Combat shotgunA combat shotgun is a shotgun issued by militaries for warfare. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically used in a shotgun shell provide increased hit probability unmatched by other small arms. While the sporting shotgun traces its ancestry back to the fowling piece, which was a refinement of the smoothbore musket, the combat shotgun bears more kinship to the shorter blunderbuss.
Close-quarters combatClose-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat. It can occur between military units, law enforcement and criminal elements, and in other similar situations. In modern warfare, close-quarters combat usually consists of an engagement between two forces (typically "attackers" and "defenders") of varying size with small arms within a distance of up to 100 meters (110 yards), ranging from close-proximity shootouts to hand-to-hand combat.
Sawed-off shotgunA sawed-off shotgun (also called a scattergun, sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a shortened or absent stock. Despite the colloquial term, barrels do not, strictly speaking, have to be shortened with a saw. Barrels can be manufactured at shorter lengths as an alternative to traditional, longer barrels. This makes them easier to transport and conceal due to their smaller profile and lighter weight.
Blank (cartridge)A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound (muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a blank to cycle the action, and the shooter experiences less recoil with a blank than with a live round. Blanks are often used in prop guns for shooting simulations that have no need for ballistic results, but still demand light and sound effects, such as in historical reenactments, special effects for theatre, movie and television productions, combat training, for signaling (see starting pistol), and cowboy mounted shooting.
Hunting licenseA hunting license or hunting permit is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control hunting, both commercial and recreational. A license specifically made for recreational hunting is sometimes called a game license. Hunting may be regulated informally by unwritten law, self-restraint, a moral code, or by governmental laws. The purposes for requiring hunting licenses include the protection of natural treasures, and raising tax revenue (often, but not always, to dedicated funds). Hunting licenses are millennia old.
Pistol gripOn a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pistol. In firearms, the pistol grip is located behind the trigger and generally held by the hand that operates the trigger. Rifles and shotguns without pistol grips are generally referred to as having "straight" or "upland" (shotguns only) style stocks.
DerringerA derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. The modern derringer is often multi-barreled, and is generally the smallest usable handgun of any given caliber and barrel length due to the lack of a moving action, which takes up more space behind the barrel. It is frequently used by women because it is easily concealable in a purse or a stocking.
HandloadingHandloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by assembling the individual components (case, primer, propellant, and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded ammunition. (It should not be confused with the reloading of a firearm with cartridges, such as by swapping magazines or using a speedloader.) The term handloading is the more general term, and refers generically to the manual assembly of ammunition. Reloading refers more specifically to handloading using previously fired cases and shells.
Ancillary weaponAn ancillary weapon (also known as a secondary weapon, auxiliary weapon, or backup weapon) is a weapon used to supplement a primary or main weapon in the event it cannot be used or is ineffective in a certain application or situation. Examples of ancillary weapons to main weapons include a melee weapon to a ranged weapon, a sidearm to a service weapon, or a light gun to a heavy cannon. Ancillary weapons are intended to supplement a main weapon, and may be used either when the main weapon becomes inoperable temporarily (e.
