| Owning guns is part of the bedrock of American culture. A year of sensational shootings has generated a fierce new debate about the place of guns in society. At the same time, however, gun violence is statistically on the decline. An overview of firearms in the United States: | ||
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Pistol Single-chambered firearm that can be held with one hand. Each pull of a semi-automatic pistol fires a complete cycle, ejecting the shell casing and reloading another round from the magazine. The trigger must be released and pulled with each cycle. | ||
| Manufactured 1986 692,977 1997 1,036,077 | Exported 1986 16,657 1997 44,182 | |
| Revolver Firearm with a multichambered cylinder that rotates around an axis when the hammer is cocked A revolver fires one round for each pull of the trigger. | ||
| Manufactured 1986 734,650 1997 370,428 | Exported 1986 103,890 1997 63,656 | |
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Shotgun Short-range firearm with a smooth bore that discharges shells containing numerous pellets or a single slug Pump-action shotgun has manually operated forearm that chambers, ejects and reloads a round Semiautomatic shotgun allows for a complete firing cycle with one pull of the trigger | Manufactured 1986 641,482 1997 915,978 | Exported 1986 58,943 1997 86,263 |
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Machine Gun Firearm that loads, fires and ejects cartridges for as long as the trigger is depressed and cartridges are available. Illegal for most uses. | Manufactured 1986 41,482 1997 67,844 | Exported 1986 24,781 1997 20,857 |
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Rifle Firearm with spiral grooves in the bore that cause a bullet to rotate when fired. Used mainly for long-range shooting by soldiers and sportsmen. Bolt-action rifle is loaded, cocked and unloaded manually Semiautomatic rifle features inner mechanism that chambers, fires and ejects a round Assault rifle has a detachable magazine and at least two of the following (below): | Manufactured 1986 970,541 1997 1,251,341 | Exported 1986 37,224 1997 76,626 |
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Bullets Hollow-point, soft-point and expanding bullets Designed with a cavity in the nose to expand on impact without passing through target. Such a cartridge is used in hunting to kill game instantly, as well as for self-defense and police operations. Round-nose bullets Elongated design with radiused nose. Designed with less deadly force. Wadcutter bullets Feature a cylindrical design and a flattened front end at right angles to their axes. These bullets are intended to cut paper targets cleanly and easily for accuracy in scoring. Full-metal jackets Design in which bullet jacket encloses most of the core. Used for military and target shooting. Armor-piercing bullets Designed to penetrate armor plate. Constructed with tungsten or steel cores. | ||
*1992-94 DATA. RESEARCH BY ELLEN FLORIAN, ANA FIGUEROA AND BRET BEGUN. SOURCES: ATF, CDC, FBI, KENNETH GREEN-SAAMI, THE MACMILLAN VISUAL DICTIONARY | ||
