Definitions

1. Stock: The body of the rifle. Historically this is made from a single, solid piece of wood (walnut or ash), but modern rifles can have laminated wood or Aluminium stocks and can be made up of multiple sections. This is the part of the rifle that the shooter will have contact with whilst holding the rifle.

2. Butt: This part of the stock sits against the shooter’s shoulder when the rifle is held.

3. Cheek piece: The cheek of the shooter will be placed on/against this whilst firing and it provides a platform to help align the eye with the sights.

4. Pistol grip: The firing hand of the shooter lightly grips the pistol grip and provides the correct position for the trigger finger.

5. Trigger guard: This is a protective guard that is fitted to the stock and prevents the trigger from being knocked or damaged accidentally when the rifle is being moved.

6. Trigger: The trigger is the device that translates the motion of the finger into the firing of the rifle and is fixed to the underside of the action.

7. Action: a metal housing that is fixed into the stock that connects the trigger, bolt and barrel together.

8. Breech: This is an opening in the top of the action where the ammunition is loaded into the rifle and is the entry point to the chamber.

9. Bolt: The bolt is used to push the round fully into the chamber, provides a seal around the end of the chamber during firing and it also holds the firing pin. When the round had been fired the bolt is used to extract the empty ammunition case from the chamber and eject it from the rifle.

10. Chamber: The ammunition will be sealed into the chamber prior to firing. The chamber also contains the force of the explosion used to propel the bullet through the barrel.

11. Rear sight: This is used in conjunction with the foresight to aim the rifle at the target and is positioned on top of the action about 3 inches in front of the eye that is used for aiming.

12. Barrel: The metal tube that connects into the action and sits on top of the stock. The inside of the tube has a spiral twist cut into it which makes the bullet spin as it flies through the air.

13. Foresight: The foresight is fitted to the muzzle end of the barrel and is lined up with the rear sight and the target to accurately aim the rifle.

14. Muzzle: The end of the barrel where the bullet will emerge when the rifle is fired.