Reference library
Guides to rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition, optics and archery, plus hunting know-how by species for the United States and Canada. Every page lists the sources behind it.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
The AK story begins with a Soviet postwar infantry rifle program tied to Mikhail Kalashnikov and the 7.62 x 39 mm M43 cartridge. The AKM was the later modernized model, and Kalashnikov terminology can be imprecise when similar rifles are grouped under one familiar name.
Guide · Firearm Safety and Storage
A magazine disconnect safety is a mechanical feature on some semiautomatic pistols that can prevent firing when the magazine is removed. It is not proof that the chamber is empty, and it is never a substitute for opening the action and checking the chamber.
Comparison · Bows and Archery
Multi-pin bow sights keep several fixed aiming references ready for set distances, while single-pin sights use one adjustable aiming reference, usually with a sight tape or yardage indicator. For bowhunters, the main trade-off is a ready set of preset pins versus a cleaner sight picture and a pin that can be adjusted to a measured distance.
Guide · Rifles
Pump-action rifles, also called slide-action or trombone-action rifles, use a movable fore-end to operate the bolt. They exist in both rimfire and centerfire forms, but major references describe the action as much more common in shotguns than in rifles.
Guide · Firearm Safety and Storage
Loaded chamber indicators are chamber status aids. They may show or let you feel that a cartridge is chambered, but they do not replace opening the action and checking the chamber.
Guide · Shotguns
Shotgun beads and ribs are alignment aids, not rifle type sights that guarantee point of impact. For clay and wing shooting, coaching material emphasizes pointing the shotgun, keeping visual focus on the target, and confirming results on a patterning board.
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