Letter: B

A general term used to indicate any shot smaller than buckshot.

A handgun grip that comes to a point in front, making it resemble a bird’s head.

The earliest form of propellant, reputed to have been made by the Chinese or Hindus before the remote beginnings of history. First used for guns in the 13th century. It is a mechanical mixture of potassium or sodium nitrate (“saltpeter”), charcoal and sulfur.

Thin, flat projection used as the front sight on some firearms.

A cartridge loaded without a projectile designed to produce a loud noise. Often sealed at the mouth with a cardboard, plastic or fiber wad which is propelled from the muzzle with a dangerous force for a short distance when fired.

A rough sawed piece of wood having the approximate external outline of a stock prior to final shaping.

A fired primer cup in which the firing-pin indent has been punched out by internal gas pressure.

A magazine having a permanently closed bottom. Loading and unloading are accomplished through the same opening.

A leakage of propellant gas rearward between the cartridge case and chamber wall.

An automatic or semiautomatic action that utilizes the expanding gases of the ignited propellant powder to drive the breechblock action rearward. In other firearms the breechblock holds the breech closed under the force of the recoil spring, no mechanical locking system being employed. In a blowback action, the inertia of the movable parts is such that the bullet leaves the muzzle after discharge before the breechblock moves rearward.