Rifles and Shotguns: Do You Know The Difference?

Rifle

The term “Rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.

 

Shotgun

The term “Shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.

Shotguns with barrel(s) modified to less than 18″ in length are considered as “sawed-off” shotguns.

 

Silencers

The term “Firearm Silencer” or “Firearm Muffler” means any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for the use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication.

*Remember, writers, silencers are not effective when used on revolvers. And, they attach (screw) to a point outside of the barrel, not the inside.

 

Machine Gun

– Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger

– The frame or receiver of any such weapon

– Any part designed and intended solely and exclusively or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, or

– Any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.

 

*With the exception of the top photo (Graveyard Shift photo), all of the above (text and images) are from ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives). Thanks to the folks at ATF for allowing the reproduction and use.