What is Rifle?

Historically, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern
rifles are commonly classified as single-shot, bolt-action, semi-automatic, or automatic.
Single-shot, bolt-action, and semi-automatic rifles are limited by their designs to fire a
single shot for each trigger pull. Only automatic rifles are capable of firing more than
one round per trigger squeeze; however, some automatic rifles are limited to fixed
bursts of two, three, or more rounds per squeeze.
In early muzzle-loading rifles, ramming the bullet down the bore was difficult, as the
bullet had to fit the rifling tightly. Such rifles could not be loaded as rapidly as
smoothbore muskets. That problem was solved first by the use of greased patches
around the projectile. It was later—and far better—addressed by the Minié ball, a
projectile with a conical head and a hollow base that expanded slightly from the force of
the propellant charge, thereby fitting tightly into the grooves of the rifling. Somewhat
later the invention of metallic cartridges (joining explosive primer, propellant charge, and
projectile in a self-contained unit) permitted the development of gastight breech-
loading mechanisms. The technology was first applied in the 19th century in single-shot,
revolving-cylinder, and lever-action repeating arms. Many breech-loading rifles that
achieved widespread use in the early 20th century—such as the Springfield, Enfield,
and Mauser—were bolt-operated military arms. Since World War II, however,
the assault rifle, a light medium-range weapon with a switch allowing semi- or fully
automatic fire, has become the dominant military rifle.
Is a shoulder-fired long gun, with a series of spiral grooves cut inside the barrel ("rifling")
imparting spin to the projectile. Some rifles have a detachable magazine like the pistols
described above, and others have integral magazines. A carbine resembles a rifle but
has a shorter barrel.

The above enumerated types cover the large universe of all legal arms. There are,
however, others that do not fall clearly under any of them, either because of their
technical characteristics, or because of the manufacturing process (craft or artisanal
production, assembly of kits, modifications, 3D printing, etc). They are all listed under
the category "other".