SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute)
SAAMI is a proofing society for firearms and ammunition. Membership in SAAMI is voluntary, but all reputable manufacturers adhere to SAMMI standards or the standards of SAMMI's European coutnerpart, the CIP.
In general, the goal of SAAMI is to ensure all firearms are able to withstand the pressures of their cartridge, and to ensure that ammunition generates the appropriate amount of pressure for its type. SAAMI also publishes standards and measures, as well as best-practices procedures for firearms safety.
In general, the goal of SAAMI is to ensure all firearms are able to withstand the pressures of their cartridge, and to ensure that ammunition generates the appropriate amount of pressure for its type. SAAMI also publishes standards and measures, as well as best-practices procedures for firearms safety.
Saiga
Saiga rifles and shotguns are made at the Izhmash factory in Russia and are based on the AK receiver. Saigas are one of the few firearms legal to import from Russia into the USA (see VRA) because they are "neutered" at the factory to remove the capabilities of the original military rifle platform. Saigas have limited magazine capacity, fixed sporter stocks, and triggers that have been modified to place the FCG (fire control group) rearward of its normal position, preventing the attachment of a pistol grip. However, the low price, high reliability, and cultural reverence of the AK platform has spawned a huge conversion industry in the United States, wherein Saiga firearms are "converted" to match the Russian military configuration using only American-made components (see 922r). Once enough parts have been replaced, the firearm legally becomes "Made in the USA," and assault weapon components and high-capacity magazines may be legally used.
SBR
SBR is an abbreviation for short-barreled rifle, a term defined under the National Firearms Act (NFA). A SBR is a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16", or with an overall length shorter than 26". Although SBRs are legal to own in most states, they are highly regulated, requiring extensive paperwork and a $200 filing fee in addition to the cost of weapon.
SBS
SBS is an abbreviation for short-barreled shotgun, a term defined under the National Firearms Act (NFA). A SBS is a shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18", or with an overall length shorter than 26". Although SBSs are legal to own in most states, they are highly regulated, requiring extensive paperwork and a $200 filing fee in addition to the cost of weapon.
scope rings (rings)
Rings are used to attach a sight to a rail. A few sights have a rail mount machined into the sight body, but this means that the sight can only ever be attached to the style of rail the sight was manufactured to use. Instead, most sights are designed to use rings so that the sight can be mounted on a variety of different rails by simply swapping the style of the rings.
scope
Scope is a common term for a telescopic sight. Scopes differ from dot sights in that all scopes feature some level of magnification, allowing the shooter to see their target more clearly and fire more accurately from a distance.
scout rifle
A scout rifle is a short, lightweight bolt-action rifle with iron sights, chambered for a full-power cartridge like .308 Winchester. A telescopic sight is not required, but if one is mounted it should be a LER sight to allow the shooter to keep both eyes open.
The scout rifle concept was pioneered by author and firearms expert Jeff Cooper. Cooper wanted a handy, powerful, go-anywhere and do-anything rifle that was effective for hunting, combat, and target shooting at all ranges out 500 meters. The scout rifle concept gained some traction but never really took off, and has now largely been replaced by M1, AR-pattern, or AK-pattern hunting rifles chambered in .308, which cost the about the same and offer semi-automatic firepower.
Still, a few companies continue to manufacture dedicated scout rifles. The Steyr Scout is essentially unchanged since Steyr designed it alongside Jeff Cooper in the late 1990s, and is something of a collector item due to its high cost and historical relation to the now-deceased Cooper. Ruger and Savage also offer scout rifles, and many military surplus rifles can be easily and cheaply converted to match the scout concept.
The scout rifle concept was pioneered by author and firearms expert Jeff Cooper. Cooper wanted a handy, powerful, go-anywhere and do-anything rifle that was effective for hunting, combat, and target shooting at all ranges out 500 meters. The scout rifle concept gained some traction but never really took off, and has now largely been replaced by M1, AR-pattern, or AK-pattern hunting rifles chambered in .308, which cost the about the same and offer semi-automatic firepower.
Still, a few companies continue to manufacture dedicated scout rifles. The Steyr Scout is essentially unchanged since Steyr designed it alongside Jeff Cooper in the late 1990s, and is something of a collector item due to its high cost and historical relation to the now-deceased Cooper. Ruger and Savage also offer scout rifles, and many military surplus rifles can be easily and cheaply converted to match the scout concept.
SD (self defense)
SD is an abbreviation for self defense. Certain firearms or accessories are designed and/or marketed towards SD, such as hollow point bullets and small, concealable pistols.
select-fire, selective fire
A select-fire firearm has the ability to switch between fully automatic and semi-automatic fire by use of some type of selector switch. Select-fire firearms are very difficult and expensive for civilians to acquire in the USA, as they are machine guns and therefore subject to the restrictions of FOPA.
semi-automatic
A semi-automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that fires one round per trigger pull. Semi-automatic versions of existing automatic weapons, such as a commercial copy of an M16, are perfectly legal in most states, but are usually required to be manufactured in such a way that the weapon is difficult to convert to fully-automatic.
shell
Shell is a common term for a round of shotgun ammunition, though it can refer to any of type ammunition. In this way, a "box of shells" is likely a box of shotgun ammunition, but can just as easily refer to pistol or rifle ammunition.
See also: cartridge, round
See also: cartridge, round
shot
Shot refers to the small metal balls that make up the payload of a shotgun shell. Shot is usually made of lead but steel, tungsten alloys, plastic, and other materials are sometimes used. Shot is broadly divided into two categories: buckshot uses a few large pellets that are carefully stacked into the shell, while birdshot uses many small pellets that are simply poured into the shell.
shotshell
Shotshell is common term for a round of shotgun ammunition.
shot cup
A shot cup is a thin cloth or plastic cup that is holds the shot inside a shotgun shell. Shot cups are commonly used with birdshot to simplify assembly and prevent the shot from coming unpacked.
silencer
See "suppressor."
SHTF (shit hitting the fan)
SHTF is an acronym for Shit Hitting The Fan. SHTF is a North American idiom meaning that an event with extremely widespread and unpleasant consequences has occurred. A modified definition, specific to some firearms and outdoors enthusiasts, is that SHTF refers to a political, social, or ecological cataclysm of such massive proportions that government and social infrastructure will completely break down for an indefinite period, making each citizen solely responsible for the protection and well-being of themselves and their families. SHTF situations are often cited as the reason for maintaining unusually large and expensive stockpiles of weaponry, food, and other supplies.
See also: TEOTWAWKI
See also: TEOTWAWKI
slam fire
A slam fire is an accidental discharge of the weapon, usually as a result of a drop onto a hard surface. Some inexpensive firearms are prone to slam firing, and a few may continue firing after an initial slam fire until the magazine is empty. For example, the Sten gun was notoriously hard on British ankles during World War II, as a dropped Sten was known to land sideways and unload its entire magazine, spinning like a cartwheel under the force of recoil and spraying bullets in a circle.
slide
A slide is the top part of a semi-automatic pistol, though some recoil-operated long guns may have parts that could arguably be called slides. The slide is a reciprocating assembly critical to almost all of the firearm's functions, somewhat analogous to a long gun's bolt, but is not always the serial numbered portion of the firearm (in the legal terms, the part that makes the firearm).
see also: receiver, frame
see also: receiver, frame
slug
A slug is a large, solid projectile fired from a shotgun shell, rather than the shotgun shell firing a cluster of shot. In many ways, slugs are like very large bullets. Slugs provide shotgunners with better accuracy than shot, but still have substantially less range and accuracy than a centerfire rifle.
Slug is also an informal term for a bullet.
Slug is also an informal term for a bullet.
smokeless powder
Smokeless powder began to replace black powder as the preferred firearm propellant in the late 1800s. Smokeless powder has many advantages over black powder, as it produces very little smoke when burned, is much more stable (less likely to explode unintentionally), can burn when wet under certain conditions, offers much more energy, and deposits far less fouling. Today, black powder firearms are more a curiosity than an effective alternative to smokeless powder, although some hunters and target shooters prefer black powder because it burns much more consistently than smokeless powder. Like black powder, smokeless powder is not truly a powder, as it is available only in granule or stick form.
sniper rifle, sniper's rifle
A sniper rifle is a highly accurate rifle intended for military use (intended to neutralize enemy personnel and equipment). Sniper rifles differ from infantry rifles in that they sacrifice mobility, magazine capacity, and rate-of-fire in order to allow a small number of shots to be taken extremely accurately. Most modern sniper rifles are usually required to demonstrate 100 yard groups of under one inch, whereas infantry rifles are only required to produce groups of 2-6 inches at the same distance, depending on the exact standards of the military organization. In many ways, sniper rifles resemble civilian hunting rifles, although sniper rifles are often of more precise and expensive manufacture.
A similar concept is the DMR, which strikes a balance between the precision of the sniper rifle and the firepower of the infantry rifle.
A similar concept is the DMR, which strikes a balance between the precision of the sniper rifle and the firepower of the infantry rifle.
soft point
A soft point bullet is an expanding bullet, similar in concept to a hollow point but with its use mostly limited to rifles. Rather than having a cup in the bullet nose like a hollow point, soft points maintain the pointed profile of a rifle bullet but remove the jacket material, leaving a pointed nose of soft and exposed lead, though some soft points use a plastic nose instead. This design allows the bullet to maintain a streamlined profile while still increasing the bullet's expansion in a target, though expansion (and associated energy transfer and lethality) is not as dramatic as a hollow point bullet.
Soft points are also used to allow tube-magazine rifles to use pointed bullets, as they eliminate the risk of a pointed bullet igniting the primer of the cartridge in front during recoil.
Soft points are also used to allow tube-magazine rifles to use pointed bullets, as they eliminate the risk of a pointed bullet igniting the primer of the cartridge in front during recoil.
sporterizing
This term requires a great deal of explanation. Please refer to the topic page on sporterizing.
sporting
"Sporting" and "hunting" can often be used interchangeably. Most hunting involves lots of walking through varying amounts of foliage, so sporting rifles tend to be lightweight and smoothly contoured. Bag limits mean that hunting rifles usually only make one or two shots at a time, so there is no need for a heavy barrel to dissipate heat and soak up recoil. Sporting scopes may be fixed magnification, but in recent years affordable variable-magnification scopes have become increasingly common, with 3-9x being the most popular choice. White-tailed deer and similarly sized animals are the most common game, so hunting cartridges tend to be full-power rifle rounds such as .308 Winchester (and its almost-identical twin, 7.62x51mm NATO).
See also: sporterizing
See also: sporterizing
spotter
A spotter serves to "spot" targets for artillery, marksman, or simple reconnaissance. Spotters are used in an unofficial capacity in civilian shooting as well, as a shooter may use a spotter to help them "walk" their shots onto the target during zeroing or to help keep track of game animals during a hunting trip. Spotters will typically be equipped with some sort of magnified optic.
In a military two-man sniper team, the spotter is usually the more experienced of the two members, as they are responsible for performing the complex ballistics calculations required to achieve a cold bore (first shot) hit on targets at extreme ranges. In contrast, the shooter is only required to have the marksmanship skills demanded of any sniper.
In a military two-man sniper team, the spotter is usually the more experienced of the two members, as they are responsible for performing the complex ballistics calculations required to achieve a cold bore (first shot) hit on targets at extreme ranges. In contrast, the shooter is only required to have the marksmanship skills demanded of any sniper.
spotting scope
A spotting scope is a magnified optic, usually a monocular, that is not intended to be mounted on a weapon. Spotting scopes are much more than simply binoculars, as they usually have an integrated tripod, adjustable magnification, some manner of rangefinder, and an extremely large objective lens to provide maximum visibility under all lighting conditions. Spotting scopes are uncommon, as they can be even more expensive than a weapon scope and a simple pair of binoculars is adequate for most civilian shooting.
squib load
A cartridge that fires but does not generate enough power to force the bullet out of the barrel is referred to as a squib load. Squib loads can be identified by unusually weak recoil and muzzle report, and semi-automatic actions may also fail to cycle given the reduced pressure.
Squib loads are the result of manufacturing defects in the ammunition, and are extremely dangerous. If a squib load is fired and is not detected, the next bullet that is fired will impact the squib load's bullet, causing explosive amounts of pressure. The firearm will certainly be damaged, and the shooter can be injured or even killed.
Squib loads are the result of manufacturing defects in the ammunition, and are extremely dangerous. If a squib load is fired and is not detected, the next bullet that is fired will impact the squib load's bullet, causing explosive amounts of pressure. The firearm will certainly be damaged, and the shooter can be injured or even killed.
stripper clip
See clip.
submachine gun
A submachine gun is a long gun capable of fully-automatic operation that fires pistol-caliber ammunition, such as 9mm Luger or .45 ACP. Fully-automatic, pistol-caliber firearms that do not have a stock are called machine pistols. A semi-automatic (civilian legal) long gun that uses pistol ammunition, such as a civilian version of a military SMG, is called a pistol carbine.
suppressor, silencer
See Muzzle Devices.
SVD (Dragunov, SVDS, SVU)
SVD is an abbreviation for Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, "Dragunov's sniper rifle" in English. The SVD is a magazine-fed, 7.62x54mmR rifle designed in the Soviet Union and produced and issued today to the militaries of several nations, including Russia. The SVD is better described as a precision rifle rather than a true sniper's rifle, similar to what Americans call a Designated Marksman's Rifle (DMR). Accuracy standards for manufacturers of the SVD are equivalent to accuracy standards for American DMRs like the M110 and SR-25.
The SVD bears a number of external resemblances to AK-pattern weapons, but these similarities are purely cosmetic and ergonomic. Although many Americans regard the SVD as simply a beefed-up AK action, the SVD is an entirely original firearm that bears very little resemblance to the operating system of the AK, with zero parts interchangeability. The notion that the SVD is an AK action comes from the Romanian PSL rifle, which is styled exactly like the SVD and is in fact simply a beefed-up AK action (technically, the PSL is based on a RPK receiver). Furthermore, very few Americans have ever seen a true SVD because they are banned under Clinton-era importation restrictions (see VRA), unlike the Romanian PSL. The few Chinese and Russian SVDs that were imported before the ban are now highly prized, commanding price tags of many thousands of dollars. This is somewhat ironic, as the SVD is a squad-level weapon and was designed to be fairly inexpensive to produce.
The SVD bears a number of external resemblances to AK-pattern weapons, but these similarities are purely cosmetic and ergonomic. Although many Americans regard the SVD as simply a beefed-up AK action, the SVD is an entirely original firearm that bears very little resemblance to the operating system of the AK, with zero parts interchangeability. The notion that the SVD is an AK action comes from the Romanian PSL rifle, which is styled exactly like the SVD and is in fact simply a beefed-up AK action (technically, the PSL is based on a RPK receiver). Furthermore, very few Americans have ever seen a true SVD because they are banned under Clinton-era importation restrictions (see VRA), unlike the Romanian PSL. The few Chinese and Russian SVDs that were imported before the ban are now highly prized, commanding price tags of many thousands of dollars. This is somewhat ironic, as the SVD is a squad-level weapon and was designed to be fairly inexpensive to produce.
SxS (side by side)
SxS is an abbreviation for side-by-side, a traditional type of double-barreled shotgun. Side-by-sides are generally considered easier to load than over/unders (O/U), but the offset of the barrels along the aiming axis requires adjustment to the point-of-aim. Very few competition shotgun shooters still use SxSs.
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