09-04-2013, 09:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2016, 06:43 PM by NugginFutz.)
Casket Magazine: A quad stack box magazine.
Centerfire: A cartridge in which the primer is located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component. The centerfire cartridge has replaced the rimfire in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. Except for low-powered .22 and .17 caliber cartridges, and a handful of antiques, all modern pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition are centerfire.
Chain Gun: Type of machine gun or autocannon that uses an external source of power to cycle the weapon.
Chamber: The portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired. Rifles and pistols generally have a single chamber in their barrels, while revolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinders and no chamber in their barrel.
Chambering: Inserting a round into the chamber, either manually or through the action of the weapon (e.g., pump-action, lever-action, bolt-action, or automatic-action.).
Charging Handle: Device on a firearm which, when operated, results in the hammer or striker being cocked or moved to the ready position.
Cheekweld: See Stockweld
Choke: A tapered constriction of a shotgun barrel's bore at the muzzle end. Chokes are almost always used with modern hunting and target shotguns, to improve performance
Clip: A device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine of a repeating firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. The term clip commonly refers to a firearm magazine, though this usage is incorrect. In the correct usage, a clip is used to feed a magazine or revolving cylinder, while a magazine or a belt is used to load cartridges into the chamber of a firearm.
Cold Barrel Zero: Applies ONLY to the exact impact of the very first round, not after warming. Police and counterterrorist forces zero their weapons for the CBZ.
Collateral Damage: Damage that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The term originated in the United States military, but it has since expanded into broader use.
Collimator Sight: A type of optical "blind" sight that allows the user looking into it to see an illuminated aiming point aligned with the device the sight is attached to regardless of eye position (parallax free). The user can not see through the sight so it is used with both eyes open while one looks into the sight, with one eye open and moving the head to alternately see the sight and then at the target, or using one eye to partially see the sight and target at the same time.
Combination Gun: A shoulder-held firearm that has two barrels; one rifle barrel and one shotgun barrel. Most combination guns are of an over/under design (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked vertically on top of each other, but some combination guns are of a side-by-side design (abbreviated as sxs), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Comeups: Expressed as full moas or 1/4 moas, you must "come up" in elevation to go from one range to another range, usually in 100-yard increments.
Concentricity: The attribute of a series of circles having the same center. As it applies to ammunition, the case wall, case neck, bullet shank and bullet tip are all considered when determining concentrically. This is related to run-out, in that concentrically is 1/2 the run-out value.
Condition 1: Pistol: Full magazine, cartridge in chamber, hammer cocked, safety on. AKA "cocked and locked."
Condition 2: Pistol: Full magazine, cartridge in chamber, hammer down, safety off.
Condition 3: Pistol: Full magazine, chamber empty.
Condition 4: Pistol: Full magazine separate from gun, chamber empty.
Cordite: A family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance. The hot gases produced by burning gunpowder or cordite generate sufficient pressure to propel a bullet or shell to its target, but not enough to destroy the barrel of the firearm, or gun.
Coriolis Effect: Causes drift related to the spin of the Earth, known as Coriolis drift. Coriolis drift can be up, down, left or right. Coriolis drift is not an aerodynamic effect; it is a consequence of flying from one point to another across the surface of a rotating planet (Earth).
CQB: Close quarters combat (CQC) or close quarters battle (CQB) is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat or fighting with hand weapons such as swords or knives.
Cut Rifling: Also known as Single Point Cut Rifling. This is one of the oldest methods of rifling and dates back to the time that rifling was first invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1520. Cut Rifling consists of removing steel from the inside of a barrel using a cutting tool with a hard point.
Direct Impingement: A type of gas operation for a firearm that directs gas from a fired cartridge directly to the bolt carrier or slide assembly to cycle the action.
Dominant Eye: The ability of one eye to focus more intensely than the other, causing the second eye to compensate by slightly misaligning itself.
Doping The Wind: A competitive shooter's term, meaning to estimate the wind accurately and adjust sights for correct compensation.
Double Rifle: A rifle that has two barrels, usually of the same caliber. The two types of double rifles are over/under (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked on top of each other, and side-by-side (abbreviated as SxS), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Double-Barreled Shotgun: A shotgun with two barrels, usually of the same gauge or bore. The two types of double-barreled shotguns are over/under (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked on top of each other, and side-by-side (abbreviated as sxs), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Drum Magazine: A type of firearms magazine that is cylindrical in shape, similar to a drum.
Dry Fire: The practice of "firing" a firearm without ammunition. That is, to pull the trigger and allow the hammer or striker to drop on an empty chamber.
Dummy: A round of ammunition that is completely inert, i.e., contains no primer, propellant, or explosive charge. It is used to check weapon function, and for crew training. Unlike a blank it contains no charge at all.
Dwell Time: The time gas can exert pressure on the system after the projectile passes the gas port and before it exits at the muzzle.
Ejector: A device within the action of a rifle or pistol which causes a cartridge casing to be ejected or thrown from the open chamber of the firearm.
Electronic Firing: The use of an electric current to fire a cartridge, instead of a percussion cap. In an electronic-fired firearm an electric current is used instead to ignite the propellant, which fires the cartridge as soon as the trigger is pulled.
Energy: The amount of potential energy a bullet can deliver at various distances is expressed in foot-pounds.
Exit Pupil: The cone of clear vision created at the rear of an optical device, such as a spotting scope. Measured by dividing the objective lens diameter in mm by the magnification.
External Ballistics: That portion of a bullet's travel after it exits a muzzle but before impacting a target.
Extractor: A part in a firearm that serves to remove brass cases of fired ammunition after the ammunition has been fired. When the gun's action cycles, the extractor lifts or removes the spent brass casing from the firing chamber.
Eye Relief: For optics such as binoculars or a rifle scope, eye relief is the distance from the eyepiece to the viewers eye which matches the eyepiece exit pupil to the eye's entrance pupil. Short eye relief requires the observer to press his or her eye close to the eyepiece in order to see an unvignetted image. For a shooter, eye relief is an important safety consideration. An optic with too short an eye relief can cause a skin cut at the contact point between the optic and the eyebrow of the shooter due to recoil.
Falling Block Action: (Also known as a sliding-block action) is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the rifle and actuated by a lever. When in the top position, it is locked and resists the force of recoil while sealing the chamber. In the lower position, it leaves the chamber open to be loaded by a cartridge from the rear.
Ferritic Nitrocarburizing: A case hardening processes that diffuse nitrogen and carbon into ferrous metals at sub-critical temperatures to improve scuffing resistance, fatigue properties and corrosion resistance of metal surfaces. Also called nitriding.
Field Of View: The angular measurement of how wide an area can be observed through an optical device. Spotting scopes have a very narrow Field of View, rifle scopes wider, binoculars even wider.
Fire Forming: The process of reshaping a metallic cartridge case to fit a new chamber by firing it within that chamber.
Fluted Barrel: A barrel on which thin grooves have been cut along its outside, long axis. Allows for a greater external surface for cooling while also creating better rigidity.
Follow-Through: A shooter's continuous concentration and nonreaction after firing a shot so he develops a mental and physical habit of no disruption at instant of shooting.
Centerfire: A cartridge in which the primer is located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component. The centerfire cartridge has replaced the rimfire in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. Except for low-powered .22 and .17 caliber cartridges, and a handful of antiques, all modern pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition are centerfire.
Chain Gun: Type of machine gun or autocannon that uses an external source of power to cycle the weapon.
Chamber: The portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired. Rifles and pistols generally have a single chamber in their barrels, while revolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinders and no chamber in their barrel.
Chambering: Inserting a round into the chamber, either manually or through the action of the weapon (e.g., pump-action, lever-action, bolt-action, or automatic-action.).
Charging Handle: Device on a firearm which, when operated, results in the hammer or striker being cocked or moved to the ready position.
Cheekweld: See Stockweld
Choke: A tapered constriction of a shotgun barrel's bore at the muzzle end. Chokes are almost always used with modern hunting and target shotguns, to improve performance
Clip: A device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine of a repeating firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. The term clip commonly refers to a firearm magazine, though this usage is incorrect. In the correct usage, a clip is used to feed a magazine or revolving cylinder, while a magazine or a belt is used to load cartridges into the chamber of a firearm.
Cold Barrel Zero: Applies ONLY to the exact impact of the very first round, not after warming. Police and counterterrorist forces zero their weapons for the CBZ.
Collateral Damage: Damage that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The term originated in the United States military, but it has since expanded into broader use.
Collimator Sight: A type of optical "blind" sight that allows the user looking into it to see an illuminated aiming point aligned with the device the sight is attached to regardless of eye position (parallax free). The user can not see through the sight so it is used with both eyes open while one looks into the sight, with one eye open and moving the head to alternately see the sight and then at the target, or using one eye to partially see the sight and target at the same time.
Combination Gun: A shoulder-held firearm that has two barrels; one rifle barrel and one shotgun barrel. Most combination guns are of an over/under design (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked vertically on top of each other, but some combination guns are of a side-by-side design (abbreviated as sxs), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Comeups: Expressed as full moas or 1/4 moas, you must "come up" in elevation to go from one range to another range, usually in 100-yard increments.
Concentricity: The attribute of a series of circles having the same center. As it applies to ammunition, the case wall, case neck, bullet shank and bullet tip are all considered when determining concentrically. This is related to run-out, in that concentrically is 1/2 the run-out value.
Condition 1: Pistol: Full magazine, cartridge in chamber, hammer cocked, safety on. AKA "cocked and locked."
Condition 2: Pistol: Full magazine, cartridge in chamber, hammer down, safety off.
Condition 3: Pistol: Full magazine, chamber empty.
Condition 4: Pistol: Full magazine separate from gun, chamber empty.
Cordite: A family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance. The hot gases produced by burning gunpowder or cordite generate sufficient pressure to propel a bullet or shell to its target, but not enough to destroy the barrel of the firearm, or gun.
Coriolis Effect: Causes drift related to the spin of the Earth, known as Coriolis drift. Coriolis drift can be up, down, left or right. Coriolis drift is not an aerodynamic effect; it is a consequence of flying from one point to another across the surface of a rotating planet (Earth).
CQB: Close quarters combat (CQC) or close quarters battle (CQB) is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat or fighting with hand weapons such as swords or knives.
Cut Rifling: Also known as Single Point Cut Rifling. This is one of the oldest methods of rifling and dates back to the time that rifling was first invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1520. Cut Rifling consists of removing steel from the inside of a barrel using a cutting tool with a hard point.
Direct Impingement: A type of gas operation for a firearm that directs gas from a fired cartridge directly to the bolt carrier or slide assembly to cycle the action.
Dominant Eye: The ability of one eye to focus more intensely than the other, causing the second eye to compensate by slightly misaligning itself.
Doping The Wind: A competitive shooter's term, meaning to estimate the wind accurately and adjust sights for correct compensation.
Double Rifle: A rifle that has two barrels, usually of the same caliber. The two types of double rifles are over/under (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked on top of each other, and side-by-side (abbreviated as SxS), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Double-Barreled Shotgun: A shotgun with two barrels, usually of the same gauge or bore. The two types of double-barreled shotguns are over/under (abbreviated as O/U), in which the two barrels are stacked on top of each other, and side-by-side (abbreviated as sxs), in which the two barrels sit beside each other.
Drum Magazine: A type of firearms magazine that is cylindrical in shape, similar to a drum.
Dry Fire: The practice of "firing" a firearm without ammunition. That is, to pull the trigger and allow the hammer or striker to drop on an empty chamber.
Dummy: A round of ammunition that is completely inert, i.e., contains no primer, propellant, or explosive charge. It is used to check weapon function, and for crew training. Unlike a blank it contains no charge at all.
Dwell Time: The time gas can exert pressure on the system after the projectile passes the gas port and before it exits at the muzzle.
Ejector: A device within the action of a rifle or pistol which causes a cartridge casing to be ejected or thrown from the open chamber of the firearm.
Electronic Firing: The use of an electric current to fire a cartridge, instead of a percussion cap. In an electronic-fired firearm an electric current is used instead to ignite the propellant, which fires the cartridge as soon as the trigger is pulled.
Energy: The amount of potential energy a bullet can deliver at various distances is expressed in foot-pounds.
Exit Pupil: The cone of clear vision created at the rear of an optical device, such as a spotting scope. Measured by dividing the objective lens diameter in mm by the magnification.
External Ballistics: That portion of a bullet's travel after it exits a muzzle but before impacting a target.
Extractor: A part in a firearm that serves to remove brass cases of fired ammunition after the ammunition has been fired. When the gun's action cycles, the extractor lifts or removes the spent brass casing from the firing chamber.
Eye Relief: For optics such as binoculars or a rifle scope, eye relief is the distance from the eyepiece to the viewers eye which matches the eyepiece exit pupil to the eye's entrance pupil. Short eye relief requires the observer to press his or her eye close to the eyepiece in order to see an unvignetted image. For a shooter, eye relief is an important safety consideration. An optic with too short an eye relief can cause a skin cut at the contact point between the optic and the eyebrow of the shooter due to recoil.
Falling Block Action: (Also known as a sliding-block action) is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the rifle and actuated by a lever. When in the top position, it is locked and resists the force of recoil while sealing the chamber. In the lower position, it leaves the chamber open to be loaded by a cartridge from the rear.
Ferritic Nitrocarburizing: A case hardening processes that diffuse nitrogen and carbon into ferrous metals at sub-critical temperatures to improve scuffing resistance, fatigue properties and corrosion resistance of metal surfaces. Also called nitriding.
Field Of View: The angular measurement of how wide an area can be observed through an optical device. Spotting scopes have a very narrow Field of View, rifle scopes wider, binoculars even wider.
Fire Forming: The process of reshaping a metallic cartridge case to fit a new chamber by firing it within that chamber.
Fluted Barrel: A barrel on which thin grooves have been cut along its outside, long axis. Allows for a greater external surface for cooling while also creating better rigidity.
Follow-Through: A shooter's continuous concentration and nonreaction after firing a shot so he develops a mental and physical habit of no disruption at instant of shooting.