By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
Firearm terms
Cartridge: A cartridge is the term for a single piece of ammunition and contains the shell (casing), which holds the propellant, usually gunpowder; a means of ignition; and the projectile(s), which is forced down the barrel of the weapon by the burning, usually with explosive force, of the propellant.
Ammunition sizes
Ammunition for firearms comes in a variety of sizes designed to fit a particular size of firearm. In most cases, pistols and revolvers do not share the same caliber as rifles.
Ammunition is sized in either decimal inches or millimeters. A .22 caliber cartridge contains a projectile that is .22-inch wide; a .50 caliber cartridge contains a projectile that is a half-inch wide; a 9mm cartridge contains a projectile that is 9 millimeters wide.
The bullet is propelled along the barrel of the gun by gases created by burning gunpowder.
Shotgun ammunition is sized by gauge, a number that represents how many pellets, each the size of the diameter of the barrel of the weapon, can be made from a pound of lead. A 12-gauge shotgun has a wider barrel than a 20-gauge shotgun.
The exception is a .410 shotgun, which is a decimal inch designation for a barrel .41 of an inch wide.
Shotgun cartridges contains a number of pellets that are pushed along the barrel of the gun by a piece of wadding, which is being pushed by the gases created by the burning gunpowder. The number of pellets ranges from a single shot, known as a slug and used for bigger game such as deer or bear, to a number of small pellets for shooting game birds or fowl.
When additional language is used, such as .357 magnum, or .38 special, the words magnum and special refer to the type or amount of gunpowder used in the cartridge, which also means the cartridge is a different size from a normal .38 or .357 cartridge.
Types of weapons
In New Jersey a firearm is defined as any weapon capable of shooting a steel or metal projectile, so even a BB gun or pellet rifle, which uses a spring for propulsion, is classified as a firearm.
Handguns are firearms designed to shoot when held in one or both hands.
Rifles and shotguns, also collectively known as "long guns," are designed to be used by both hands with the stock of the weapon against a shoulder. Modifications from that design, such as cutting down the stock or barrel, are usually illegal.
Some weapons are designed with foldable stocks. That feature was one of the tests to determine whether a rifle or shotgun could be considered an "assault weapon" under the federal law that expired in 2004.
Rates of fire
How a firearm is readied to fire another round determines whether it is an automatic, semi-automatic, revolver or pump, and varies by type of weapon.
Fully automatic rifles and shotguns are capable of multiple shots with one pull of the trigger and will continue to fire until the trigger is released or the magazine is empty.
Picture a gangster movie with guns a-blazing from the windows of a black sedan. Those weapons were legal to possess in the 1920s, but such scenes, and the unintended victims that such firepower produced, led the federal government to outlaw their possession in 1934.
Collectors can still get this type of guns, but only after a highly regulated federal permit process.
Semi-automatic rifles will fire with each pull of the trigger and will continue firing with each subsequent pull of the trigger until the magazine is empty. If a gun has been loaded with a 30-round magazine, it is capable of firing 30 shots before it needs to be reloaded with a new magazine.
Bolt-action rifles and shotguns require a separate action to eject the fired shell casing and load another cartridge into place to be fired. Those cartridges can be loaded into an interior magazine of the gun.
Lever action rifles and shotguns are similar to the bolt action, but are usually quicker to eject and load a new round. Picture the old cowboy movies where the guy on the top of the stage coach fires off several shots at the pursing bad guys, levering a new round into the gun without taking the weapon from his shoulder.
Depending on the caliber and size of the cartridges, the internal magazine of a lever-action rifle can hold up to 11 rounds.
Single-shot rifles and shotguns require each new cartridge be put into the breech by hand. In some cases, closing the bolt or breech sets the firing pin and in other cases, the firing pin must be manually set by another movement of the shooter.
Pump shotguns require the movement of a part of the stock in a pumping action to eject a spent shell and load a new round into the chamber.
An automatic shotgun fires the same as a semi-automatic rifle, one pull of the trigger for each shot to be fired. Most automatic shotguns, however, have internal magazines, capable of holding seven or fewer shells.
An automatic handgun also fires the same as a semi-automatic rifle -- one pull, one shot. The ammunition loads into a magazine or clip that slides into the grip. Depending on the manufacturer and caliber, the clip can hold up to 13 shots. The automatic handgun is the sidearm of choice for most police departments in the country, although the caliber of the weapon varies.
A revolver is a handgun in which the ammunition is held in a cylinder that rotates, or revolves, to move a new cartridge into firing position. The cylinder normally holds six shots.
Revolvers come in single- and double-action.
With a single-action pistol, the hammer must be manually pulled back and locked in position, which rotates the cylinder to the next cartridge. The gun fires when the trigger is pulled, releasing the hammer.
In a double-action pistol, the trigger is pulled back which causes the cylinder to rotate. The hammer is released as the trigger is pulled all the way back.
There are also a wide variety of single shot pistols in which the ammunition must be loaded by hand.
Scopes
Rifles, shotguns and even pistols can be equipped with a telescopic sight which aids in shooting accuracy. The view through the scope is magnified and contains marks that aid in alignment with the target.
