Automatic rifle facts for kids

An automatic rifle is a type of rifle that can shoot many bullets one after another, as long as you hold down the trigger. When a bullet is fired, the empty shell is automatically thrown out, and a new bullet is loaded into the gun, ready to shoot again.

Some automatic rifles can also shoot in a "semi-automatic" way. This means they fire only one bullet each time you pull the trigger. Automatic rifles usually use bullets from a magazine (a box that holds the bullets). They are different from other automatic guns like machine guns or submachine guns because they often use more powerful rifle bullets and are designed for one soldier to carry and use.

What is an Automatic Rifle Used For?

Automatic rifles are often used by soldiers to provide a lot of firepower quickly. For example, in the United States Army, soldiers who carry a weapon like the M249 SAW are sometimes called automatic riflemen. Even though the M249 SAW is a very powerful automatic gun, it's often called a squad automatic weapon (SAW) or a light machine gun. These guns help a small group of soldiers (a squad) have enough shooting power during a fight.

Automatic Rifle vs. Assault Rifle

An assault rifle is quite similar to an automatic rifle. However, assault rifles usually use bullets that are not as powerful as those used by bigger machine guns or battle rifles. These bullets are called "intermediate" bullets. Because the bullets are less powerful, the gun doesn't kick back as hard (this is called recoil). This makes it easier for a soldier to control the gun without needing a special stand like a bipod.

For example, the famous AK-47 assault rifle uses a 7.62x39mm bullet. This bullet has the same width as some older, more powerful bullets (like the 7.62x54mmR), but it's shorter and has less power. This design helps soldiers shoot accurately even when firing many bullets quickly.

History of Automatic Rifles

The Mexican Mondragón rifle, the first automatic rifle in the world.

The very first automatic rifle was the Mexican Mondragón rifle. It was designed by a general named Manuel Mondragón. He started working on it way back in 1882 and got a special paper (a patent) for it in 1887.

Automatic rifles became more common in the 20th century, especially during World War I. Guns like the Browning Automatic Rifle (often called the B.A.R.) and the Huot automatic rifle were first used then. They were meant to be like light machine guns to help soldiers when they were attacking. However, only the Mondragón rifle and the B.A.R. were actually used a lot in World War I.

Examples of Automatic Rifles

• Browning Automatic Rifle (B.A.R.)

See Also

• Semi-automatic rifle
• Assault rifle
• Sniper rifle
• Light machine gun
• Squad automatic weapon

Images for kids

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  2nd Lt. Val Browning with the Browning Automatic Rifle in France during World War I

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  1885 Mannlicher Self-Loading Rifle

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  The Italian Cei-Rigotti, one of the world's first automatic rifles.

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  Chauchat Automatic Rifle

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  Fedorov Model 1916 Automatic Rifle

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  The Soviet AVS-36 battle rifle,

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  Both early (top) and late-war (bottom) variants of the FG 42.

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  The German StG 44, the first assault rifle manufactured in significant numbers

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  An AK-47 with a machined receiver

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  The M1 Rifle and M1 Carbine

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  U.S. M14 rifle, advanced by the proponents of the battle rifle concept

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  British L1A1 (FN FAL)

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  The T48, an American copy of the FN FAL

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  Norwegian AG-3 (HK G3)

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  AR-10 rifle

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  ArmaLite AR-15

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  American 5.56×45mm M16A1

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  Heckler & Koch HK33A2 with Trijicon Compact ACOG

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  The 7.62×51mm NATO and 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges compared to an AA battery.

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  The Steyr AUG was one of the first bullpup rifles to enter widespread use.