Semi-automatic rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is a type of self-loading rifle that fires a single round each time the trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next cartridge. Such rifles were developed before World War II and were widely used throughout that war. Rifles are firearms designed to be fired while held with both hands and braced against the shooter's shoulder for stability. Externally similar shotguns can fire multiple pellets simultaneously through a smoothbore, while rifle barrels are rifled to spin-stabilize individual bullets. The actions of semi-automatic rifles use a portion of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the spent casing and load a new round into the chamber, readying the rifle to be fired again. This design differs from manually operated rifles such as bolt-action and lever-action rifles, which need to chamber a cartridge manually before firing again, and automatic rifles, which continue firing as long as the trigger remains depressed.