Party Transfer


  A second-hand purchase of a firearm involving you exchanging cash for a gun from a private party with no questions asked
• Recoil


  • Often referred to as a gun's "kick"
  • The backward force the gun exerts when it's fired
  • The heavier the bullet and the faster it leaves the barrel the more recoil there is
• Revolver


  A handgun or pistol with a multi-chambered cylinder that rotates with each pull of the trigger
• Rifle


  • A gun with long barrel that's fire from the shoulder and used for precision shooting
  • The barrel has helical pattern grooves cut into the bore walls, a process known as 'rifling'
  • Bolt action, semi-automatic and automatic
• Round


  A complete unit of ammunition (aka cartridge) that has a casing, primer, propellant, and a projectile
• Safety


  • A mechanism on modern firearms that prevents a gun's trigger from being pulled
  • Typically, the safety should always be left on until a user is ready to fire their weapon
• Saturday night special


  • A colloquial term used for any inexpensive handgun especially a very small pistol that can be concealed in your pocket
  • Suicide specials
• Sawed-off shotgun


  • A shotgun that has had its barrel shorted to less than 18" or a shotgun with an overall length less than 26"
  • Federally restricted
• Scope


  A magnifying tube attached to the top of a rifle, shotgun or pistol that allows a shooter to see and aim at distant target more easily