HUNTING RIFLES

A hunting rifle is basically a firearm that is designed in a way that can be fired from the shoulder. An attached barrel which has a pattern of grooves or a helical groove which is called rifling is cut into the walls of this barrel. ‘Lands’ are the raised areas of the rifling which come in contact with the bullet which is also called the projectile. The rifling impart spinning which corresponds with the orientation of the rifle. Originally referred to as grooving, the rifles earlier were called the rifled guns. Many of the hunting activities as well as shooting sports involve the use ofhunting rifles. Rifles were always used in warfare and are still being used during wars today.

The bullet that is used in the rifle contains explosive compounds, mainly the black powder, after which cordite and now even nitrocellulose is also being used. In rifles where casual hunting is done and small games are hunted, compressed air is used which helps in propelling the bullet. In the armed forces, where small arms have to be referred to, the term gun is usually incorrect and not used, especially in the military forces. A gun is usually a artillery piece which is used by the military forces.

As far as the traditional hunting rifles are concerned such rifles are able to fire one single projectile with every pull of the trigger. But nowadays, the modern assault rifles work in fully automatic modes and are capable of firing in continuous bursts. Similar to these types of rifles are the machine guns. Even the light machine guns have adaptations similar to that of the assault rifles.

Though it is difficult to trace the origin of rifling, some of the earliest practical experiments are sure to have occurred during the fifteenth century. In archery, arrows had tail feathers that were accurate and very much prevalent for many decades. Though archers were very much dependent on these arrows it was high time that better forms of hunting came into existence. The muskets that were available earlier had musket bores that had to be cleaned up after the action due to the soot and the smoke that was given out. Repeated scrubbing of the bore and the creation of ‘soot grooves’ allowed more shots to be fired from the firing equipment. The need for developing more accuracy was perceived and it was from the mid of the fifteenth century that the unrifled musket came into existence and a primary infantry weapon. Although the precision required for the effective manufacture of this weapon was available, infantry men were not able to use this weapon for almost three and a half centuries. It was after this time that the unrifled musket came into existence as a weapon. By the nineteenth century this novel weapon was called the ‘rifled musket’ and was being used as a weapon for meeting standards of accuracy.

As per the record, guns have been existent right from the twelfth century and it was after this that in the nineteenth century the rifles replaced the muskets used on the battlefields. Since World War II, rifles have remained very much the same. Though the materials used for the modern day hunting rifles remain the same, the concept of making them still remains unchanged.