Hunter's Safety Course1

Supports the action and the barrel of a firearm and is made out of either wood or synthetic material. The stock may be a single piece or two pieces, depending on the manufacturer.

Consists of a series of parts that load, fire and eject a cartridge or shot shell from a firearm.

An alignment device to help aim a firearm. Styles of sights include metallic, fiber optic, peep, open, telescopic, dot and laser.

The barrel is the tube-shaped part of a firearm through which ammunition is fired. The muzzle is located at the front end of the barrel.

When squeezed, the trigger releases the firing pin to hit the primer on a firearm's cartridge, igniting the powder and sending the bullet down the barrel. The trigger guard protects the trigger.

A storage device for cartridges or shot shells featured on most firearms. Without your magazine, your rifle or shotgun will be limited to a single shot. There are two types of magazines: box and tubular. They are available as either a detachable or fixed part. A detachable magazine can be removed from a firearm, whereas a fixed magazine cannot.

-high accuracy - It is the strongest action. -It is operated by moving the bolt handle up and to the rear to open the action. -When the bolt is moved forward, it picks up a fresh cartridge. -With the bolt fully forward, push down on it to lock the bolt in place. Engage the safety and you are ready to hunt. Grasp the bolt handle after firing, lifting it up while pulling it towards you. This will eject the spent cartridge from the chamber.

A lever-action firearm usually has a shorter barrel, is lighter to carry, and is easy to operate for follow-up shots. A popular style of action among rifles, it is a good choice if you are hunting in thick brush (remember to cover the trigger guard to protect the trigger). Most lever-actions have a loading gate where the cartridges are pushed into a tubular magazine.

To load a cartridge from the magazine, grasp the lever and swing it down and away from you. Make sure that the barrel is pointed in a safe direction. Next, swing the lever up and towards you. This releases a cartridge from the magazine, chambers the cartridge and closes the action. After you load, engage the safety if your lever action has one; otherwise, place the hammer at half-cock position. After firing the lever action, swing the lever down and away from you to eject the cartridge.

Used in both shotguns and rifles, pump action allows a hunter to quickly eject and chamber new ammunition. It is typically loaded from the bottom into a tubular magazine. The action is opened when the forearm is pulled back to the rear of the firearm. Pushing the forearm forward moves the ammunition from the magazine into the chamber and closes the action so that the firearm is loaded and ready to be fired. On most pump-actions, a slide lever located by the trigger guard releases the action so you can inspect the chamber or unload the firearm.

This type of action is used in both shotguns and rifles. Many hunters find this firearm a pleasure to shoot due to its reduced recoil. After the trigger is pulled and a round is fired, the action opens automatically, the spent ammunition is ejected, a new round is chambered, the action closes and the firearm is ready to be fired again. This sequence repeats each time the trigger is pulled. The action remains open automatically when all ammunition stored in the magazine and chamber has been fired.

This firearm is available in single-barrel or double-barrel styles and is ideal for novice hunters due to the limit it places on shots per use. Most firearms with this type of action feature two barrels placed either side-by-side or in an over-and-under configuration. For loading, push on the action release lever and pivot the barrels down. The chamber will then be separated from the stock and firing mechanism so ammunition can be inserted. Once you close the action and release the safety, the firearm is ready for firing. After firing, press the release lever to open the action and eject the spent cartridge or shotshell. Some break-actions have automatic ejectors, others require that you manually remove the spent cartridge or shotshell. Break actions for rifles and shotguns may be designed to accommodate a wide variety of interchangeable barrels for rimfire and centerfire ammunition.

With this style of handgun, a single pull of the trigger both cocks and drops the hammer. To open the action, every double action has a release button that, when pressed, allows the cylinder to swing out from the frame. With the cylinder accessible, you can load the cartridges into the chambers. To close the cylinder, push the cylinder into the frame until it locks in place. When you pull the trigger back, the cylinder revolves to a new chamber, and at the same time the hammer starts toward the cocked position. Continuing to pull the trigger will result in the cylinder stopping on a new chamber and the hammer being dropped, striking the firing pin. To fire another cartridge, start pulling the trigger back slowly until the revolver fires. Alternatively, while keeping your finger off the trigger, pull the hammer all the way back with your thumb until it locks into position. A slight squeeze on the trigger will fire the gun. To unload the double action, press the cylinder release, swing the cylinder out to expose the chambers, and push on the ejection rod. All the cartridges will fall from the cylinder.

Unlike its double-action counterpart, a single-action revolver's trigger only releases the hammer. When the hammer is pulled back to the full-cocked position, the trigger is set and can be pulled to fire a single shot. After a shot is fired, the trigger is locked in place until the hammer is pulled back to the full-cocked position for another shot. The cylinder does not swing out on a single-action. Loading requires the hammer to be pulled back to the half-cock position. Next, open the loading gate, rotate the cylinder to an empty chamber, and insert a cartridge. To eject a cartridge, pull the hammer to a half-cock position, open the loading gate, and rotate the cylinder until a cartridge is visible. When the cartridge is visible, push on the ejector rod until the cartridge falls out. You must perform this action for each cartridge.

The break-action or hinge-action pistol operates similar to a break-action rifle or shotgun. To load a cartridge, push on the chamber-release lever and pivot the barrel down. The chamber is separated from the firing mechanism and ammunition can be inserted into the chamber. The pistol is ready to fire once the chamber is closed. After firing, press on the release lever to open the action. Some break-action pistols have automatic ejectors. Others require you to remove spent cartridges or shot shells manually. Also of note, some break-action models have a half-cock hammer safety.

This handgun features an action similar to that of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns. It also generates less recoil, due to its design. Load the semi-automatic pistol by removing the magazine and pushing cartridges into it until full. Next, insert the magazine into the magazine well, typically located in the pistol grip. Pull back on the slide and release the slide without hindering its motion in any way. The pistol is now loaded. When the trigger is pulled, the round is fired, the action opens, the spent case is extracted and ejected and a new round is chambered. This sequence is repeated for every pull of the trigger. The action remains open automatically when all ammunition stored in the magazine has been used. Many semi-automatic pistols have external safeties to help prevent accidental discharge. Always read and follow manufacturer's instructions.