Rifle

In its strict sense a rifle is a gun possessed of a rifled barrel; such a device is also assumed to be a small arm designed for aimed, discretionary fire by an individual. A rifle has a stock, either fixed or folding, and is thus a shoulder arm. Typically, rifles are firearms, with other modes of propulsion being qualified, by far the most common being the air rifle. A rifle is also of a specific length, beneath which a gun is a carbine, although this length is purely arbitrary. The advent of the repeating rifle, and particularly of the automatic rifle, has caused this definition further mutation; as machine-gun mechanisms became smaller and lighter we have seen the self-loading rifle, the battle rifle, and most recently the assault rifle. In its purest form an unqualified rifle is usually assumed to be a hunting weapon of classical appearance. This definition is complicated by the existence of rifled shotguns, which are designed to fire large lead slugs in a manner similar to old-style muskets, albeit with greater accuracy. On a larger scale, artillery and tank cannon are often rifled, as well.

Over a period of four hundred years, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, during which industrial production brought the expensive, precision machining required to mass-produce rifles down to a reasonable price, the rifle replaced its smooth-bore cousin, the musket, as the standard infantry arm of armies worldwide. Rifling, in its simplest form, consists of a series of helical grooves cut into the bore of a rifle barrel, something familiar from the opening 'sting' at the beginning of James Bond films (from the 19th century it has also been common for the bore to resemble a twisted polygonal shape). As the bullet travels down the barrel it screws itself into the grooves, imparting a spin which stabilizes the projectile gyroscopically; this effect became more pronounced as cylindrical bullets replaced lead balls in the 19th century (although such bullets are still called ball ammunition to this day). Bullet and cartridge development is extremely complicated and requires a write-up of its own; suffice it to say, bullets have become smaller and pointier over time, from .50 inch lead balls to .223 spikes, whilst cartridges have evolved from simple paper tubes containing powder and shot to shorter, more powerful, waterproof brass cases.

Rifles have been designed with a variety of actions over the years, originally being single-shot, muzzle-loading affairs powered by black powder. During the 18th century breech loaders, which allowed the rifleman to reload whilst under cover, came to the fore, and during the century after that multi-shot repeating rifles, using lever, pump, and latterly bolt actions, became standard. By the end of the 19th century the leading bolt-action design was that of Paul Mauser, whose action, wedded to a reliable design possessed of a five-shot magazine, became a world standard through two world wars, closely followed by Britain's Lee-Enfield and America's 1903 Springfield model. At this point civilian rifle design reached a peak from which it has barely moved; modern hunting rifles have fiberglass stocks and more advanced recoil pads, but are fundamentally the same as infantry rifles from 1910.

WW2 saw the first mass fielding of self-loading, semi-automatic rifles, including the famous M1 Garand, and by the end of that war the modern infantry assault rifle was born; all developments since then have been of refinement rather than revolution, the few radically new designs - flechette projectiles and combustible case 'caseless' cartridges - proving to be too far ahead of their time for widespread adoption. Historically, rifle design has been driven by the needs of the military, which it has in turn shaped. Whilst muskets were used for rapid, unaimed volley fire, the rifle was originally a sharp-shooter's weapon, used for targets of opportunity and sniper fire. As the 20th century dawned and progressed, riflemen were trained to shoot accurately over long ranges with high-powered cartridges. During WW2 and afterwards, with the advent of the portable light machinegun and of automatic rifles, rapid, aimed fire at closer ranges became prevalent. Today, an infantryman's rifle is capable of accurately engaging targets at up to 300 or more meters, whilst also being capable of bursts of automatic fire for much closer range.

Accurate, long-range fire is the mysterious and glamorous domain of the sniper, and of enthusiastic target shooters. The modern sniper rifle is generally capable of accuracy greatly below that of one minute of angle. Some large-calibre designs are capable of hitting an unfortunate human being at a distance of over a thousand meters, or a human-sized static target at twice than range.

See also: assault rifle, sniper, firearm action, Mauser, Winchester, Springfield, Martini-Henry, Lee-Enfield, Sharps, Colt, Marlin, pistol, carbine, bayonet, Baker, Brunswick, musket, M1 Garand