Rifle

A rifle is a <a href="/facts/Long_gun/MQwcenpv">long-barreled</a> <a href="/facts/Firearm/GuHx4aGE">firearm</a> designed for accurate <a href="/facts/Shooting/qoWVh0lH">shooting</a> and higher <a href="/facts/Stopping_power/3K4V58lJ">stopping power</a>, with a <a href="/facts/Gun_barrel/bPyBmQek">barrel</a> that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (<a href="/facts/Rifling/63UWYEdX">rifling</a>) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a <a href="/facts/Buttstock/PgD8ochN">buttstock</a> for stability during shooting. Rifles are used in <a href="/facts/War/MPluTbJ0">warfare</a>, <a href="/facts/Law_enforcement/eneRFUdL">law enforcement</a>, <a href="/facts/Hunting/z1XhJdB2">hunting</a> and <a href="/facts/Shooting_sports/BjN81VcD">target shooting sports</a>.
The invention of rifling separated such firearms from the earlier <a href="/facts/Smoothbore/T6z0unC3">smoothbore</a> weapons (e.g., <a href="/facts/Arquebus/pfeToDsN">arquebuses</a>, <a href="/facts/Musket/YmnMv1F2">muskets</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Long_guns/MQwcenpv">long guns</a>), greatly elevating their accuracy and general effectiveness. The raised areas of a barrel's rifling are called lands; they make contact with and exert <a href="/facts/Torque/KcrcvNtV">torque</a> on the projectile as it moves down the bore, imparting a spin. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin persists and lends <a href="/facts/Gyroscopic/UjXGsfMq">gyroscopic</a> stability to the projectile due to <a href="/facts/Conservation_of_angular_momentum/7TuSVFxq">conservation of angular momentum</a>, increasing accuracy and hence effective range. The class of firearm was originally termed the rifled gun, with the <a href="/facts/Verb/zp42buvn">verb</a> to rifle referring to the early modern <a href="/facts/Machining/Yrjfj6IV">machining</a> process of creating grooves with cutting tools. By the 20th century, the weapon had become so common that the modern noun rifle is now often used for any log-shaped handheld ranged weapon designed for well-aimed discharge activated by a <a href="/facts/Trigger_(firearms)/e95STa6G">trigger</a>.
Like all typical firearms, a rifle's <a href="/facts/Projectile/kaDpG3N7">projectile</a> (<a href="/facts/Bullet/VgJXCI0b">bullet</a>) is propelled by the contained <a href="/facts/Deflagration/wIR4pGtC">deflagration</a> of a combustible <a href="/facts/Propellant/K88ymXRy">propellant</a> compound (originally <a href="/facts/Black_powder/AEcB6HCR">black powder</a> and now <a href="/facts/Nitrocellulose/5NoD5eTm">nitrocellulose</a> and other <a href="/facts/Smokeless_powder/BQfV4rcN">smokeless powders</a>), although other propulsive means are used, such as <a href="/facts/Compressed_air/KEjxE7DG">compressed air</a> in <a href="/facts/Air_rifle/E2MPVHEA">air rifles</a>, which are popular for <a href="/facts/Pest_control/0ADEUBaF">vermin control</a>, <a href="/facts/Game_(hunting)/2l9PGr3X">small game</a> hunting, <a href="/facts/Shooting_at_the_Summer_Olympics/WThWuYv2">competitive target shooting</a> and casual <a href="/facts/Shooting_sport/BjN81VcD">sport shooting</a> (<a href="/facts/Plinking/yAMKnCvc">plinking</a>).

Rifle open-in-new

Rifle