108-643: Davide Pedersoli & C. is an Italian firearms manufacturing company based in Gardone Val Trompia , Italy , that was founded in 1957 by Davide Pedersoli. Davide Pedersoli specializes in CNC -engineered black-powder weapon replicas for hunting , marksmanship and reenactment . Its weapons normally are more expensive than its competitors, but they have a reputation for precision and reliability. In 2014, Davide Pedersoli went into partnership with three other Italian manufacturers (F.A.I.R, Sabatti, and
216-408: A White-tailed deer buck by adjusting magnification until the area between the backbone and the brisket fits between the crosshairs and the top thick post of the reticle. Once that is done, the range be read from the scale printed on the magnification adjustment ring. Although FFP designs are not susceptible to magnification-induced errors, they have their own disadvantages. It's challenging to design
324-500: A mathematical formula "[Target size] ÷ [Number of mil intervals] × 1000 = Distance", the user can easily calculate the distance to a target, as a 1-meter object is going to be exactly 1 milliradian at a 1000-meter distance. For example, if the user sees an object known to be 1.8 meters tall as something 3 mils tall through the telescopic sight, the distance to that object will be 600 meters (1.8 ÷ 3 × 1000 = 600). Some milling reticles have additional marking patterns in
432-568: A retronym to differentiate older full-powered rifles of these configurations like the M1 Garand , from newer assault rifles using intermediate cartridges like the Heckler & Koch HK33 , but it is sometimes used to describe similar modern rifles such as the FN SCAR . Battle rifles serve similar purposes as assault rifles, as they both are usually employed by ground infantry for essentially
540-445: A riot gun or breaching rounds to function as a door breaching shotgun. Shotgun munitions, regardless of type, are packed into shotgun shells (cartridges designed specifically for shotguns) that are loaded into the shotgun for use; these shells are commonly loose and manually loaded one-by-one, though some shotguns accept magazines. Shotguns share many qualities with rifles, such as both being descendants of early long guns such as
648-491: A scope mount . Similar devices are also found on other platforms such as artillery , tanks and even aircraft . The optical components may be combined with optoelectronics to add night vision or smart device features. The first experiments directed to give shooters optical aiming aids go back to the early 17th century. For centuries, different optical aiming aids and primitive predecessors of telescopic sights were created that had practical or performance limitations. In
756-450: A zoom mechanism behind the erector lenses . Variable-power sights offer more flexibility when shooting at varying distances, target sizes and light conditions, and offer a relative wide field of view at lower magnification settings. The syntax for variable sights is the following: minimal magnification – maximum magnification × objective lens , for example "3-9×40" means a telescopic sight with variable magnification between 3× and 9×, and
864-416: A 40 mm objective lens. The ratio between the maximum and minimum magnifications of a variable-power sight is known as its "zoom ratio". Confusingly, some older telescopic sights, mainly of German or other European manufacture, have a different classification where the second part of the designation refers to light-gathering power. In these cases, a 4×81 (4× magnification) sight would be presumed to have
972-429: A brighter sight picture than a 2.5×70 (2.5× magnification), but the objective lens diameter would not bear any direct relation to picture brightness, as brightness is affected also by the magnification factor. Typically objective lenses on early sights are smaller than modern sights, in these examples the 4×81 would have an objective 36 mm diameter and the 2.5×70 should be approximately 21 mm (relative luminosity
1080-666: A broad class of rifles generally summed up as short, lightweight, portable sniper rifles; and designated marksman rifles , semi-automatic high-precision rifles, usually chambered in intermediate or full-power cartridges, that fill the range gap between sniper rifles and regular rifles and are designed for designated marksmen in squads. Examples of sniper and scout rifles include the M40 rifle , Heckler & Koch PSG1 , Walther WA 2000 , Accuracy International AWM , M24 Sniper Weapon System , Steyr Scout , Sako TRG , and CheyTac Intervention . Examples of anti-materiel and anti-tank rifles include
1188-445: A combination of the above, that are added to a crosshair to help with easier aiming. Many modern reticles are designed for (stadiametric) rangefinding purposes. Perhaps the most popular and well-known ranging reticle is the mil-dot reticle , which consists of a duplex crosshair with small dots marking each milliradian (or "mil") intervals from the center. An alternative variant uses perpendicular hash lines instead of dots, and
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#17328008577351296-405: A complex production process. The main tube of telescopic sights varies in size, material, the applied production process and surface finish. The typical outside diameters vary between 19.05 mm (0.75 in) and 40 mm (1.57 in), although 25.4 mm (1 in), 30 mm and recently 34 mm are by far the most common sizes. The internal diameter of the main tube influences
1404-662: A crisp tactile feedback corresponding to each graduation of turn, often accompanied by a soft but audible clicking sound. Each indexing increment is thus colloquially called a "click", and the corresponding angular adjustment of the optical axis is known as the click value . The most commonly seen click values are 1 ⁄ 4 MOA (often expressed in approximations as " 1 ⁄ 4 inch at 100 yards") and 0.1 mil (often expressed as "10 mm at 100 meters"), although other click values such as 1 ⁄ 2 MOA, 1 ⁄ 3 MOA or 1 ⁄ 8 MOA and other mil increments are also present on
1512-646: A division of Tanfoglio called FT Italia) in order to better serve the United States firearms market. Italian Firearms Group, located in Amarillo, Texas , is the import, sales, marketing, and service hub for those companies in the United States. Pedersoli's lineup includes American and European pattern muzzleloading rifles, muskets, and pistols (such as duelling pistols and Harper's Ferry pistols ), as well as breechloading firearms such as Sharps rifles , double barrel shotguns, double rifles, an updated version of
1620-445: A first focal plane reticle expands and shrinks along with the rest of the image as the magnification is adjusted, while a second focal plane reticle would appear the same size and shape to the user as the target image grows and shrinks. In general, the majority of modern variable-power sights are SFP unless stated otherwise. Every European high-end telescopic sight manufacturer offers FFP reticles on variable power telescopic sights, since
1728-470: A fixed magnification factor of 10×, with a 50 mm objective lens. In general terms, larger objective lens diameters, due to their ability to gather a higher luminous flux , provide a larger exit pupil and hence provide a brighter image at the eyepiece . Most early telescopic sights were fixed-power and were in essence specially designed viewing telescopes. Telescopic sights with variable magnifications appeared later, and were varied by manually adjusting
1836-423: A full-power caliber and a certain weight that can be operated by an individual but tend to work best with a crew; and heavy machine guns , machine guns that are too large and heavy to be carried and are thus mounted to something (like a tripod or military vehicle ), and require a crew to operate. A general-purpose machine gun combines these categories under a single flexible machine gun platform, often one that
1944-625: A full-size rifle with a shortened carbine-style barrel for close-quarters use. The small size of a carbine provides lighter weight and better maneuverability, making them ideal for close-quarters combat and storage in compact areas. This makes them popular firearms among special forces and police tactical units alongside submachine guns , considerably so since the late 1990s due to the familiarity and better stopping power of carbines compared to submachine guns. They are also popular with (and were originally mostly intended for) military personnel in roles that are expected to engage in combat, but where
2052-452: A full-size rifle would be an impediment to the primary duties of that soldier ( logistical personnel, airborne forces , military engineers , officers , etc.), though since the turn of the millennium these have been superseded to a degree in some roles by personal defense weapons . Carbines are also common among civilian firearm owners who have size, space, and power concerns similar to military and police users. Examples of carbines include
2160-584: A long-eye relief (LER) telescopic sight is the German ZF41 which was used during World War II on Karabiner 98k rifles. An early example of a man-portable sight for low visibility/night use is the Zielgerät (aiming device) 1229 (ZG 1229), also known by its code name Vampir ("vampire"). The ZG 1229 Vampir was a Generation 0 active infrared night vision device developed for the Wehrmacht for
2268-793: A method of effective self-defense against skirmishers and infiltrators who cannot effectively be defeated by low-powered submachine guns and handguns, often the only firearms suitable for those personnel (while they could be issued rifles or carbines, those would become unnecessary burdens in their normal duties, during which the likelihood of hostility is fairly rare regardless, making their issuance questionable). Thus, per their name, personal defense weapons allow these personnel to effectively defend themselves from enemies and repel attacks themselves or at least until support can arrive. They are not intended for civilian self-defense due to their nature as automatic firearms (which are usually prohibited from civilian purchase), though some semi-automatic PDWs exist for
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#17328008577352376-474: A reticle that is visible through the entire range of magnification: a reticle that looks fine and crisp at 24× magnification may be very difficult to see at 6×. On the other hand, a reticle that is easy to see at 6× may be too thick at 24× to make precision shots. Shooting in low light conditions also tends to require either illumination or a bold reticle, along with lower magnification to maximize light gathering. In practice, these issues tend to significantly reduce
2484-703: A round dot, small cross , diamond , chevron and/or circle in the center (in some prism sights and reflex / holographic sights ), or a pointed vertical bar in a " T "-like pattern (such as the famous "German #1" reticle used on the Wehrmacht ZF41 sights during the Second World War , or the SVD -pattern reticle used on the Soviet PSO-1 sights during the Cold War ) that essentially imitates
2592-595: A sight made by gunsmith Morgan James of Utica, New York . Chapman worked with James on the concepts and design of the Chapman-James sight. In 1855, optician William Malcolm of Syracuse, New York began producing his own telescopic sight, used an original design incorporating achromatic lenses such as those used in telescopes, and improved the windage and elevation adjustments. These Malcolm sights were between 3× and 20× magnification (possibly more). Malcolm's sights and those made by Vermont jeweller L. M. Amidon were
2700-469: A single soldier, though some are crew-served weapons that require a dedicated crew of soldiers to operate, usually between two and six soldiers depending on the machine gun's operation and the crew members' roles (ammunition bearers, spotters, etc.). Machine guns can be divided into three categories: light machine guns , individual-served machine guns of an intermediate cartridge that are usually magazine-fed; medium machine guns , belt-fed machine guns of
2808-781: A target of a known diameter of 16 inches fills just half of the total post-to-post distance (i.e. filling from sight center to post), then the distance to target is approximately 200 yards (180 m). With a target of a diameter of 16 inches that fills the entire sight picture from post to post, the range is approximately 100 yards. Other ranges can be similarly estimated accurately in an analog fashion for known target sizes through proportionality calculations. Holdover, for estimating vertical point of aim offset required for bullet drop compensation on level terrain, and horizontal windage offset, for estimating side to side point of aim offsets required for wind effect corrections, can similarly be compensated for through using approximations based on
2916-518: A telescope to a rifle as a sighting aid, but was unable to mount it sufficiently far forward to prevent the eyepiece impacting with the operator's eye during recoil . In the same year, James Lind and Captain Alexander Blair described a gun which included a telescopic sight. The first rifle sight was created in 1835 -1840. In the book The Improved American Rifle , written in 1844, British-American civil engineer John R. Chapman described
3024-410: A time by the user, rather than automatically. Manual action firearms can be divided into two basic categories: single-shot firearms that can only be fired once per barrel before it must be reloaded or charged via an external mechanism or series of steps; and repeating firearms that can be fired multiple times per barrel, but can only be fired once with each subsequent pull of the trigger or ignite, and
3132-417: A typical Leupold brand 16 minute of angle (MOA) duplex reticle (similar to image B) on a fixed-power telescopic sight, the distance from post to post, between the heavier lines of the reticle spanning the center of the sight picture, is approximately 32 inches (810 millimeters) at 200 yards (180 m), or, equivalently, approximately 16 inches (410 millimeters) from the center to any post at 200 yards. If
3240-551: Is a long gun that has a predominantly smoothbore barrel—meaning it lacks rifling—designed to fire a number of shot pellets in each discharge. These shot pellet sizes commonly range between 2 mm #9 birdshot and 8.4 mm #00 (double-aught) buckshot, and produce a cluster of impact points with considerably less range and accuracy, since shot spreads during flight. Shotguns are also capable of firing single solid projectiles called slugs , or specialty (often " less lethal ") munitions such as bean bags or tear gas to function as
3348-616: Is a magazine-fed carbine chambered in a small-caliber handgun cartridge (such as 9×19mm Parabellum , .45 ACP , .22 Long Rifle , and .40 S&W ). They cannot be considered machine guns due to their small-caliber, hence the prefix " sub- " to differentiate them from proper machine guns. Submachine guns are commonly associated with high rates of fire, automatic fire capabilities, and low recoil, though many submachine guns differentiate from this in various ways, such as having fairly low rates of fire or including burst and semi-automatic modes available through selective fire. Most submachine guns are
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3456-417: Is any firearm with a notably long barrel, typically a length of 10 to 30 inches (250 to 760 mm) (there are restrictions on minimum barrel length in many jurisdictions; maximum barrel length is usually a matter of practicality). Unlike a handgun, long guns are designed to be held and fired with both hands, while braced against either the hip or the shoulder for better stability. The receiver and trigger group
3564-409: Is essential that its brightness can be adjusted. A reticle that is too bright will cause glare in the operator's eye, interfering with their ability to see in low-light conditions. This is because the pupil of the human eye closes quickly upon receiving any source of light. Most illuminated reticles provide adjustable brightness settings to adjust the reticle precisely to the ambient light. Illumination
3672-406: Is etched onto one of the prism's internal reflection surfaces, which allows an easy way to illuminate the reticle (from the back side of the prism) even when active illumination is turned off. Being optical telescopes , prism sights can focally compensate for a user's astigmatism . Prismatic sights are lighter and more compact than conventional telescopic sights, but are mostly fixed-powered in
3780-465: Is known as the mil-hash reticle . Such graduated reticles, along with those with MOA -based increments, are collectively and unofficially called " milling reticles ", and have gained significant acceptance in NATO and other military and law enforcement organizations. Mil-based reticles, being decimal in graduations, are by far more prevalent due to the ease and reliability of ranging calculations with
3888-544: Is most suitable as a light or medium machine gun but fares well as a heavy machine gun. A closely related concept is the squad automatic weapon , a portable light machine gun or even a modified rifle that is designed and fielded to provide a squad with rapid direct fire . Examples of machine guns include the Maxim gun , M2 Browning , Bren light machine gun , MG 42 , PK machine gun , FN MAG , M249 light machine gun , RPK , IWI Negev , and M134 Minigun . A submachine gun
3996-473: Is mounted into a stock made of wood, plastic, metal, or composite material, which has sections that form a foregrip, rear grip, and optionally (but typically) a shoulder mount called the butt . Early long arms, from the Renaissance up to the mid-19th century, were generally smoothbore firearms that fired one or more ball shot, called muskets or arquebuses depending on caliber and firing mechanism. Since
4104-675: Is that admirable secret, which, as all other things, appeared when it pleased the All Disposer, at whose direction a spider's line drawn in an opened case could first give me by its perfect apparition, when I was with two convexes trying experiments about the sun, the unexpected knowledge...if I .... placed a thread where that glass [the eyepiece] would best discern it, and then joining both glasses, and fitting their distance for any object, I should see this at any part that I did direct it to ..." — William Gascoigne In 1776, Charles Willson Peale collaborated with David Rittenhouse to mount
4212-470: Is the square of the exit pupil as measured in mm; a 36 mm objective lens diameter divided by the 4× magnification gives an exit pupil of 9 mm; 9×9=81) A relatively new type of telescopic sight, called prismatic telescopic sight , prismatic sight or " prism scope ", replaces the image-erecting relay lenses of a traditional telescope with a roof prism design commonly found in compact binoculars , monoculars and spotting scopes . The reticle
4320-463: Is usually provided by a battery -powered LED , though other electric light sources can be used. The light is projected forward through the sight, and reflects off the back surface of the reticle. Red is the most common colour used, as it least impedes the shooter's natural night vision . This illumination method can be used to provide both daytime and low-light conditions reticle illumination. Radioactive isotopes such as tritium can also be used as
4428-527: The AK-74 and AKS-74U . However, some carbines, such as the M1 carbine , are not a variant of any existing design and are their own firearm model. Carbines are regardless very similar to rifles and often have the same actions (single-shot, lever-action, bolt-action, semi-automatic, automatic, etc.). This similarity has given carbines the alternate name of short barreled rifle (SBR), though this more accurately describes
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4536-594: The Cartesian coordinate system , which the shooter can use as a simple reference for rough horizontal and vertical calibrations. Crosshair reticles typically do not have any graduated markings, and thus are unsuitable for stadiametric rangefinding . However some crosshair designs have thickened outer sections that help with aiming in poor contrast situations when the fine crosshair center cannot be seen clearly. These "thin-thick" crosshair reticles, known as duplex reticles , can also be used for some rough estimations if
4644-590: The FG 42 , Gewehr 43 , FN FAL , Howa Type 64 , and Desert Tech MDR . A sniper rifle is, per widespread definition, a high-powered precision rifle, often bolt-action or semi-automatic, with an effective range farther than that of a standard rifle. Though any rifle in a sniper configuration (usually with a telescopic sight and bipod ) can be considered a sniper rifle, most sniper rifles are purpose-built for their applications, or are variants of existing rifles that have been modified to function as sniper rifles, such as
4752-610: The Glock , Browning Hi-Power , M1911 pistol , Makarov pistol , Walther PP , Luger pistol , Mauser C96 , and Beretta 92 . Examples of revolvers include the Colt Single Action Army , Smith & Wesson Model 10 , Colt Official Police , Colt Python , New Nambu M60 , and Mateba Autorevolver . Examples of derringers include the Remington Model 95 , FP-45 Liberator , and COP .357 Derringer . A long gun
4860-514: The M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System . Shotguns are still popular with civilians for the suitability of their shot spread in hunting, clay pigeon shooting , and home defense. Double-barreled shotguns are break-action shotguns with two parallel barrels (horizontal side-by-side or vertical over-and-under), allowing two single shots that can be loaded and fired in quick succession. Examples of shotguns include
4968-512: The MP 18 , MP 40 , Thompson submachine gun , M3 submachine gun , Uzi , Heckler & Koch MP5 , Spectre M4 , Steyr TMP , Heckler & Koch UMP , PP-2000 , KRISS Vector , and SIG MPX . A personal defense weapon is, in simplest terms, a submachine gun that is designed to fire ammunition with ballistic performance that is similar to (but not actually a type of) rifle cartridges, often called "sub-intermediate" cartridges. In this way, it combines
5076-614: The Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 , Boys anti-tank rifle , PTRS-41 , Barrett M82 , Gepárd anti-materiel rifle , and McMillan TAC-50 . Examples of designated marksman rifles include the SVD , SR-25 , Dragunov SVU , Marine Scout Sniper Rifle , Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle , and M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System . An automatic rifle is a magazine-fed rifle that is capable of automatic fire. They include most assault rifles and battle rifles, but originated as their own category of rifles capable of automatic fire, as opposed to
5184-808: The National Firearms Act and Firearm Owners Protection Act define a "machine gun" in United States Code Title 26, Subtitle E, Chapter 53, Subchapter B, Part 1, § 5845 as "... any firearm which shoots ... automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger". "Machine gun" is therefore largely synonymous with "automatic weapon" in American civilian parlance, covering all automatic firearms. In most jurisdictions, automatic rifles, as well as automatic firearms in general, are prohibited from civilian purchase or are at least heavily restricted; in
5292-664: The Springfield Armory (United States), the Royal Small Arms Factory (United Kingdom), Mauser (Germany), Steyr-Daimler-Puch (Austria), and Rock Island Armory under Armscor (Philippines). As of 2018 the Small Arms Survey reported that there were over one billion firearms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) were in civilian hands. U.S. civilians alone account for 393 million (about 46 percent) of
5400-495: The StG 44 assault rifle, intended primarily for night use. The issuing of the ZG 1229 Vampir system to the military started in 1944 and it was used on a small scale in combat from February 1945 until the final stages of World War II. Telescopic sights are classified in terms of the optical magnification (i.e. "power") and the objective lens diameter . For example, "10×50" would denote
5508-419: The StG 44 produced by Nazi Germany during World War II , assault rifles have since become extremely popular among militaries and other armed groups due to their universal versatility, and they have made up the vast majority of standard-issue military service rifles since the mid-20th century. Various configurations of assault rifle exist, such as the bullpup , in which the firing grip is located in front of
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#17328008577355616-543: The Type 97 sniper rifle , which was essentially a standard Type 38 rifle that was modified to be lighter and come with a telescopic sight. Related developments are anti-materiel rifles , large-caliber rifles designed to destroy enemy materiel such as vehicles, supplies, or hardware; anti-tank rifles , anti-materiel rifles that were designed specifically to combat early armoured fighting vehicles , but are now largely obsolete due to advances in vehicle armour ; scout rifles ,
5724-529: The Winchester Model 1886 , Rolling Block rifles , and more. Firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions ). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China , when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make
5832-462: The Winchester Model 1892 , Rifle No. 5 Mk I , SKS , M1 carbine , Ruger Mini-14 , M4 carbine , and Kel-Tec SUB-2000 . An assault rifle is commonly defined as a selective-fire rifle chambered in an intermediate cartridge (such as 5.56×45mm NATO , 7.62×39mm , 5.45×39mm , and .300 AAC Blackout ) and fed with a detachable magazine . Assault rifles are also usually smaller than full-sized rifles such as battle rifles . Originating with
5940-425: The Winchester Model 1897 , Browning Auto-5 , Ithaca 37 , Remington Model 870 , Mossberg 500 , Benelli M4 , Franchi SPAS-12 , Atchisson AA-12 , and Knight's Armament Company Masterkey . A carbine is a long gun, usually a rifle, that has had its barrel shortened from its original length or is of a certain size smaller than standard rifles, but is still large enough to be considered a long gun. How considerable
6048-649: The breech instead of behind it. Examples of assault rifles include the Kalashnikov rifles of Soviet and Russian origin (such as the AK-47 , AKM , and AK-74 ), as well as the American M4 carbine and M16 rifle . A battle rifle is commonly defined as a semi-automatic or selective-fire rifle that is larger or longer than an assault rifle and is chambered in a "full-power" cartridge (e.g. 7.62×51mm NATO , 7.92×57mm Mauser , 7.62×54mmR ). The term originated as
6156-519: The eyepiece , since the image illuminance is often sufficient without needing an enlarged objective bell to enhance light-gathering. Most LPVOs have reticles mounted at the second focal plane, but recently first-focal plane LPVOs have become popular, especially those with high zoom ratios above 6×. LPVOs are also informally referred to as " AR scopes" or " carbine scopes", due to the recently increasing popularity of modern sporting rifles and compact "tactical"-style semi-automatic rifles used among
6264-749: The firing pin mechanism, expelling the old cartridge and loading a new one. Telescopic sight A telescopic sight , commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope . It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a reticle – mounted in a focally appropriate position in its optical system to provide an accurate point of aim. Telescopic sights are used with all types of systems that require magnification in addition to reliable visual aiming, as opposed to non-magnifying iron sights , reflector (reflex) sights , holographic sights or laser sights , and are most commonly found on long-barrel firearms , particularly rifles, usually via
6372-501: The law enforcement , home defense and practical shooting enthusiasts crowd. Telescopic sights are usually designed for the specific application for which they are intended. Those different designs create certain optical parameters. Those parameters are: Because a typical telescopic sight has several optical elements with special characteristics and several air-to-glass surfaces, telescopic sight manufacturers use different types of optical coatings for technical reasons and to improve
6480-865: The 19th and 20th centuries, various types of long guns have been created for different purposes. A rifle is a long gun that has riflings (spiral grooves) machined into the bore (inner) surface of its barrel, imparting a gyroscopically stabilizing spin to the bullets that it fires. A descendant of the musket, rifles produce a single point of impact with each firing with a long range and high accuracy. For this reason, as well as for their ubiquity, rifles are very popular among militaries as service rifles , police as accurate long-range alternatives to their traditional shotgun long guns, and civilians for hunting , shooting sports , and self-defense . Many types of rifles exist owing to their wide adoption and versatility, ranging from mere barrel length differences as in short-barreled rifles and carbines , to classifications per
6588-426: The 20th century, but have since been superseded in most combat roles by rifles, carbines, and personal defense weapons due to their low effective range and poor penetration against most body armor developed since the late 20th century. However, they remain popular among special forces and police for their effectiveness in close-quarters and low likelihood to overpenetrate targets. Examples of submachine guns include
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#17328008577356696-485: The U.S. for instance, most automatic rifles are Title II weapons that require certain licenses and are greatly regulated. Examples of automatic rifles include the Cei-Rigotti , Lewis gun , Fedorov Avtomat , and M1918 Browning automatic rifle . A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm, chambered in intermediate or full-power rifle cartridges, designed to provide sustained automatic direct fire as opposed to
6804-437: The aim high and away from the target, are therefore called holdover reticles . Such aiming technique can quickly correct for ballistic deviations without needing to manually readjust the sight's zero, thus enabling the shooter to place rapid, reliably calibrated follow-up shots. When shooting at extended distances , the farther the target, the greater the bullet drops and wind drifts that need to be compensated. Because of this,
6912-412: The amount of "lost" light present inside the telescopic sight which would otherwise make the image appear hazy (low contrast). A telescopic sight with good optical coatings may yield a brighter image than uncoated telescopic sights with a larger objective lens, on account of superior light transmission through the assembly. The first transparent interference-based coating Transparentbelag (T) used by Zeiss
7020-451: The amount of space within which the relay lens group and other optical elements can be mounted, the maximum size of the erector tube, and the maximum angular ranges for elevation and windage adjustments. Telescopic sights intended for long-range and/or low-light usage generally feature larger main tube diameters. Besides optical, spatial and attainable range of elevation and windage adjustments considerations, larger diameter main tubes offer
7128-532: The available magnification range on FFP sights compared to SFP, and FFP sights are much more expensive compared to SFP models of similar quality. Most high-end optics manufacturers leave the choice between a FFP or SFP mounted reticle to the customer or have sight product models with both setups. Variable-power telescopic sights with FFP reticles have no problems with point of impact shifts. Variable-power telescopic sights with SFP reticles can have slight point-of-impact shifts through their magnification range, caused by
7236-859: The bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles commonly issued to infantry at the time of their invention. They usually have smaller magazine capacities than machine guns ; the French Chauchat had a 20-round box magazine, while the Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun , the French Army 's standard machine gun at the time, was fed by a 250-round ammunition belt . Though automatic rifles are sometimes considered to be their own category, they are also occasionally considered to be other types of firearms that postdated their invention, usually as light machine guns . Automatic rifles are sometimes confused with machine guns or vice versa, or are defined as such by law;
7344-437: The bottom two quadrants , consisting of elaborate arrays of neatly spaced fine dots, "+" marks or hashed lines (usually at 0.2 mil or ½ MOA intervals), to provide accurate references for compensating bullet drops and wind drifts by simply aiming above (i.e. "hold [the aim] over" the target) and upwind of the target (i.e. deflection shooting , or " Kentucky windage "). This type of reticles, designed to hold
7452-499: The civilian market, albeit often with longer barrels. Examples of personal defense weapons include the FN P90 , Heckler & Koch MP7 , AAC Honey Badger , and ST Kinetics CPW . Types aside, firearms are also categorized by their "action", which describes their loading, firing, and unloading cycle. Manual action or manual operation is essentially any type of firearm action that is loaded, and usually also fired, one cartridge at
7560-475: The coating, the character of the image seen in the telescopic sight under normal daylight can either "warmer" or "colder" and appear either with higher or lower contrast. Subject to the application, the coating is also optimized for maximum color fidelity through the visible spectrum . A common application technique is physical vapor deposition of one or more superimposed very thin anti-reflective coating layer(s) which includes evaporative deposition , making it
7668-414: The commercial and military and law enforcement sights. Older telescopic sights often did not offer internal windage and/or elevation adjustments in the telescopic sight. In case the telescopic sight lacked internal adjustment mechanisms adjustable mounts are used (on the scope rings or the mounting rail itself) for sighting-in . Telescopic sights come with a variety of different reticles , ranging from
7776-699: The design's primary intended use (e.g. hunting rifle), or to the commonly accepted name for a particular variation (e.g. Gatling gun ). Shooters aim firearms at their targets with hand-eye coordination , using either iron sights or optical sights . The accurate range of pistols generally does not exceed 100 metres (110 yd; 330 ft), while most rifles are accurate to 500 metres (550 yd; 1,600 ft) using iron sights, or to longer ranges whilst using optical sights. Purpose-built sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,000 metres (2,200 yd). (Firearm rounds may be dangerous or lethal well beyond their accurate range;
7884-515: The difference is between a rifle and a carbine varies; for example, the standard Heckler & Koch G36 's barrel has a length of 480 mm (18.9 in), the G36K carbine variant's barrel is 318 mm (12.5 in), and the G36C compact variant's barrel is 228 mm (9.0 in). Some carbines are also redesigned compared to their rifle counterparts, such as the aforementioned G36/G36K and G36C, or
7992-423: The firearm's action must be reloaded or charged via an internal mechanism between trigger pulls. Types of manual actions include lever action, bolt action, and pump action. Lever action is a repeating action that is operated by using a cocking handle (the "lever") located around the trigger guard area (often incorporating it) that is pulled down then back up to move the bolt via internal linkages and cock
8100-446: The front post on iron sights . However, most reticles have both horizontal and vertical lines to provide better visual references. The crosshair is the most rudimentary reticle, represented as a pair of smooth, perpendicularly intersecting lines in the shape of a " + ", and the crosshair center is used for aiming the weapon. The crosshair lines geometrically resemble the X- and Y-axis of
8208-403: The global total of small arms. A handgun is, as defined generally and in many gun laws , a firearm that can be used with a single hand. They are the smallest of all firearms, and are common as sidearms , concealed carry weapons, or as backup weapons for self-defense . Handguns can be categorized into two broad types: pistols , which have a single fixed firing chamber machined into
8316-457: The high automatic rate of fire, reliable low recoil, and lightweight compact maneuverability of submachine guns with the versatility, penetration, and effective range of rifles, effectively making them an "in-between" of submachine guns and carbines. Personal defense weapons were developed to provide rear and "second-line" personnel not otherwise armed with high-caliber firearms (vehicle and weapon crews, engineers, logistical personnel, etc.) with
8424-418: The highest power. Some long-range shooters and military snipers use fixed-power telescopic sights to eliminate this potential for error. Some SFP sights take advantage of this aspect by having the shooter adjust magnification until the target fits a certain way inside the reticle and then extrapolate the range based on the power adjustment. Some Leupold hunting sights with duplex reticles allow range estimation to
8532-604: The human eye luminous efficiency function variance. Maximal light transmission around wavelengths of 555 nm ( green ) is important for obtaining optimal photopic vision using the eye cone cells for observation in well-lit conditions. Maximal light transmission around wavelengths of 498 nm ( cyan ) is important for obtaining optimal scotopic vision using the eye rod cells for observation in low light conditions. These allow high-quality 21st century telescopic sights to practically achieve measured over 90% light transmission values in low light conditions. Depending on
8640-402: The image they produce. Lens coatings can increase light transmission, minimize reflections, repel water and grease and even protect the lens from scratches. Manufacturers often have their own designations for their lens coatings. Anti-reflective coatings reduce light lost at every optical surface through reflection at each surface. Reducing reflection via anti-reflective coatings also reduces
8748-434: The late 1630s, English amateur astronomer William Gascoigne was experimenting with a Keplerian telescope and left it with the case open. Later he found that a spider had spun its web inside the case, and when he looked through the telescope he found that the web was in focus with distant objects. Gascoigne realised that he could use this principle to make a telescopic sight for use in his astronomical observations. "This
8856-432: The low magnification range (1–4×, 1–6×, 1–8×, or even 1–10×) are known as low-power variable optics or LPVOs . These telescopic sights are often equipped with built-in reticle illumination and can be dialed down to 1× magnification. As low magnifications are mostly used in close- and medium ranges, LPVOs typically have no parallax compensation (though a few rare models do) and have a completely cylindrical shape ahead of
8964-614: The low magnification ranges (usually 2×, 2.5×, 3× or more commonly 4×, occasionally 1× or 5× or more), suitable for shooting at short/medium distances. One of the best known examples is the battle-proven Trijicon ACOG used by the USMC , US Army, and USSOCOM , although variable-magnification prism sights do also exist, such as the ELCAN Specter DR/TR series used by the Canadian Army . Variable-zoom telescopic sights in
9072-836: The minimum distance for safety is much greater than the specified range for accuracy.) A firearm is a barreled ranged weapon that inflicts damage on targets by launching one or more projectiles driven by rapidly expanding high-pressure gas produced by exothermic combustion ( deflagration ) of a chemical propellant , historically black powder , now smokeless powder . In the military, firearms are categorized into heavy and light weapons regarding their portability by infantry . Light firearms are those that can be readily carried by individual foot soldier , though they might still require more than one individual ( crew-served ) to achieve optimal operational capacity. Heavy firearms are those that are too large and heavy to be transported on foot, or too unstable against recoil , and thus require
9180-512: The musket; both having single-shot , break-action , bolt-action , lever-action , pump-action , semi-automatic , and automatic variants; and both being popular with militaries, police, and civilians for largely the same reasons. However, unlike rifles, shotguns are less favored in combat roles due to their low accuracy and limited effectiveness in modern warfare , with combat shotguns often only used for breaching or close-quarters combat and sometimes limited to underbarrel attachments such as
9288-399: The notable exception of smoothbore shotguns ) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability. Modern firearms can be described by their caliber (i.e. bore diameter). For pistols and rifles this is given in millimeters or inches (e.g. 7.62mm or .308 in.); in the case of shotguns, gauge or bore (e.g. 12 ga. or .410 bore.). They are also described by
9396-547: The oldest type of reticles and are made out of metal wire or thread, mounted in an optically appropriate position in the telescopic sight's tube. Etched reticles are an optic element, often a glass plate, with inked patterns etched onto it, and are mounted as an integrated part of the lightpath . When backlit through the ocular, a wire reticle will reflect incoming light and cannot present a fully opaque (black) reticle with high contrast. An etched reticle will stay fully opaque (black) if backlit. Reticle patterns can be as simple as
9504-468: The optical needs of European hunters who live in jurisdictions that allow hunting at dusk, night and dawn differ from hunters who traditionally or by legislation do not hunt in low light conditions. The main disadvantage of SFP designs comes with the use of range-finding reticles such as mil-dot. Since the proportion between the reticle and the target is dependent on selected magnification, such reticles only work properly at one magnification level, typically
9612-509: The portable fire lance , operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon . The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant , but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other explosive propellants. Most modern firearms (with
9720-912: The positioning of the reticle in the mechanical zoom mechanism in the rear part of the telescopic sight. Normally these impact shifts are insignificant, but accuracy-oriented users, who wish to use their telescopic sight trouble-free at several magnification levels, often opt for FFP reticles. Around the year 2005 Zeiss was the first high-end European telescopic sight manufacturer who brought out variable magnification military grade telescopic sight models with rear SFP mounted reticles. They get around impermissible impact shifts by laboriously hand-adjusting every military grade telescopic sight. The American high-end telescopic sight manufacturer U.S. Optics Inc. also offers variable magnification military grade telescopic sight models with SFP mounted reticles. Either type of reticle can be illuminated for use in low-light or daytime conditions. With any illuminated low-light reticle, it
9828-709: The possibility to increase the tube walls thickness (hence a more robust sight) without sacrificing a lot of internal diameter. A telescopic sight can have several manual adjustment controls in the form of control knobs or coaxial rings. All telescopic sights have the first three (diopter, elevation, windage) adjustment controls, and the fourth (magnification) control is offered on variable-power sights. The remaining two adjustments are optional and typically only found on higher-end models with additional features. The windage and elevation adjustment knobs (colloquially called "tracking turrets") often have internal ball detents to help accurately index their rotation, which provide
9936-734: The rear of the barrel, and are often loaded using magazines of varying capacities; revolvers , which have a number of firing chambers or "charge holes" in a revolving cylinder , each one loaded with a single cartridge or charge; and derringers , broadly defined as any handgun that is not a traditional pistol nor a revolver. There are various types of the aforementioned handguns designed for different mechanisms or purposes, such as single-shot , manual repeating , semi-automatic , or automatic pistols; single-action , double-action , or double-action/single-action revolvers; and small, compact handguns for concealed carry such as pocket pistols and " Saturday night specials ". Examples of pistols include
10044-528: The reference arrays of holdover reticles are typically much wider at the lower portion, shaping into an isosceles triangle / trapezium that resembles the canopy of a spruce , the ornamental tree traditionally used to make Christmas trees . Holdover reticles therefore are colloquially also known as " Christmas tree reticles ". Well-known examples of these reticles include GAP G2DMR, Horus TReMoR series and H58/H59, Vortex EBR-2B and Kahles AMR. Telescopic sights based on image erector lenses (used to present to
10152-527: The rifle's function and purpose as in semi-automatic rifles , automatic rifles and sniper rifles , to differences in the rifle's action as in single-shot , break-action , bolt-action , and lever-action rifles. Examples of rifles of various types include the Henry rifle , Winchester rifle , Lee–Enfield , Gewehr 98 , M1 Garand , MAS-36 rifle , AKM , Ruger 10/22 , Heckler & Koch G3 , Remington Model 700 , and Heckler & Koch HK417 . A shotgun
10260-516: The same purposes. However, some prefer battle rifles for their more powerful cartridge, despite the added recoil. Some designated marksman rifles are configured from battle rifles, such as the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle and United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle , both essentially heavily modified and modernized variants of the M14 rifle . Examples of rifles considered to be battle rifles include
10368-596: The semi-automatic or burst fire of standard rifles. They are commonly associated with being belt-fed , though many machine guns are also fed by box, drum, pan, or hopper magazines. They generally have a high rate of fire and a large ammunition capacity, and are often used for suppressive fire to support infantry advances or defend positions from enemy assaults. Owing to their versatility and firepower, they are also commonly installed on military vehicles and military aircraft , either as main or ancillary weapons . Many machine guns are individual-served and can be operated by
10476-409: The simple crosshairs to complex reticles designed to allow the shooter to range a target, to compensate for the bullet drop, and to adjust windage required due to crosswinds. A user can estimate the range to objects of known size, the size of objects at known distances, and even roughly compensate for both bullet drop and wind drifts at known ranges with a reticle-equipped sight. For example, with
10584-586: The size of carbines and short-barreled rifles, and use similar configurations. Many are designed to take as little space as possible for use in close-quarters or for easy storage in vehicles and cases. Some submachine guns are designed and configured similar to pistols even down to size, and are thus occasionally classed as machine pistols , even if they are not actually a handgun (i.e. designed to require two hands to use). Submachine guns are considered ideal for close-quarters combat and are cheap to mass-produce. They were very common in military service through much of
10692-657: The standard sharpshooter equipment during the American Civil War . Other telescopic sights of the same period were the Davidson and the Parker Hale . An early practical refracting telescope based telescopic sight was built in 1880 by August Fiedler (of Stronsdorf , Austria ), forestry commissioner of German Prince Reuss . Later telescopic sights with extra long eye relief became available for use on handguns and scout rifles . A historic example of
10800-560: The support of a weapons platform (e.g. a fixed mount , wheeled carriage , vehicle , aircraft or water vessel ) to be tactically mobile or useful. The subset of light firearms that only use kinetic projectiles and are compact enough to be operated to full capacity by a single infantryman (individual-served) are also referred to as small arms . Such firearms include handguns such as pistols , revolvers , and derringers ; and long guns such as rifles (and their subtypes), shotguns , submachine guns , and machine guns . Among
10908-462: The transition point between thinner and thicker lines are at a defined distance from the center, as seen in designs such as the common 30/30 reticles (both the fine horizontal and vertical crosshair lines are 30 MOAs in length at 4× magnification before transition to thicker lines). There can be additional features such as enlarged center dot (frequently also illuminated ), concentric circle (solid or broken/dashed), chevron , stadia bars, or
11016-456: The type of action employed (e.g. muzzleloader , breechloader , lever , bolt , pump , revolver , semi-automatic , fully automatic , etc.), together with the usual means of deportment (i.e. hand-held or mechanical mounting). Further classification may make reference to the type of barrel used (i.e. rifled ) and to the barrel length (e.g. 24 inches), to the firing mechanism (e.g. matchlock , wheellock , flintlock , or percussion lock ), to
11124-812: The ubiquitous metric units , as each milliradian at each meter of distance simply corresponds to a subtension of 1 millimeter; while MOA-based reticles are more popular in civilian usage favoring imperial units (e.g. in the United States), because by coincidence 1 MOA at 100 yards (the most common sight-in distance) can be confidently rounded to 1 inch. To allow methodological uniformity, accurate mental calculation and efficient communication between spotters and shooters in sniper teams , mil-based sights are typically matched by elevation/windage adjustments in 0.1 mil increments. There are however military and shooting sport sights that use coarser or finer reticle increments. By means of
11232-551: The user with an upright image) have two planes of focus where a reticle can be placed: at the focal plane between the objective and the image erector lens system (the First Focal Plane (FFP)), or the focal plane between the image erector lens system and the eyepiece (the Second Focal Plane (SFP)). On fixed power telescopic sights there is no significant difference, but on variable power telescopic sights
11340-447: The wind speed, from observing flags or other objects, by a trained user through using the reticle marks. The less-commonly used holdunder, used for shooting on sloping terrain, can even be estimated by an appropriately-skilled user with a reticle-equipped sight, once both the slope of the terrain and the slant range to target are known. There are two main types of reticle constructions: wire reticle and etched reticle . Wire reticles are
11448-414: The world's arms manufacturers , the top firearms manufacturers are Browning , Remington , Colt , Ruger , Smith & Wesson , Savage , Mossberg (United States), Heckler & Koch , SIG Sauer , Walther (Germany), ČZUB (Czech Republic), Glock , Steyr Arms (Austria), FN Herstal (Belgium), Beretta (Italy), Norinco (China), Rostec , and Kalashnikov (Russia). Former top producers included
11556-493: The worldwide total of civilian-held firearms. This amounts to "120.5 firearms for every 100 residents". The world's armed forces control about 133 million (about 13 percent) of the global total of small arms, of which over 43 percent belong to two countries: the Russian Federation (30.3 million) and China (27.5 million). Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million (about 2 percent) of
11664-478: Was invented in 1935 by Olexander Smakula . A classic lens-coating material is magnesium fluoride , which reduces reflected light from 5% to 1%. Modern lens coatings consist of complex multi-layers and reflect only 0.25% or less to yield an image with maximum brightness and natural colors. Determined by the optical properties of the lenses used and intended primary use of the telescopic sight, different coatings are preferred, to optimize light transmission dictated by
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