Semi-automatic firearm
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A semi-automatic firearm is one that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired, unlike a single-action revolver, a pump-action firearm, a bolt-action firearm, or a lever-action firearm, which require the shooter to manually chamber each successive round. For instance, if someone were to shoot ten rounds in a semi-automatic firearm, he would need to pull the trigger ten times (once for each round fired), as opposed to a fully-automatic firearm, which will continue to fire as long as the trigger is held or until it runs out of ammunition.
Firearms firing bursts of more than one round (usually three) per pull of the trigger, such as the M16A2 rifle, are generally considered fully-automatic. Pistols, rifles, and shotguns can all be semi-automatic. A semi-automatic option is a common choice on selective fire firearms.
Semi-automatic weapons are sometimes divided into two categories: those that fire from an open bolt and those that fire from a closed bolt. When the trigger is pulled, the open bolt flies forward, picking up a cartridge from the magazine and ramming it into the chamber and the gun fires. The closed bolt system moves the bolt forward and picks up the cartridge as the last phases of the previous cycle, and when the trigger is pulled again only the firing pin moves. The closed bolt system is generally more accurate, since the center of gravity changes relatively little. The open bolt system is almost exclusively used in submachine guns and support weapons, as it also lets the barrel cool more quickly.
There is some casual dispute over the correct use of the words automatic and semi-automatic. Gun enthusiasts sometimes argue that the word automatic is incorrectly linked to fully-automatic fire and that an automatic weapon is simply any weapon that chambers a new round during the extraction of the previous cartridge's casing. The term is often used to mean a self-loading semi-automatic firearm rather than a fully-automatic one. One narrow definition would be that a semi-automatic firearm would thus be a weapon using the open bolt system, and the semi-automatic function is simply the removal of the case, whereas an automatic weapon would both remove the empty case and chamber a fresh cartridge. In practice, an automatic pistol usually means a self-loading semi-automatic pistol but an automatic rifle usually means one capable of fully-automatic fire. Both uses can be found, and the exact meaning must be determined from context. Among U.S. law enforcement practitioners, amongst whom the use of double-action revolvers has almost entirely disappeared, the term "automatic pistol" has been supplanted by the jargon term "auto-loader".
Early History (1885-1945)
The first successful design for a semi-automatic rifle is attributed to German-born gunsmith Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher, who unveiled the design in 1885. Although Mannlicher earned his reputation with his bolt action rifle designs, he also produced a few semi-automatic pistols, including the Steyr Mannlicher M1894, which employed an unusual blow-forward action and held five rounds of 6.5mm ammunition that were fed into the M1894 by a stripper clip.
A few years later, American gunsmith John Moses Browning developed the first successful semi-automatic shotgun, the Browning Auto-5, which was first manufactured in 1902 by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal and sold in America under the Browning name. The Auto-5 relied on long recoil operation; this design remained the dominant form in semi-automatic shotguns for approximately 50 years. Production of the Auto-5 was finally ceased in 1999.
In 1906, Remington Arms introduced the "Remington Autoloading Repeating Rifle," also designed by Browning. This rifle, renamed the "Model 8" in 1911, was the first semi-automatic rifle designed especially for the civilian market, and was advertised as a sporting rifle by Remington. The rifle was offered in .25, .30, .32, and .35 caliber models, and gained popularity among civilians as well as some law enforcement officials who appreciated the combination of semi-automatic action and relatively powerful rifle cartridges. The Model 8 was superceded in 1936 by the Model 81.
The first semi-automatic rifle generally issued as a standard infantry weapon was the gas-operated M1 Garand, developed by Canadian-born John Garand for Springfield Armory, which was owned by the US government. After years of research and testing, the first production model of the M1 Garand was unveiled in 1937. During World War II, the M1 Garand gave American infantrymen an overall advantage over their German opponents, many of whom still used bolt action rifles produced by Mauser.
Recent Legal Debates (1988-Present)
As early as September 1988, Josh Sugarmann, gun-control activist and executive director of the Violence Policy Center, coined the term assault weapon to denote various semi-automatic firearms with features commonly associated with firearms used by military and/or law enforcement personnel. Sugarmann adopted the "assault weapon" label from the Sturmgewehr 44, a German military rifle used during World War II; Sturmgewehr translates into English as either "Storm Rifle" or "Assault Rifle." Note that this term is not synonymous with assault rifle, which has an established technical definition and refers only to military rifles with full-automatic capability. Sugarmann pushed for new legislation to restrict or outlaw civilian ownership of such firearms, stating that "The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully-automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons -- anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun -- can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons."
Today, there is still no exact or universal definition for the term "assault weapon," although the term has gained significant popularity among gun-control advocates. However, a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, or pistol is often labelled an assault weapon if it features a combination of any or all the following characteristics:
- A detachable magazine holding more than 10 rounds, often called a "high-capacity" magazine
- An overall non-sporting or military cosmetic appearance
- A folding or telescoping stock
- A grenade launcher, either M203 or rifle grenade types
- A pistol-type grip (on rifles and shotguns) and/or forward grip
- A bayonet mount
- A threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor or sound suppressor
- A barrel shroud or other covering that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned
- A magazine that attaches outside of the pistol grip (on pistols)
See also
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