Semi-automatic rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is a firearm that fires a single bullet, ejects the spent casing, and reloads each time the user presses the trigger. Such weapons differ from automatic rifles that fire off and reload successive rounds of ammunition as long as the user continuously holds in the trigger. Semi-automatic rifles either use the gases built up in the gun or recoil momentum from firing to expel a spent cartridge out of the weapon and push a new round into place. The first true semi-automatic rifles were developed in the late nineteenth century and later adapted to military use in the twentieth century. In most of the United States, the rifles are available for purchase by the public and are predominantly used for hunting and sport shooting; however, the weapons have come under intense criticism in the twenty-first century after being used in mass shootings in the United States.

Background

The origin of firearms can be traced back to ancient China with the invention of gunpowder in the ninth century. Ironically, Chinese alchemists are believed to have accidentally created the explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate while trying to develop a substance that prolonged life. The Chinese used gunpowder to power canons and crude hand-held weapons that fired deadly projectiles at the enemy. The first “modern” firearm was developed in Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, and slowly evolved over the next few centuries to become more reliable and easier to fire.

Early firearms used gunpowder to produce an explosion that propelled a small metal projectile out of a weapon barrel. Some weapons required the user to strike a match or burning rope to the gunpowder to set off the explosion, while later firearms used a piece of flint striking a metal plate to spark the gunpowder. Firing these weapons was relatively time consuming as users would have to not only reload the weapon with new projectiles, but also replenish the supply of gunpowder for each shot. Eventually, gun makers developed cartridges that combined the metal projectile, gunpowder, and primer needed to spark the reaction into one casing. This development allowed for faster reloading times and more efficient firing.

During the Revolutionary War (1777–1783), gun makers attempted to make weapons that could fire multiple rounds. One of those rifles, the Belton Flintlock, was said to have been ordered by General George Washington for military use, but the sale never materialized. By the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865), manufacturers had developed repeater rifles that allowed multiple cartridges to be stored in and fired from a single weapon. However, the user had to manually operate the reloading mechanism each time, either by pumping a grip on the weapon or operating a bolt device on the gun handle.

Overview

In an effort to make firing a weapon even more efficient, inventors began to experiment with ways to allow the user to fire shots without having to manually reload each time. The first semi-automatic rifle was developed in 1885 by Austrian gun maker Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher who used the gases produced by firing a shot to reload the weapon. In these types of semi-automatic rifles, the small explosion generated by igniting gunpowder also creates gases, which can be forced into a port in the barrel of the weapon. The pressure from the escaping gases provides the energy needed to operate a mechanism that expels the spent cartridge and reloads a new one. Other types of semi-automatic rifles use the energy produced from the motion of a spent cartridge as it is pushed back by the expanding gases. This energy is enough to engage the reloading mechanism and eject the old cartridge. Recoil-operated rifles rely on the backward physical momentum of firing a shot to provide the energy to reload a cartridge.

By the early twentieth century, semi-automatic rifles were available to the American public but were not adapted for use by the military. While the French were the first to use semi-automatic rifles in combat during World War I (1914–1918), the weapons proved ineffective for trench warfare and were not widely used. In 1937, the United States military was the first to issue semi-automatic rifles to its troops as standard equipment. The weapon, called the M1 Garand, was a gas-powered rifle that could fire eight rounds in rapid succession. The M1 Garand was used during World War II (1939–1945), the Korean War (1950–1953), and for part of the Vietnam War (1954–1975). Most military firearms in the twenty-first century are automatic weapons or select-fire weapons, which can be switched between automatic, semi-automatic, or three-shot burst modes. Semi-automatic rifles are used by the US military, especially as long-range sniper weapons because of their increased accuracy.

Modern semi-automatic rifles are predominately used by civilians for hunting, sport shooting, or self-defense. Most semi-automatic rifles have the capability of firing five to thirty rounds before the external magazine containing the ammunition needs to be replaced. According to an article in Forbes, the United States manufactured or imported 24.4 million AR-15 and AK-style guns, another type of semi-automatic rifle, from 1990 to 2020. Semi-automatic rifles can be legally purchased in the United States, although several states have banned certain types of semi-automatic weapons and weapons with specific modifications that can increase their firing ability. Automatic weapons and select-fire weapons are banned from public sale in the United States except in rare cases and only under strict regulations.

The most popular semi-automatic rifle among buyers is the AR-15-style rifle, which was based on a select-fire military weapon used in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The rifle’s name comes from the ArmaLite company, the manufacturer that first produced the gun in 1956. Despite their physical resemblance to military weapons, AR-15-style rifles were never used by the military and are primarily designed for hunting and sport shooting. However, in the twenty-first century, AR-15-style rifles have been used in high-profile mass shootings in the United States, including the nation’s worst, a 2017 attack in Las Vegas, Nevada, that killed fifty-eight people. From 2009 to 2022, nine out of the ten mass shootings with the greatest number of casualties involved the use of at least one assault weapon. Such attacks have prompted increased calls for stricter regulations on AR-15-style rifles or even a complete ban on the weapon. According to Everytown Research & Policy in 2025, a study in 2021 found that the federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from 1994 to 2004 led to a sharp decrease in public mass shootings. However, as of 2025, federal laws allow individuals over the age of eighteen to purchase assault rifles. Furthermore, only nine states have banned the sale or possession of assault weapons such as the AR-15: Washington, California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware.

Bibliography

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