FireArms Test

Action

Breech mechanism by which the gun is loaded, fired, unloaded; also contains either extractor or ejector that removes the empty shell casing once a gun has been fired.

ACP

.45, .380, .25; Automatic Colt Pistol. A designation given to several different cartridges designed for use in a semiautomatic pistol and some fully automatic machine pistols.

Ammo, Ammunition

Is the consumable component of firearms system. Required to fire a gun. Single unit of this is called a cartridge. It must match the firearm

Examples: .223 Remington, 9mm Luger, .308 Winchester

ANFO

Mixture of ammunition nitrate and fuel oil. Blasting agent by ATF. Cheap explosive but requires substantial heat and/or impact to detonate. Usually dynamite or some other explosive is used as a booster to make it detonate. Boomershoot explosive is a variation of this. Uses potassium chlorate to sensitize, making the entire mixture easy enough to detonate with a supersonic bullet.

Arsenal

Collection of firearms, ammo, and accessories by those who wish to demonize the owner of the collection. Term used by the media as they took pictures after the police piled a gun owner’s collection on the front lawn. Certain number of firearms, cartridges, bullets, primers determine whether or not it is considered this term. Numbers are typically so low you can become a walking one with only 15 dollars.

Autoloader

A firearm that automatically loads the next cartridge to be fired into the chamber either upon the pull of the trigger in an open bolt design or upon the firing of the previous round in a close bolt design. Over time, this term has been shortened to “auto” or “automatic”

Automatic

This firearm is capable of sequentially firing two or more cartridges with a single pull of the trigger. A full one is called a machine gun.

Ball/Full Metal Jacket

a type of bullet in which the lead core is encased in a copper jacket on the front and sides. The copper jacket may also include the base, but this is more rare. This type of bullet is relatively cheap and used for target practice or by the military. Sometimes called “Ball” ammo.

Ballistic Fingerprint

The mistaken belief that a firearm marks the bullets and shell casings fired in it with unique markings that do not change over time and are not trivial to change by someone with a piece of sandpaper and a tube of toothpaste; a means of registering all firearms for later confiscation

Barrel

A narrow hollow cylinder portion of a firearm through which the bullet travels during the acceleration phase of its journey to the target.

Bipod

A two legged support for the front end of a rifle to stabilize the gun while shooting.

Boat Tail

A type of projectile that has a tapered base (rear end) that reduces the drag from the air as it travels to its target.

Bolt

The mechanism of some firearms that holds the cartridge in place during the firing process

Bolt Action

a type of firearm, almost always a rifle, in which an empty shell casing is removed from the firing chamber by the turning and retraction of a metal cylinder shaped mechanism called a bolt. A new, unfired, cartridge is inserted and secured into the chamber by reversing the action of the bolt. Typically the most accurate are the most common type of firearm at the Boomershoot.

Boomer

Specific to the Boomershoot - a reactive target made of high explosives. Specific to the gun community - a very high power rifle that makes a louder than normal noise. Sometimes magnum rifles in general will be referred to as this term. A person born during the “Baby Boom” period following the conclusion of WWII.

Bore

The hollow portion of a barrel through which the bullet travels during its acceleration phase; someone not interested in talking about guns or explosives

Bullet

A generally cylindrical shaped projectile that travels through the air after being fired from a firearm. This is only one component of a cartridge; single piece of ammunition

Bull Barrel

A barrel which has the same outside diameter it’s entire length. This type of barrel has the advantage of being very stiff and hence a greater potential to be accurate. It has the disadvantage of being heavy. Many of the rifles shot at the Boomershoot will have this term.

Butt (Of a Stock)

the part of the rifle or shotgun is usually placed against the shoulder to fire. The contact point with the shoulder is the butt of the gun.

Brass

slang term for empty shell casing; personality trait you need to have to think you can take away 200 million firearms from 80 million citizens of the US who believe the right to carry and bear arms is their inalienable right guaranteed by the second amendment

Can

slang term for a firearm sound suppressor

Carbine

a short lightweight rifle with a barrel that usually measures less than 22”. German word for this term is “Karabiner”

Cartridge

the assembly of a bullet, shell casing, gunpowder, and primer that is put in the chamber of a firearm.

Caliber

the diameter of the bore of a firearm; typically in millimeters or a decimal fraction of an inch; .223 Remington, .220 Swift, 22-250 all use the same bullet but a different cartridge due to the same diameter in the bore

Percussion Cap/Cap

this small piece contains a detonating change of fulminate.

Case/Shell Casing

a hollow, bottle or drinking glass shaped, piece of metal that is closed on one end except for a small hole which holds a primer. The open end holds the bullet. The hollow portion holds the powder. Together the assembled unit is called a cartridge.

Chamber

The portion of a barrel where a cartridge is placed just prior to being fired. This is a high pressure containment area which is very precisely aligned with the bore of the barrel. A gun cannot be fired when the chamber is empty. At the Boomershoot guns must have this term visibly open when not on the firing lane or when people are down range.

Charge

this term requires a certain amount for every specific chamber and bullet combination; in the case of shot shells, for a specific weight of shot and wad column. In hand loading, this term is either weighted on accurate scales, or are thrown by measure which works on the volumetric system.

Clicks

a unit of adjustment for sight. Typically equal to one quarter of one MOA, but may range from one eighth to one half of one MOA.

Clip

a device that holds cartridges in place prior to be put into the magazine of a firearm. The media and many shooters mistake this term for a magazine, but they are different.

Centerfire Cartridge

a cartridge that has a primer located in the center of the base of the shell casing. This is as opposed to a rim fire cartridge.

Fully Cock/Cocked

a state of readiness of a firearm. The hammer only needs to be released by the trigger to cause the gun to fire

Half Cock/Cocked

a notch in the sear and hammer that forestalls accidental hammer fall, which would fire the gun. When the gun is in this position, the hammer is disengaged from the trigger mechanism, hence the gun is safe while the hammer is in this position. In some revolvers, placing the hammer in this position allows rotating the cylinder for loading or unloading.

Cold Clean Bore

the first shot from a rifle that has been cleaned, and not fired recently may go to a different point of impact, for the same point of aim than a rifle that has been fired recently. This first shot is referred to as this term.

COM

Center of Mass. For combat or self-defensive shooters, this term represents the area of an assailant’s torso within which the most vital organs are likely to be disrupted by a gunshot. Shooting to this term is considered the most expedient way to stop an assailant from continuing threatening behavior.

Comb

The top part of the stock, ahead of the butt, where the shooter rests his cheek is called this

Compound

This term is used by law enforcement and the media to demonize a firearms owner when referring to his home. House is in rural area or an outbuilding. Famous ones: Branch Davidians, Randy Weaver, Montana Freeman

Confiscation

disarming future victims; victims come in two types: victims of a tyrannical gov like Jews in Nazi Germany; Control Act of 1938 forbid jews to possess firearms, was the basis for the United States Gun Control Act of 1968; the other type is the common person that has their self defense removed and crime rates skyrocketed because firearms were banned.

Cylinder

a rotating cartridge container in a revolver. The cartridges are held in the chambers and the cylinder turns, either to the left or to the right depending on the gun maker’s design, as the hammer is cocked.

Double

a two barrel gun where the barrels are aligned side by side. Although over/under shotguns are also this term, usage limits the term to side-to-side guns. Usually smooth bored, but double rifles, for dangerous game, are sometimes encountered in the U.S; are fairly common in England, Europe, Africa, as well as in India.

Down Range

The area of gun range where firearms are pointed when they are fired. The area of the range forward of the firing line.

Dot Sight

An optical device used for aiming a firearm, usually consisting of an illuminated dot or other simple reticle. Typically have low magnification 1.5x, also called red dot

Ears

slang for ear protection; a set of specifically designed ear muffs or plugs that reduce sound intensity. Some guns are so loud they can cause permanent damage. Sound suppressors arent common because of high tax. In European countries its seen as impolite to not have a sound suppressor.

Ejector

A spring-activated mechanism for the ejection of ammunition or an empty shell casing. On doubles, each barrel has a separate ejector.

Elevation

Setting on the sights of a firearm that controls the vertical placement. The altitude above mean sea level. This is important for long range precision shooting because the air density changes with the elevation and affects the path of the bullet.

Extractor

A device that withdraws or elevates a fired shell casing or a live round from the chamber as the breech mechanism is opened; similar to ejector

Eyes

slang for safety glasses; flying brass is the biggest danger; flying high speed dirt; shooters and spotters are required to wear glasses while shooting

Factory Ammo

this term has been assembled by a commercial vendor of ammunition and sold in retail stores. this is opposed to hand loads which have been assembled by individuals and are not typically sold

Firearm

A gun which uses the combustion of some chemical mix, typically smokeless gunpowder, to propel a projectile. Typically divided into long guns and handguns

Firing Line

A line, either imaginary or marked, from which people shoot their firearms down range

Firing Pin

A needle like metal part of a modern firearm that gives a vigorous strike to the primer initiating the firing of the cartridge

Flash Suppressor

A device affixed to the muzzle of a firearm barrel, designed to minimize the bright flash caused by escaping hot gases and burning powder residue upon firing; flash hider

Forend

that part of the stock forward of the action and located below the barrel or barrels

Fouling Shot

a shot fired in a clean rifle barrel to put the barrel into the normal slightly dirty state from which it is fired. Often, a rifle will shoot to a different point of aim with this shot as compared to the subsequent shots

Grains

a unit of weight used for bullets and gunpowder; 7000 grains in one pound. Typical .30 caliber bullets range from 125 to 220 grains. .22 = 50 to 70 grains; gunpowder in one cartridge is 20 to 80 grains depending on cartridge, powder, bullet weight, and muzzle velocity.

Grooves

the portion of the bore in a rifled barrel that has been machined away. The diameter from the depth of one groove to its mate across the bore axis forms the widest diameter of the bore

Group

number of shots fired at a given range at one target one sight setting, with either rifle or handgun, to determine the accuracy of either the gun or the ammunition.

Gun Control

being able to hit your target; a political tool to disarm victims

Gunpowder/Powder

a chemical mixture or compound that burns rapidly with or without the presence of air to produce hot pressurized gases capable of propelling a bullet. There are two basic types of gunpowder, black and smokeless. Black powder- charcoal, sulfur, potassium nitrate, produces white smoke. Smokeless powder- modern firearms use this, the bullet comes out faster

Hammer

similar in function to the carpenter and mechanics tool; this part of the firearm propelled by a spring to strike either directly or via a firing pin the primer of a cartridge causing the gun to fire.

Handgun

designed to be fired from outstretched arms and include pistols and revolvers; it is rare that this term will be used at the Boomershoot

Handloads

cartridges assembled by an individual person from the individual components and are typically tailored specifically for their firearm. Usually cheaper than purchasing factory ammo. Half the shooters at Boomershoot will be shooting this term

Heel (Of a Stock)

the top of the butt, when the gun is in position on the shoulder to be fired

High Power

rifle that uses a centerfire cartridge. The alternative is a rim fire cartridge such as a .22 long rifle

Hollow Point

type of bullet that has this term at the front end. In a pistol it would be used for self-defense because the bullet expands upon contact with the target producing a greater wound cavity. It is also less likely to over penetrate, pass through the attacker, and hit an innocent person. In rifles, this term is typically used for high precision shooting because during the manufacturing process the base can be made much more symmetric which is critical for an accurate bullet. minor irregularities of this term are much less critical than similar irregularities in the base.

Iron Sights

Sights made of metal with no optics

Junk Gun

inexpensive handguns; accessible for self self defense for low income people in poor, unsafe neighborhoods; elitist

Kick

slang term for recoil

Lands

The portion of the bore in a rifled barrel that protrudes into the bore itself. The top surface of the lands is approximately the same diameter as the bore was prior to rifling

Long gun

designed to be fired while in contact with the shoulder of the shooter and include rifles and shotguns; no shotguns are used at the Boomershoot.

Lever Action

a type of gun that uses a lever operated mechanism to remove an empty shell casing and insert a new cartridge in the chamber of a rifle. Only one of these terms has been used at the Boomershoot

Magazine

ammunition feeding device that holds the cartridges just prior to them being put in the chamber of the firearm by the operation of a mechanism on the firearm. This may be operated manually as in bolt action or semi-automatically when the gun fires after pulling the trigger. Can be detachable or part of a gun; different from the clip

Magnum

A cartridge that has more powder and shoots the same weight bullet faster than some previous similar cartridge. Familiar ones of this term are .357, .44, .300 Winchester

Match Grade

a higher quality item used to increase accuracy; generally used for competition in a match; this term’s ammo and bullets are the most common improvements made to a firearm to improve accuracy for competition

Mil-Dot

A type of “viewfinder” in a telescopic sight that has dots spaced one mill radian; there are 2000 times Pi or 6283.2 milliradians in a complete circle. This spacing of dots lends itself to relatively easy measuring of range to the target under many circumstances.

Minute of Angle

aka MOA; unit of angle that is equal to 1/60 of one degree. Used to adjust sight angles to aim a firearm. At 100 yards one MOA is equal to very nearly 1 inch. Typical telescopic sights used for competition have adjustments in one quarter MOA increments. In most situations a rifle must be able to shoot one minute of angle or less sized groups to be considered highly accurate.

“Minute of pop can” “Minute of deer” “Minute of Barn” describes the level of accuracy needed to shoot that object accurately.

MSGC

Microsoft Gun Club. Event director worked for Microsoft and was a member of the Microsoft Gun Club at the time of his first successful Boomer experiment.

Muzzle

the end of the barrel where the bullet exists as it is being fired.

Muzzle Brake

an attachment to the end of a barrel that redirects some of the pressurized, gas that propelled the bullet out the muzzle to the sides and possibly rearwards from the directions of the bullet travel. Reduces the recoil of the firearm.

Muzzle Velocity

the speed of the bullet as it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Typically this is measured in feet per second. For handguns typical velocities range from about 800 feet per second to about 1400 fps. For Centerfire rifles the range is from about 2200 fps to 4000 fps.

Nipple

On percussions guns this term is a small, threaded tube on which the percussion cap is placed. This term connects with the chamber so that when the cap is exploded by the hammer the flash of the cap travels through this term into the chamber igniting the powder charge there.

Overbore Capacity

the combination of caliber, barrel length, bullet weight, and case volume which does not allow the complete burning of the charge of ballistically correct powder within the volume of the case and barrel.

Parallax

this occurs in telescopic sights when the primary image of the objective lens does not coincide with the reticle; this is detected when the viewing eye is moved laterally, the image and the reticle appear to move in relation to each other; telescopic sights have adjustments to minimize this effect; dot sights typically do not suffer from this term

Percussion Arm

any type of gun fired by the percussion system; in this ignition system the powder charge was ignited by a percussion cap, the fore-runner of the modern primer. The cap was placed on the nipple when the hammer hit the cap, the flash of the detonating charge in the cap traveled through the hollow nipple, thus igniting the charge in the barrel. Black powder shooters of today often use the replica of this term in competitive shooting events.

Projectile

an object given an initial velocity which proceeds on its one inertia through the. air perhaps solid objects in its path. A bullet fired from a gun is a projectile.

Pistol

a handgun whose chamber is integral with the barrel; opposed to a revolver

Pistol Grip

a section of a rifle stock shaped like the grip of a pistol; a variation of stock type that is so offensive to some legislators they have seen fit to place restrictions on it

Powder Charge

the amount of propellant powder that is suitable for specific cartridge bullet combination, or in the case of shot shells, for a specific weight of shot and wad column. In hand loading, this term is either weighted on accurate scales, or are thrown by a powder measure which works on a volumetric system

Primer

a small metal cup that contains a tiny explosive charge that is sensitive to impact; is placed in the base of a shell casing to ignite the powder of the completed cartridge. It is detonated by the striking of a firing pin in the firearm

Pump/Pump Action

a type of mechanism for removing a spent shell casing from the chamber of a firearm and inserting a fresh cartridge into the chamber; most commonly used in shotguns and rim fire rifles. There have not been any of this term firearms used at the Boomershoot

Range Finder

a device used to determine the range to a target; work by bouncing a laser beam off the target or nearby object and measuring the time for the reflection to arrive back at the instrument; possible to use various passive optical devices such as a mil-dot telescopic sight.

Registration

a method by which a gunsmith makes all the slots of the screws in a firearm line up; involves machining a new slot in the screw; a subterfuge sold to the public as a means of catching criminals.

Receiver

the portion of a rifle that has the serial number on it; the stock, barrel, and other components such as the bolt are typically attached to this term. Some firearms may have a multipart of this term such as an upper and a lower.

Recoil

The sudden rearward push made against the shooter when a firearm is fired; Newton’s third law of physics; heavier the bullet and the faster it leaves the muzzle, the heavier the kickback.

Regulate/Barrel Convergence

double barreled guns need to be adjusted so both barrels shoot to the same point of aim at some particular distance; 50-100 yards; dependent on the ammunition used as the weight and velocity of the bullet as it traverses the barrel changes the position of the gun.

Regulate/Well-Regulated Militia

New Century Dictionary; copyright 1936: Adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation; in general to put in a good order

Reticle

the sighting device in a telescopic sight or scope; may consist of various arrangements of crosshairs, post or dot, is adjusted so that it appears to be on the same plane as the target. If the adjustment is off, then parallax can occur

Revolver

a type of handgun which has multiple chambers which each revolve into position to fire a cartridge. Six chambers in this term are common but 5, 7, and 9 are not unusual.

Rifle

a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and fire only a single projectile at a time, as opposed to a shotgun which can throw many small projectiles at the same time

Rifling

an arrangement of helical grooves machined into a barrel to impart a spin onto a projectile passing through the bore. The spin stabilizes the projectile, providing better range and accuracy; may be cut into a barrel through the use of various cutting tools or broaches, may be pressed into the barrel using a button tool to displace metal, or may be formed by hammer forcing the barrel around a mandrel that contains a reverse image of the final pattern