Long Gun is a weapon incorporating a metal
tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive
force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise.
cartridge(s)
to be loaded directly into the back end of the barrel. Such guns have been
built with several bores. The design is named after the inventor or an
early maker of such guns, although with a spelling error.
A rifle is a gun that is designed to be
held in two hands and usually has a barrel over 18 inches long and a
"stock" that rests up against the shooter's shoulder when the gun is
fired. This stock helps to steady the firearm so that it can be aimed
more accurately than a handheld firearm. The firearm name comes from the
treatment called "rifling" on the inside of the barrel. This is
a set of grooves that spiral down the length of the barrel. These grooves
cause the projectile to spin along its flight from the gun to the target.
This spin causes the projectile to fly straighter.
A
shotgun is a long gun that looks somewhat like a traditional rifle on the
outside. But a shotgun is usually used to shoot a packet of
"shot," like little beads. Because of what it shoots, the
inside of a shotgun barrel is not usually "rifled." If the gun
is used only to shoot big chunks of lead, called "slugs," the barrel
may be rifled. Most shotguns, however, are designed primarily to shoot
the "shot" and, if the gun is used to shoot slugs, the slugs
themselves usually have the grooves to cause the slugs to spin as they come out
of the barrel.
A
semi automatic firearm is one that shoots one cartridge each time the trigger is
pulled, but uses energy from the firing of each cartridge to eject the empty
case and insert the next cartridge into the firing chamber of the gun.
A
machine gun is a fully automatic "rifled" gun.
A fully automatic gun is one that shoots cartridges--usually rapidly--as long
as the trigger is held. For handheld guns, the term "machine
gun" is usually used for rifles only, although there are "machine
pistols." Some (usually larger caliber) machine guns are mounted on
or in tanks, aircraft, etc. Some used by the military are mounted on
tripods for field use. A machine gun rifle that shoots cartridges of
calibers that are normally used in handguns is called a sub-machinegun.
The old Thompson sub-machinegun ("Tommy gun") seen in war and
prohibition era gangster movies is the most common example of this.
