A semi-automatic rifle is a type of self-loading rifle that fires a single round each time the trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next cartridge. Such rifles were developed before World War II and were widely used throughout that war. Rifles are firearms designed to be fired while held with both hands and braced against the shooter's shoulder for stability. Externally similar shotguns can fire multiple pellets simultaneously through a smoothbore, while rifle barrels are rifled to spin-stabilize individual bullets. The actions of semi-automatic rifles use a portion of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the spent casing and load a new round into the chamber, readying the rifle to be fired again. This design differs from manually operated rifles such as bolt-action and lever-action rifles, which need to chamber a cartridge manually before firing again, and automatic rifles, which continue firing as long as the trigger remains depressed.
Self-loading rifle in the context of Repeating rifle
A repeating rifle is a single-barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reload. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine (within or attached to the rifle) and then fed individually into the chamber by a reciprocating bolt, via either a manual or automatic action mechanism, while the act of chambering the round typically also recocks the hammer/striker for the following shot. In common usage, the term "repeating rifle" most often refers specifically to manual repeating rifles (e.g. lever-action, pump-action, bolt-action, etc.), as opposed to self-loading rifles, which use the recoil, gas, or blowback of the previous shot to cycle the action and load the next round, even though all self-loading firearms are technically a subcategory of repeating firearms.
Repeating rifles were a significant advance over the preceding single-shot, breechloading rifles when used for military combat, as they allowed a much greater rate of fire. The repeating Henry rifle was used by the infantry and Spencer rifle was used by the cavalry during the American Civil War and the subsequent American Indian Wars, and the first repeating air rifle to see military service was the Windbüchse rifle.
View the full Wikipedia page for Repeating rifleSelf-loading rifle in the context of Automatic rifle
An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes (some automatic rifles are capable of burst-fire as well). Automatic rifles are distinguished from semi-automatic rifles in their ability to fire more than one shot in succession once the trigger is pulled. Most automatic rifles are further subcategorized as battle rifles or assault rifles.
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