Rifles

Rifles are long firearms designed to be fired from the shoulder. Their interior bore is rifled, meaning it has spiral grooves that impart a stabilizing spin to a fired projectile. This spin improves accuracy and effective range compared with smoothbore guns.

Most rifles use a cartridge-based system and a repeating action. Common actions include bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, and semi-automatic; fully automatic rifles exist but are heavily regulated in many countries. Barrel length, rifling twist rate, and overall design influence velocity, stability, and accuracy at distance.

The rifles have a long history starting with early rifled muskets in Europe, evolving through breech-loading and cartridge-based designs in the 19th century. The introduction of repeating rifles and modern semi-automatic services in the 20th century expanded military, hunting, and sport usage. Today, rifles range from hunting and sporting models to service rifles used by military and police, and specialized precision rifles used in sport shooting.

Calibers vary widely, from small to large, with common hunting calibers ranging across many regions; popular service calibers include intermediate rounds like 5.56x45mm and full-power rounds like .308 Winchester. In sport, rifles are optimized for accuracy, often featuring telescopic sights and bipods.

Safety and training are essential for any rifle use. Proper storage, handling, and adherence to local laws and regulations are required, with strict rules on safe storage, transport, and use.