Our huge new Self Defense site
1,000s of self defense pages on stun guns, laser and tasers, a complete Martial Arts Directory for ju jitsu, Karate and Tae Kwon Do as well as self defense equipment to protect yourself and your family. |
 |
Hunting
We have more than 4,272 pages and 34,00 links to Shotguns, Rifles, Bowhunting, Hunting Guides, Hunting Accessories and Services, Competition Shooting, Gun History, Bowhunting, Bird and Animal Info and Pictures world wide. Our volunteers add more every day. We are the largest hunting/animal site on the web. |
Definition of Automatic Rifles
Bookmark this valuable site
Thank you for visiting.
We started in 1996 as an all-volunteer public service to hunting. No one has ever taken a penny in salary. All our information and pictures are free and downloadable. Copy and use whatever you want. We would appreciate attribution. Please scroll down to learn more.
"Automatic rifle" is a term generally used to describe a self-loading rifle capable of firing either semi- or fully automatically from a magazine or belt of ammunition.
In many cases, it describes a rifle capable of self-loading and firing a single round for each pull of the trigger (i.e. firing semi-automatically). However, it is also used to describe non-intermediate firearms capable of fully automatic fire (a type of automatic firearm). Depending on the expert and point in history, automatic carbines and assault rifles are sometimes considered to be a type of automatic rifle, and at other times separated on their own categories.
As an example of the confusion, or at least differences that arise in term usage, there are books which feature a section for automatic rifles listing several semi-automatic self-loading rifles, but not a single fully automatic weapon. On the other hand, soldiers of the United States Army carrying the M249 SAW are designated automatic riflemen, and the weapon itself an automatic rifle - even though it is a fully automatic firearm, normally classified as a squad automatic weapon (SAW) or light machine gun.
One possible way to distinguish between an "assault rifle" and an "automatic rifle" is by looking at the safety. If the first fire mode of the weapon is fully automatic, then it is an assault rifle. If the first fire mode is semi-automatic, then it can be considered an automatic rifle. This is however only a rough guide, since many weapons have a burst fire mode today.
|
