Shoot to Win interior

You may hear rifles and shotguns collectively referred to as “long guns,” even though there are distinct differences, as discussed in the next two chapters. While there are many different types of rifles, they share some common parts. The parts and vocabulary for rifles are fairly different than for pistols or shotguns, so we’ll go over them here,, starting with the three major assembly groups: stock, action, and barrel.

The stock is the part of the rifle that both goes against your shoulder and is held by your shooting hand. Rifle stocks can be made of wood or other synthetic materials. Some stocks are more functional in that the length can be adjusted for comfort, while other stocks are more aesthetic. Some rifle shooters like a stock that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

This Volquartsen Custom 10/22 rifle has a beautiful blue wood thumbhole stock. Stocks often come in many colors and variations.

Finding the right stock is important because it is related to your personal comfort. The more comfortable you are, the more relaxed you’ll be, which will increase your accuracy. One note is that every stock feels different to everyone, so I am sometimes skeptical if someone says that a certain stock will or won’t be good for me. I have to try it myself and make my own decision. The only person who really knows is you, so I highly suggest that you test multiple stocks.

The butt is the end of the stock that goes against your shoulder. A butt pad is often a piece of soft rubber that goes on the end of the butt to absorb recoil and make shouldering the rifle more comfortable. Sometimes the butt pad is a piece of metal that can increase durability but may be less comfortable. Every rifle is different in that some have butt pads and others do not.

The comb is the whole top length of the stock where the shooter rests his or her cheek. A good comb will provide a good cheek weld, the contact your cheek makes with the comb.

Pictured with a Houlding Precision AR-15 style rifle. Notice the user’s cheek is partially coming over the comb of the stock. This indicates a good cheek weld where the user brings the rifle up to the cheek. Avoid bringing your head down to the comb, which may cause you to tilt your chin down and possibly strain your neck, making aiming more difficult.

Your cheek muscle should be solidly planted on top of the comb. Everyone has different cheek anatomy with different cheekbone heights, so you’ll want to ensure you can see your rifle sights. Some stocks have adjustable combs, which will allow the shooter to find the perfect height relative to the sighting system (iron sights or an optic). If the stock has a fixed comb, you may need to try different stocks and sighting systems to find the optimal configuration.

The grip is the part of the stock where the shooting hand goes. There are different types of grips, notably a regular grip and a “pistol grip,” the latter being common on the AR-15 platform.

Grips have a range of textures, from smooth to rough. The texture can increase a shooter’s grip, so find the grip you’re most comfortable with.

Opinions vary as to which grip is better, depending on the purpose. Some people say that pistol grips enable them to maneuver the long gun better, or control recoil more effectively, but you’ll find an equal number of people who will say the same thing about normal grips. As with most things firearms-related, it’s a very personal decision and you should go try different grips to see what works for you. You don’t necessarily need to go out and buy every type. If you’re at the range and see grips that catch your eye on someone else’s gun, most of the time striking up a friendly conversation leads to the owner’s letting you check out his or her gear.

The fore end is the part of the stock that is underneath the barrel. The support hand often goes there to support the rifle.

However, in some rifles like the AR-15, there is no part of the stock that goes underneath the barrel. Instead, there is a “forearm” that goes around the barrel, which can be grabbed by the support hand.

A different forearm style on a different Houlding Precision AR-15 style rifle. AR-15 forearms are interchangeable.

There are many types of forearm styles and lengths, especially for the AR-15 platform. Most AR-15 forearms have attachment points for flashlights, additional sights, lasers, bayonets, and other accessories. The AR-15 forearm is where many rifle owners love to geek out, which makes it a popular rifle (in fact, the most popular civilian rifle in America at the time of this writing).

The action is the part of the rifle that contains all the moving parts to load, unload, and fire. The parts of a rifle barrel are the same as those of a pistol barrel, as noted on p. 50.

The main difference is that rifle barrels will be much longer than pistol barrels. While pistol-barrel lengths generally range from 3 to 8 inches, rifle-barrel lengths generally range from 10 to 30 inches. In the United States, there are certain restrictions for “short-barreled rifles” (SBRs) where rifles with barrel lengths shorter than 16 inches must go through additional paperwork with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Certain states prohibit the civilian ownership of SBRs, so you’ll want to check your state laws.

A barrel can be threaded to accept a flash hider, muzzle brake, or suppressor. A flash hider hides the flash produced when the hot gases exit the muzzle. This is important when hunters, law enforcement, military personnel, and other users do not want their position given away by the flash, which is obviously more prominent at night time.

Finally, rifle suppressors are functionally the same as pistol suppressors, as discussed on p. 50.

The action is the part of the rifle through which the bullet travels after the trigger is pulled. A rifle’s action is composed of multiple parts that allow the user to load, unload, and shoot. There are a few different types of actions, some of which we’ll review here. Opening the action enables the user to load a cartridge into the chamber. Closing the action usually readies the firing pin, so all the user needs to do is aim and pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger drops the firing pin, which strikes the cartridge’s primer.

Other parts of the action are magazines and the safety. Magazines are similar to pistol magazines that load subsequent rounds at a faster pace, as opposed to a user manually loading a single round after each shot. Each time the action is opened and closed, a round (spent or unspent) will be ejected and a new one fed into the chamber from the magazine.

Some rifles are magazine-fed, while others are tube-fed. Rifle magazines can be either detachable or nondetachable; it just depends on your specific make and model rifle. Detachable magazines enable the user to reload faster than nondetachable magazines because of the different loading process.

Ruger 10/22 magazines. At left, a twenty-five-round magazine. At right, a ten-round magazine.

AR-15 magazines with twenty-round, thirty-round (Magpul Industries), and sixty-round capacities (SureFire). At far right is a fifty-round magazine drum, by X Products.

A muzzleloader rifle requires the shooter to load a bullet and powder into the muzzle end of the barrel before each shot. Muzzleloader rifles are very similar to muzzleloader pistols with respect to the general loading and firing mechanics. Since muzzleloaders are not as common as the other action types, I won’t go into much detail in this book.

However, muzzleloader rifles have a unique place in firearms history and competition, and there is nothing wrong with starting off with one.

A bolt-action rifle requires a user to lift the bolt handle up and then pull it back. This sequence will open the action and enable a cartridge to be loaded into the chamber. Many shooters feel a bolt-action rifle is one of the most accurate types of action because you can manually seat the cartridge into the chamber, which can increase accuracy. In comparison, a semiautomatic rifle bolt will quickly push forward and ram a fresh cartridge into the chamber. This fast movement may not align the cartridge’s bullet at its maximum center, therefore affecting accuracy.

If your bolt-action rifle has a fixed magazine, at step 4 you can load it to capacity. To load, you can normally push one round on top of the next.

On a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, the fixed magazine is located below the chamber. Pictured here is one round already seated in the magazine. To load additional rounds, simply place a round on top of the loaded one and press down until you hear and feel a “click.”

If your bolt-action rifle has a detachable magazine, at step 4 insert a loaded magazine. Consult your owner’s manual for detailed instructions for your particular rifle.

Short-Stroking

One thing to note about bolt-action rifles is that, if the user does not fully pull the bolt back when cycling the action, a jam or misfeed can occur. You need to be fairly aggressive when racking the action.

Never Give Up

One of my fondest memories on Top Shot was competing with the 1860 Henry lever-action rifle. Chambered in .45 Long Colt, this Civil War–era rifle was a game changer in its day, when Union soldiers could shoot multiple rounds against the Confederacy’s single-shot muzzleloaders. The Henry rifle was known as “that damned Yankee rifle they load on Sunday and shoot all week.”

The tube-fed 1860 Henry lever-action rifle by Cimarron Firearms.

In one of the closest Top Shot elimination challenges ever, I competed against William Bethards, an FBI Specialist and former Marine Corps rifle-team member. Even though neither of us had ever fired a lever-action rifle, I was clearly the inexperienced one.

I fell behind very early in the challenge. The rifle was shooting high for me, so I was supposed to be aiming low to compensate. However, with all the pressure and excitement, I simply forgot and kept putting the front sight right on target, thereby missing high each time. With each miss, William kept taking advantage by knocking his targets down and pulling away with the lead.

About two-thirds of the way into the challenge, I was really behind. I had only six of the fifteen targets down, compared with William’s eleven. When the host, Colby Donaldson, noted that I was behind and that I had to “pick up the pace,” I felt stressed.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, William was experiencing some problems that opened the door for me to catch up. The last few moments of that challenge were incredible; words just won’t do them justice, so I hope you’ll watch “The Longest Shot” episode.

Competition is a great way to test the skills we acquire and to see how we stack up against others. I think part of being successful in business, sports, and life is driving through the hard time with relentless focus and energy. Even when I do fall short, I have the peace of mind that I gave it my all and I try to learn as much as I can from the experience.

I know how to handle pressure, and it’s a skill I can apply in competition, at work, and in other life situations. This is one example where I tapped my skill set from past experiences and applied it to an active situation. And the next time I’m stressed out I can rely on this Top Shot example of how I struggled but also came from behind to win.

Lever-action rifles are a lot of fun to shoot. They are reminiscent of the cowboy days and were a groundbreaking innovation that enabled a shooter to hold more ammunition in a magazine tube.

A lever-action rifle has a lever connected to a trigger guard, which when pulled down will open the action. Pulling the lever back up will close the action. Rounds are loaded either at the muzzle end of the magazine tube or on the side of the receiver. It is usually one or the either but not both. You’ll need to consult your owner’s manual for the specifics of your particular lever-action rifle.

To unload a lever-action rifle, while keeping your finger off the trigger, open and close the action repeatedly using the lever until no more cartridges are ejected. To confirm the rifle is empty, a visual and manual chamber check should be performed. Look into the chamber and also place your finger inside to confirm that there is no round present.

A hinge-action, or break-action, rifle is where the barrel hinges away from the breech when a release lever is engaged. The user can load one, two, and sometimes even three rounds, one round per barrel. Most break-action rifles have only one or two barrels, and therefore can only hold one or two rounds, respectively.

Loading a hinge-action rifle is straightforward. While keeping your finger off the trigger, depress the release lever and pull down on the rifle’s forearm. Place the round into the chamber, and then close the action. If the rifle has a safety, once that is turned off the rifle is ready to fire.

To unload a hinge-action rifle, while keeping your finger off the trigger, depress the release lever and remove the round.

Just like with semiautomatic pistols, semiautomatic rifles fire one round each time the trigger is pulled. With the firing of each shot, the spent cartridge is ejected and the bolt chambers a fresh round from a magazine.

Semiauto rifles can vary in appearance. The Ruger 10/22 (top) and the Houlding AR-15 style rifle (bottom) are both semiauto rifles.

Rifle magazines can vary in shape and size. They can all be disassembled for cleaning and replacing parts. If your magazines ever get dropped in the dirt, dust, mud, or otherwise get dirty, you should take them apart and clean them. If you don’t, you risk having a jam the next time you use them.

Magazine capacity laws vary state to state, so make sure to check your local and state laws, or your local gun store. Rifle magazines typically store anywhere from five to thirty rounds. Capacity higher than thirty rounds is also available.

The AR-15 magazine construction is similar to a typical semiauto pistol magazine. It has a body, follower and follower spring, and a floor plate. Since rifle magazines vary by make and model, consult your owner’s manual for further disassembly instructions.

Loading a rifle magazine is often easier than a pistol magazine. You can often simply push a round straight down on the follower, and then subsequent rounds keep going right on top of each preceding round. The magazine lips will keep the round in the magazine, so you do not need to put a lot of downward pressure on the top round to load subsequent rounds as you do with pistol magazines. How do you figure out which way to insert rounds? For most magazines, you will see a lip on one side of the magazine. That’s typically where the primer end of the cartridge goes.

To load a semiautomatic rifle, with your finger off the trigger, pull the bolt back and lock it open. Insert a loaded magazine and give it two to three solid taps to make sure it is properly seated. If you fail to perform this step, you risk having the magazine fall out. You can even feel free to pull hard on the magazine to confirm it is seated. Close the action, and you’re ready to fire once you turn the safety off. Consult your owner’s manual for the specific steps for closing the action on your particular semiauto rifle.

To unload a semiauto rifle, with your finger off the trigger, lock the bolt back. You may or may not eject a cartridge, depending on whether you shot all the rounds in the magazine. Once the bolt is locked, press the magazine release to remove the magazine. This order is important. If you do not lock back the bolt and simply remove the magazine, you could still have a live round in the chamber. If this happens, all you need to do is open the bolt and lock it, but it’s safer if you lock the bolt back first.

A fully automatic rifle is capable of rapid fire by holding down the trigger. While many militaries and law enforcement agencies use fully automatic weapons, U.S. civilians who live in certain states can purchase a National Firearms Act tax stamp that will allow them to own fully automatic rifles.

Shooting a Piece of History

The Browning M1919 machine gun, designed by John Browning, was a common fixture in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. The belt-fed M1919 was often mounted on a vehicle, and on Top Shot we got to shoot the M1919 mounted to an authentic World War II half-track that served in the European theater. While rolling down a course at 25 mph, we took aim at exploding targets with simulated mortars going off throughout the course.

One thing that’s challenging with fully automatic weapons is keeping the gun on target. With every shot, the muzzle rises and pulls off target, so the user must keep the sights on target. Short bursts of three to five rounds are one way to control a fully automatic gun. Oftentimes, your instinct is to hold down the trigger until you go dry. However, you’ll see that this approach, while fun, can result in multiple missed shots.

Firing my first machine gun on Top Shot was definitely one of my most memorable and thrilling experiences.

Top Shot Season 4 featured an authentic World War II half-track vehicle with a mounted M1919 machine gun. Host Colby Donaldson is at right. Standing at left, from left to right: Greg Littlejohn and Augie Malekovich. Sitting: Kyle Sumpter, Chris Cheng, and Gary Shank. Photo courtesy of HISTORY.

A selective-fire rifle has at minimum, a semiautomatic and a fully automatic mode. Many selective-fire rifles also have a three-round burst setting, where each trigger pull will fire three rounds. An NFA tax stamp is also required for qualifying civilians who wish to own a selective-fire rifle.

A number of selective-fire rifles are submachine guns. The “sub” part means that the rifle shoots pistol rounds, such as 9mm, .40, or the relatively new 4.6mm x 30 cartridge. “Subcompact” means that the barrel is short (around 6 inches) and therefore compact.

Shooting a Selective-Fire

I was invited to a private industry event in October 2012 where thirty to forty members of the firearms industry met on a Tennessee ranch to network and shoot a bunch of guns. It was there I got to fire the Heckler & Koch MP7A1, a selective-fire 4.6mm x 30 caliber rifle.

The author with the Hechler & Koch MP7A1 selective-fire rifle.

If anyone remembers the computer game S.W.A.T. from the early 1990s, that was my introduction to the MP5, a popular selective-fire subcompact machinegun chambered in 9mm.

The author with a suppressed Heckler & Koch MP5A2, also selective-fire.

The MP7 is an addition to H&K’s subcompact line, which is designed to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) armor-penetrating requirements. The MP7 was a joy to shoot—the 4.6mm round is compact, but it packs a punch. While it is very difficult for U.S. civilians to own a selective-fire weapon, there are a number of gun ranges that allow users to rent them, including some in Las Vegas. However, at of the time of this writing I’m not sure if any of them offer the MP7.

The range officers will give you a brief tutorial on how to operate the machine gun, and oftentimes the experience only lasts 5–10 seconds. They will keep you safe even if you’ve never fired a gun before.

Shooting a fully automatic firearm is definitely a fun experience I recommend!

There are other types of rifles actions, but as they are less common, I have not included them here.

Most rifles have a manual safety switch. In the “ON” position, the rifle is supposed to be incapable of firing. In the “OFF” position, the rifle is in a ready-to-fire condition. Variations of this are “S” for “Safe” and “F” for “Fire.”

On an AR-15, the safety usually involves symbols. In this example, the selector is pointing to a picture of a cartridge with an “X” through it. This is the safety “ON” position. To turn the safety off, the user would flip the selector 90 degrees clockwise (twelve o’clock position) to the picture with the cartridge. On selective-fire rifles, the three o’clock position is often a fully automatic setting.

Even if the safety is “ON,” you cannot completely rely on it to prevent a rifle from firing. A safety is simply a mechanical part that, like any mechanical part, is prone to failure. Remember safety rule 2: Never cover the muzzle with anything you are not willing to destroy.

Note that not all rifles have a safety, so make sure you consult your user manual.