Reference library
Guides to rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition, optics and archery, plus hunting know-how by species for the United States and Canada. Every page lists the sources behind it.
Comparison · Bows and Archery
Multi-pin bow sights keep several fixed aiming references ready for set distances, while single-pin sights use one adjustable aiming reference, usually with a sight tape or yardage indicator. For bowhunters, the main trade-off is a ready set of preset pins versus a cleaner sight picture and a pin that can be adjusted to a measured distance.
Guide · Rifles
Pump-action rifles, also called slide-action or trombone-action rifles, use a movable fore-end to operate the bolt. They exist in both rimfire and centerfire forms, but major references describe the action as much more common in shotguns than in rifles.
Guide · Firearm Safety and Storage
Loaded chamber indicators are chamber status aids. They may show or let you feel that a cartridge is chambered, but they do not replace opening the action and checking the chamber.
Guide · Shotguns
Shotgun beads and ribs are alignment aids, not rifle type sights that guarantee point of impact. For clay and wing shooting, coaching material emphasizes pointing the shotgun, keeping visual focus on the target, and confirming results on a patterning board.
Comparison · Bows and Archery
Crossbow bolts and vertical-bow arrows share basic parts, but they are not interchangeable. Crossbow setups may have model specific requirements for length, finished weight, spine and nock style, while vertical-bow arrows are usually selected with arrow length, draw weight, point weight and spine charts.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
A flintlock is a muzzleloading ignition system that uses a flint striking steel to make sparks, ignite priming powder in a pan, and carry flame through a touch hole to the main charge. It improved on the matchlock by removing the constantly burning match, but percussion ignition later replaced flint, steel, and loose priming powder in many nineteenth-century arms.
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