Guns & Ammo, Ammo & Guns

I recently took my Hunter Safety course, it got me thinking about a whole lot of blog ideas. The first one I wanted to write about is guns and ammo.  How well do you know your guns and ammo?

I wanna go over basics about guns for those women out there thinking about getting into hunting or shooting. When I was starting to think about hunting with a gun, I thought I new more about guns. I had shot guns before and was careful with them. But taking the hunter safety course help me realize I didn't know as much as I thought and need to learn more. So I would like to pay things forward. As I learn more about guns and hunting I will share the information.

 What is a gun? The very basic function of a gun is a mechanical device that uses pressure from burning powder to force a projectile through (barrel) and out of a metal tube (end of barrel is the muzzle). The basic anatomy of a firearm is an action, stock & barrel. 

Now I would like to show you the different shotgun and rifle actions. 

Bolt action -this gun operates by lifting the handle up and pulling it back.

Pump action - this gun operates by sliding the forestock to the rear to open the action and then sliding the forestock forward to close the action. Also known as a slide action.

Semi Automatic - to operate the action on a semi-auto you must pull back the bolt's handle. To close the action, pull back to unlock the bolt and then let go allowing the bolt to slide forward. Also known as autoloading. (ie. Fully automatic firearms are not legal to use for hunting in PA.)

Lever action - this gun has a large lever located behind the trigger. To open the action you must push the lever down and forward (towards the muzzle). This will eject the cartridge.

Hinge action - This gun is very simple to load and unload because of the hinge action. To open, point the barrel at the ground, press the release and the stock will drop down exposing the barrel. Also known as Break action. I would like to own one of these types someday. There is just something about them that draws me to them.

Now a little info on ammunition. Not all ammo is the same. Rifles barrels have spiraling grooves cut into the bore. Rifle and handgun ammo is classified by calibers. Caliber is the size of the rifle or handgun bore and the size of the cartridge. The inside of a shotgun barrel is smooth. Shotgun ammo is classified by gauges. Guages measure the diameter of the shotgun bore and size of the shotshell. Here is a diagram that shows the differences between the two.

The left is the rifle shell and the right is the shotgun shell.

So  if you are like me and want to know more, start googling.

Disclaimer...I am not an expert, this is just some of the stuff I learned at my hunter safety course.