What Are the Parts of a Rifle Used for Hunting?
All rifles have some parts in common, including the stock, which is placed against your shoulder to shoot, a trigger, a firing mechanism and a barrel. This is where the similarities end. There are five main types of rifles used for hunting and each has its own distinct characteristics in the firing and reloading process. Each is also available in a variety of calibers, which are directly related to the animal being hunted. The larger the animal, the larger caliber rifle you need to drop your prey instead of just wounding it.
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Bolt Action
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The rifles in this category have a breach block and a firing pin in the firing mechanism. When the trigger is pulled, a spring pushes the breech block and firing pin forward to strike the ammunition, which expels it from the barrel. To load a bolt action rifle, place a cartridge in the magazine and close the bolt to lock it in place. This is a manual process for a single shot rifle, but a multiple-shot bolt action rifle will reload itself automatically from the magazine.
Break Open
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A break open rifle may be either a single shot or double shot gun, which in turn has a single or double barrel. The barrel is opened by pushing a lock to the open position and bending the barrel downward on its hinge. The ammunition is loaded into each barrel manually and the barrel is closed to shoot. Break open rifles may have an extractor, which will slightly push the spent cartridges out so they are easy to remove manually or they may have an ejector that will propel the spent cartridge out when the barrel is broken open.
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Lever Action
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This was one of the first multiple-shot rifles created. The lever that has the trigger on it is pulled down vertically from the rifle, then back up toward the barrel. Opening and closing the lever ejects the spent cartridge and inserts a new one for the next shot as well as cocking the firing pin.
Pump Action
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This type of rifle has a piece under the barrel on the forestock that is pumped forward and back manually to eject the spent shell and load a new one from the magazine into the barrel chamber.
Auto Loading
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This type of rifle will enable you to shoot many shots quickly. The firing and loading mechanism is operated automatically using the natural recoil of the rifle. The pressure of the recoil forces the spent shell out and loads another from the magazine very quickly. Then you can pull the trigger for another shot at your game.
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