handload, handloading
Handloading refers to the manufacturing of ammunition on a small scale, usually in a home workshop setting. The goal of handloading is to create loading "recipes" that are tailored to a particular firearm. Different firearms will "like" different combinations of powder charge, powder manufacture, bullet weight, and bullet type, so handloaders experiment with different combinations until they find one that provides exceptional accuracy. In the world of competitive benchrest shooting, handloading is an essential part of the sport. Shooters who use commercial ammunition, even of the very highest quality, will almost always be outperformed by the custom loads developed by handloaders.
See also: reloading
See also: reloading
hang-fire
A hang-fire is a noticeable delay between the pulling of the trigger and the firing of the weapon, usually caused by old or improperly manufactured ammunition. Hang-fires can be quite dangerous if not handled properly, as a confused shooter may attempt to cycle the action or peer down the barrel at the exact moment the cartridge finally ignites, with disastrous results. If a cartridge does not fire when the trigger is pulled, best-practice is to keep the muzzle safely pointed downrange for at least 30 seconds before attempting to clear the action. NEVER look down a barrel while a gun is loaded.
See also: out-of-battery discharge
See also: out-of-battery discharge
HD (home defense)
HD is an abbreviation for Home Defense. Certain firearms or accessories are designed and/or marketed towards HD, such as frangible bullets and shotguns with integrated flashlights.
headspace
A detailed explanation of headspace requires illustrations and dimensions and more technical knowledge than this author is confident he can provide. However, the short and sweet version is this: When you fire a cartridge, the pressure expands (obturates) the case as the bullet is released. Headspace is the gap between the chamber and the case, which the case expands to fill after ignition. Too large of a gap, and the cartridge won't expand enough to seal the breach, allowing hot combustion gases to squirt back behind the cartridge and give the shooter a bad day. Too small a gap, and the cartridge won't fit.
Headspace is the reason you can't just unscrew an old barrel from a rifle and screw a new one back on; headspace must be properly set and this delicate procedure requires a gunsmith. However, some modern rifles are engineered to allow the user to safely swap barrels back and forth with a minimum of fuss, but check, double check, and then triple check that you have performed this procedure correctly before firing.
Headspace is measured using caliber-specific go and no-go gauges, but thankfully, the average shooter doesn't need to concern themselves with these tools since modern firearms are extensively tested to ensure safe performance in this regard. However, collectors of historic or military surplus firearms should consider investing in a set of go and no-go gauges for the calibers they wish to collect in order to avoid paying a gunsmith to check every new addition to the collection.
Headspace is the reason you can't just unscrew an old barrel from a rifle and screw a new one back on; headspace must be properly set and this delicate procedure requires a gunsmith. However, some modern rifles are engineered to allow the user to safely swap barrels back and forth with a minimum of fuss, but check, double check, and then triple check that you have performed this procedure correctly before firing.
Headspace is measured using caliber-specific go and no-go gauges, but thankfully, the average shooter doesn't need to concern themselves with these tools since modern firearms are extensively tested to ensure safe performance in this regard. However, collectors of historic or military surplus firearms should consider investing in a set of go and no-go gauges for the calibers they wish to collect in order to avoid paying a gunsmith to check every new addition to the collection.
high brass
High brass shotgun ammunition is ammunition that has been loaded to provide maximum performance, similar to +P ammunition in handguns and rifles. Just about all modern shotguns are able to use high brass ammunition, and some semi-automatic shotguns will only function reliably when using high brass rounds, as the gas systems are tuned to withstand the increased pressure and cannot operate on the reduced pressure of low brass economy rounds. High brass rounds can be identified by the tall brass bases on the shells, however, this tall base is not structural and only serves to visually separate high brass from low brass rounds. High brass shells are not the same as magnum shells, which are physically longer than standard shells.
hollow point
A hollow point is a bullet designed to slow and expand when it strikes a soft target. A bullet with a smooth front face is more likely to penetrate cleanly through a living target, entering and exiting the body without making a wound channel significantly larger than the bullet's diameter. Hollow points, on the other hand, will expand and open up inside the target, transferring more of their energy and increasing the likelihood that the bullet will not exit the target's body. A bullet that does not exit the target does not pose a threat to bystanders, so hollow points are preferred for law enforcement and self-defense. Hollow points are not often seen in the hands of the military, however, as the use of expanding bullets in international warfare is banned by the Hague convention.
see also: soft point
see also: soft point
hull
A hull is the shotgun shell's equivalent of a case. Hulls are usually plastic, though waxed paper and steel hulls are occasionally seen.
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