Just in time for the end of hunting season; go me!!
We're approaching graduate-level studies in Gun-blog-ology here! Ironic, since sometimes i call them "riffles" just to sound under-educated. :)
We're approaching graduate-level studies in Gun-blog-ology here! Ironic, since sometimes i call them "riffles" just to sound under-educated. :)
Rifles are what most people think of when they think of "long guns." But just because it's a long gun doesn't mean it's a rifle. Shotguns are long too. The primary difference between them is that rifles fire a single projectile (a bullet) where shotguns almost always fire a shotshell, which is a bunch of little bullets all at once. I will get more into that when I post about shotguns, and it will be a long one since i *heart* shotguns the most of all of the guns.
Rifles come in LOTS of different actions. Generally speaking, rifles only have one firing pin, and one chamber that can actually fire a bullet, so there has to be some way of clearing the spent shell casing once a round has been fired. There are rifles with hammers like revolvers, that you have to cock to fire. Usually those rifles also involve some kind of lever-action (a la John Wayne) and you have to lever the old casing out and lever a new bullet in before you can fire again. There are semi-automatic rifles that fling the spent case out and chamber a new one just like semi-auto handguns. There are pump-action rifles that you *rack* just like in the movies, although usually in the movies it's a shotgun. There are break-action rifles that open up like a shotgun--these are usually single-shot and you have to put a new bullet in by hand every time you want to fire. Most hunting rifles are bolt-action, which means there is a goober that sticks out the side of the rifle and you have to physically lift the bolt handle (which is the goober's real name), pull it back towards you (which ejects the old shell case), push it back towards the end of the barrel (which chambers a new round) and fire again. It's not the fastest thing in the world, but it IS the most accurate, which is why it is usually the preferred action for hunting.
Rifles don't HAVE to have a scope, but the hunting-specific ones usually do since they are meant to shoot accurately to 100 yards and beyond. That's farther than i can see very well, and i have decent eyesight (so far). Scopes help you see that far, and they usually have cross-hairs or some other sort of markings in the lens that helps you figure out what you're aiming at and where to aim in order to reach out and touch something over that distance. You want to be as accurate as possible when firing a rifle. Since you are generally firing over longer distances, pesky things like "gravity" and "your heartbeat" come into play, and they all affect the accuracy of your shot. The ballistics of shooting at, um, anything pretty much dictate that once a projectile leaves your firearm, it will start dropping. Stupid gravity. How FAST your bullet falls, though, is dependent on the variables of your cartridge. Lighter projectiles with a larger powder charge are going to go farther than heavier projectiles with less powder pushing them. Here is an example:
The cartridge on the left is a .243 WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum). Winchester is the manufacturer of the cartridge, and no, you don't have to match the make of the cartridge to the make of your rifle. You just have to make sure you are shooting the right caliber. ;) Your Ruger firearm will shoot Winchester bullets, just like your Winchester rifle will shoot Remington bullets. What is TRULY annoying is that all guns have a bullet that they like the best, and shoot the best, and you have to try and FIND it. Annoying. It is like having a finicky cat. >:(
Anyways, the cartridge on the right is a standard .243. Oh, and a short explanation of caliber: a .243 bullet (not the whole cartridge, just the actual bullet, the pointy copper part) measures 24/100 of an inch in diameter. A .30-06 measures 30/100 of an inch in diameter. A .410 shotgun shell measures 41/100 of an inch across. Caliber is just a numeric measurement of diameter.
ANYWAYS, these cartridges (and "cartridge" refers to the whole shebang, with the powder and case and everything, where "bullet" literally just means the actual bullet) are the same bullet. But which one do you think goes faster, for longer? Right, the one with the bigger butt. :)
"Magnum" calibers (the bigger butt ones) have more powder. Also they are my favorites simply cuz us fat bottomed girls all have to stick together. :)
Here is a cool and illustrative pic i found online:
From left to right: .22LR (long rifle), .17HMR, .22-250, .25-06, .270 Winchester, .270 Winchester Short Magnum (or WSM), 7mm-08, .284Win., 30-30 Win., 30-06, .300 WSM, .303 British, .358 Win., .45 Colt.
The .22 and the .22-250, the third cartridge in from the left, have approximately the same diameter of bullet. But the .22-250 is the one that is travelling faster, farther, will be more quickly lethal and it will do its job over a greater distance. It should go without saying, but when you are hunting or shooting at a live target, you want to kill the animal as quickly and painlessly as possible. That's not the image of hunters that most people have in their heads, and of course there are slack-jawed loser exceptions to every rule, but that is how the vast majority of us feel.
So the bigger the bullet/the more powder you have, you decrease the animal's suffering. Irony alert!
So here are some pictures of riffles.
I know what you're thinking--
"Yeah, I know."
WTF is something that has been on my mind lately. You hear ALL THE TIME about someone doing something stupid with an "assault" rifle. They're "black" rifles. They're scary. They're bad. Someone should take them away from us. People don't need to have "assault" rifles.
. . .
Exactly.
Usually it is just an aesthetic evaluation. It is black. Probably has a plastic stock. Might have a "pistol" grip instead of a standard rifle grip behind the trigger guard. Looks scary, like the ship in "Aliens." Has a hi-capacity magazine (bullet holder thing) sticking out from the bottom of it. May have a flash suppressor at the end of the barrel. May have a carry handle on top. May have a scope.
Actually, all of these guns pictured are the SAME kind of gun. It is a Ruger 10-22, which is a .22 rifle. It is semi-automatic, so it chambers a new round every time you pull the trigger. Ruger 10-22s are cheap and plentiful. Seriously, you can get one for $75-$100 if you don't mind dings in the stock or a little bit of rust on the barrel. Brand new, they are less that $300, and they probably have more aftermarket crap that you can slap on them that any other gun out there. You can take the gun on top and buy a new stock and a heavy black barrel and all the scary acoutrements to make it into an "assault" rifle. So I guess i'm just trying to illustrate the fallacy behind banning a gun based on what it looks like. Although i'm hella tired so it probably isn't making too much sense.
My other pet peeve: the "high-powered" rifle. What the sam hell is a "high-powered" rifle? The power comes from the cartridge, not the rifle. So why do you hear "high-powered" rifle all the time? What does that even MEAN?? And, pray tell, is there a LOW-powered rifle out there?
Fleh.
I am pretty sure i have some pink rifle pictures but i have gone FAR too long in between posts so i'ma throw this one onto the interwebs right now.
Anyways, back to riffles.
Rifles come in LOTS of different actions. Generally speaking, rifles only have one firing pin, and one chamber that can actually fire a bullet, so there has to be some way of clearing the spent shell casing once a round has been fired. There are rifles with hammers like revolvers, that you have to cock to fire. Usually those rifles also involve some kind of lever-action (a la John Wayne) and you have to lever the old casing out and lever a new bullet in before you can fire again. There are semi-automatic rifles that fling the spent case out and chamber a new one just like semi-auto handguns. There are pump-action rifles that you *rack* just like in the movies, although usually in the movies it's a shotgun. There are break-action rifles that open up like a shotgun--these are usually single-shot and you have to put a new bullet in by hand every time you want to fire. Most hunting rifles are bolt-action, which means there is a goober that sticks out the side of the rifle and you have to physically lift the bolt handle (which is the goober's real name), pull it back towards you (which ejects the old shell case), push it back towards the end of the barrel (which chambers a new round) and fire again. It's not the fastest thing in the world, but it IS the most accurate, which is why it is usually the preferred action for hunting.
Rifles don't HAVE to have a scope, but the hunting-specific ones usually do since they are meant to shoot accurately to 100 yards and beyond. That's farther than i can see very well, and i have decent eyesight (so far). Scopes help you see that far, and they usually have cross-hairs or some other sort of markings in the lens that helps you figure out what you're aiming at and where to aim in order to reach out and touch something over that distance. You want to be as accurate as possible when firing a rifle. Since you are generally firing over longer distances, pesky things like "gravity" and "your heartbeat" come into play, and they all affect the accuracy of your shot. The ballistics of shooting at, um, anything pretty much dictate that once a projectile leaves your firearm, it will start dropping. Stupid gravity. How FAST your bullet falls, though, is dependent on the variables of your cartridge. Lighter projectiles with a larger powder charge are going to go farther than heavier projectiles with less powder pushing them. Here is an example:
The cartridge on the left is a .243 WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum). Winchester is the manufacturer of the cartridge, and no, you don't have to match the make of the cartridge to the make of your rifle. You just have to make sure you are shooting the right caliber. ;) Your Ruger firearm will shoot Winchester bullets, just like your Winchester rifle will shoot Remington bullets. What is TRULY annoying is that all guns have a bullet that they like the best, and shoot the best, and you have to try and FIND it. Annoying. It is like having a finicky cat. >:(
Anyways, the cartridge on the right is a standard .243. Oh, and a short explanation of caliber: a .243 bullet (not the whole cartridge, just the actual bullet, the pointy copper part) measures 24/100 of an inch in diameter. A .30-06 measures 30/100 of an inch in diameter. A .410 shotgun shell measures 41/100 of an inch across. Caliber is just a numeric measurement of diameter.
ANYWAYS, these cartridges (and "cartridge" refers to the whole shebang, with the powder and case and everything, where "bullet" literally just means the actual bullet) are the same bullet. But which one do you think goes faster, for longer? Right, the one with the bigger butt. :)
"Magnum" calibers (the bigger butt ones) have more powder. Also they are my favorites simply cuz us fat bottomed girls all have to stick together. :)
Here is a cool and illustrative pic i found online:
From left to right: .22LR (long rifle), .17HMR, .22-250, .25-06, .270 Winchester, .270 Winchester Short Magnum (or WSM), 7mm-08, .284Win., 30-30 Win., 30-06, .300 WSM, .303 British, .358 Win., .45 Colt.
The .22 and the .22-250, the third cartridge in from the left, have approximately the same diameter of bullet. But the .22-250 is the one that is travelling faster, farther, will be more quickly lethal and it will do its job over a greater distance. It should go without saying, but when you are hunting or shooting at a live target, you want to kill the animal as quickly and painlessly as possible. That's not the image of hunters that most people have in their heads, and of course there are slack-jawed loser exceptions to every rule, but that is how the vast majority of us feel.
So the bigger the bullet/the more powder you have, you decrease the animal's suffering. Irony alert!
So here are some pictures of riffles.
I know what you're thinking--
"Serena, these rifles aren't pink!"
"Well?! WTF?!!"
WTF is something that has been on my mind lately. You hear ALL THE TIME about someone doing something stupid with an "assault" rifle. They're "black" rifles. They're scary. They're bad. Someone should take them away from us. People don't need to have "assault" rifles.
So, can someone DEFINE "assault" rifle for me?
. . .
Exactly.
Usually it is just an aesthetic evaluation. It is black. Probably has a plastic stock. Might have a "pistol" grip instead of a standard rifle grip behind the trigger guard. Looks scary, like the ship in "Aliens." Has a hi-capacity magazine (bullet holder thing) sticking out from the bottom of it. May have a flash suppressor at the end of the barrel. May have a carry handle on top. May have a scope.
So i am putting these pictures up as a representation. The bottom ones are "assault" rifles, right?
Right???
(I had a note to myself here to put in a picture of own bad-ass 10-22. I was also going to explain what a "Mannlicher" stock and make obscene jokes about it. But that will have to be another post.)
Fleh.
I am pretty sure i have some pink rifle pictures but i have gone FAR too long in between posts so i'ma throw this one onto the interwebs right now.
