Glossary

In order to increase expansion upon penetration of a target, a hollow point bullet has a concave nose. It generally does more internal damage to a target.

A field shooting position in which one or both knees of the shooter are touching the ground, but the shooter has an otherwise erect body posture.

At the end of the stock is the butt, and at the top of the butt is the heel. When the gun is in position to be fired, the heel is where the shoulder is placed.

A trigger system that requires more than the normal amount of pressure to pull it past the break point.

This refers to the distance measured from the portion of the chamber that stops a cartridge’s forward motion to the face of the bolt.

Shooter slang for a FMJ bullet with a round nose.

Handloading or reloading is the process that gun enthusiasts use to economically make firearm cartridges or shells by manually assembling the individual components themselves.

A pistol that is held with one or two hands such as a revolver.

A hammerless firearm is one that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur, although it may not literally lack a hammer, only one that the shooter can pull.

A thumb-piece on the top rear of a firearm equipped with a hammer that enables it to be manually drawn back to its full cock.

This is the part of the firearm that releases from its spring when the trigger is pulled. It impacts the firing pin to discharge the weapon.

A reference to a trigger that can be pulled with very little pressure from the shooter and requires steady hands.

Also referred to as “black powder,” this is the component of ammunition that is used as a propellant in firearms.

A series of shots that have been fired and have hit the target that is measured in group size by finding the furthest apart from each shot and measuring from the center of one hole to the center of the other hole.

Spiral machining in the bore of a barrel that give the bullet its rotation as it moves down and through the barrel, also known as rifling inside of the bore.