semiautomatic rifle

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

A semiautomatic rifle is a firearm that fires one shot with each pull of the trigger. It uses the energy from a fired round to automatically reload a new cartridge into the chamber, but requires the trigger to be released and pulled again for each subsequent shot. This is distinct from an automatic rifle, which continues to fire as long as the trigger is held down.12

While experimental semiautomatic rifles existed earlier, the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30 M1, designed by John C. Garand and adopted in 1936, was a significant development. It utilized a gas port to operate a piston, which ejected the spent casing and cocked the hammer, allowing the bolt to load a new round. This made it a durable and reliable standard-issue infantry weapon during World War II.3

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automatic rifle
…should not be confused with semiautomatic rifles, as the latter fire only one shot at each pull of the trigger. An automatic rifle fires repeatedly as long as the trigger is held down, until the magazine is exhausted. That fully automatic firing is achieved by weapons such as the machine…
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…should not be confused with semiautomatic rifles, as the latter fire only one shot at each pull of the trigger. An automatic rifle fires repeatedly as long as the trigger is held down, until the magazine is exhausted. That fully automatic firing is achieved by weapons such as the machine…
Read More

small arm
The self-loading rifle
…up with experimental self-loading, or semiautomatic, rifles, which used the energy generated by a fired round to load a fresh round into the chamber. However, only a handful of these weapons were adopted in very small numbers by the major armies, whose interest in automatic fire from the 1880s through…
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…up with experimental self-loading, or semiautomatic, rifles, which used the energy generated by a fired round to load a fresh round into the chamber. However, only a handful of these weapons were adopted in very small numbers by the major armies, whose interest in automatic fire from the 1880s through…
Read More

rifle
…but after World War II semiautomatic rifles became popular for hunting in the United States. It is illegal in some countries to hunt with a semiautomatic rifle.
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…but after World War II semiautomatic rifles became popular for hunting in the United States. It is illegal in some countries to hunt with a semiautomatic rifle.
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