| Semi-automatic Firearm |
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Information AboutSemi-automatic Firearm |
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Firearms firing Bursts of more than one round (usually three) per pull of the trigger, such as the M16A2 rifle, are generally considered fully-automatic. Pistol s, Rifle s, and Shotgun s can all be semi-automatic. A semi-automatic option is a common choice on Selective Fire firearms. Semi-automatic weapons are sometimes divided into two categories: those that fire from an Open Bolt and those that fire from a Closed Bolt . When the trigger is pulled, the open bolt flies forward, picking up a Cartridge from the Magazine and ramming it into the chamber and the gun fires. The closed bolt system moves the bolt forward and picks up the cartridge as the last phases of the previous cycle, and when the trigger is pulled again only the Firing Pin moves. The closed bolt system is generally more accurate, since the Center Of Gravity changes relatively little. The open bolt system is almost exclusively used in Submachine Gun s and support weapons, as it also lets the Barrel cool more quickly. There is some casual dispute over the correct use of the words ''automatic'' and ''semi-automatic''. Gun enthusiasts sometimes argue that the word ''automatic'' is incorrectly linked to Fully-automatic Fire and that an automatic weapon is simply any weapon that chambers a new round during the extraction of the previous cartridge's casing. The term is often used to mean a self-loading semi-automatic firearm rather than a fully-automatic one. One narrow definition would be that a semi-automatic firearm would thus be a weapon using the open bolt system, and the semi-automatic function is simply the removal of the case, whereas an automatic weapon would both remove the empty case and chamber a fresh cartridge. In practice, an automatic pistol usually means a self-loading semi-automatic pistol but an automatic rifle usually means one capable of fully-automatic fire. Both uses can be found, and the exact meaning must be determined from context. Among U.S. law enforcement practitioners, in which the use of Double-action revolvers has almost entirely disappeared, the term "automatic pistol" has been supplanted by the jargon term "auto-loader". Some semi-automatic firearms with features commonly found on fully-automatic firearms are incorrectly referred to as Assault Weapons in America. SEE ALSO |
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