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Rifle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Modern Hunting Rifle
Modern hunting rifle

The rifle is a gun with a stock to brace against the shoulder and a barrel with twisting grooves. The grooves are called rifling and make bullets spin as they fly through the air. Rifles are made to shoot many different sizes of bullets using different amounts of gunpowder. Rifles are usually made to be able to hit targets at long ranges. Modern rifles are made for many different purposes. Some are made for hunting animals. Some are made for soldiers to use in war. Others are made for police to have in case they need them. Some rifles are made for target shooting.

Types

Jarmann crossection
diagram of a bolt action (about to load a bullet)

Rifles can work in different ways. Some rifles have what is called a bolt action. A small handle is used to move a part of the rifle called a "bolt". By moving the bolt backward, then forward, allows the shooter put a bullet in the chamber ready for firing. It also ejects any spent shells still in the chamber from any previously fired rounds. The rifle in the picture above is a bolt action. Some rifles are semi-automatics, where a bullet is loaded (automatically) and fired each time the trigger is pulled. Some are fully automatic, which work like semi-automatics but allow the shooter to fire more than one bullet at a time by holding down the trigger. The automatic rifle stops firing when the trigger is released or it runs out of ammunition.

Related pages

Images for kids

  • Henry Rifle

    A Henry rifle, the first successful lever action repeating rifle

  • Marlin 35 rem 2

    Rifling in a .35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel

  • Girdled bullet and twin rifle groove

    Girdled bullet and twin rifle groove of the Brunswick rifle, mid-19th century

  • Delvigne system

    The method developed by Delvigne for his rifles, with the lead bullet being supported by a wooden sabot at its base.

  • Japanese Minie rifle(Mirror)

    British-made Minié rifle used in Japan during the Boshin war (1868–1869).

  • Chassepot-p1000739

    Loading mechanism of the Chassepot

  • Colt Roots British Carbine

    Colt Model 1855 Carbine

  • Vz24

    Czechoslovak rifle vz. 24

  • Hunting rifle 02

    Remington Model 700 in .30-06 Springfield with mounted telescopic sight and suppressor

  • Benchrest mauser rifle

    Benchrest shooting with a Mauser rifle

See also

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Rifle Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.