October 29th, 2022
6minute read
Like many other sporting pursuits, shooting has a language all its own.
Shooting too, has its own language which folks initially starting out might find confusing.
In this discussion, we will describe what a long gun (or shoulder weapon) is.
Long guns offer increased precision and accuracy due, in part, to the additional points of contact with the gun and body.
The most common types of long guns are rifles and shotguns.
On the opposite end of the scale we have handguns, which include pistols and revolvers.
Both handguns and long guns fill multiple roles.
Long guns include popular firearms like the M1A, SAINT AR-15 and Waypoint. Bullpup designs like the Hellion are also considered long guns.
Handguns are highly portable and can be carried openly or also discreetly hidden on your person.
Handguns can be used for formal target shooting, plinking, hunting or personal defense.
For me, shotguns, handguns and more powerful rifles were a few years down the road.
Long guns will generally have four points of contact with the body: both hands, the shoulder and the cheek. While the bullpup-configured Hellion is very short, it still benefits from being a long gun.
This better stabilizes the gun and makes for a consistent hold.
When combined with the longer sighting plane, hit probability at any range is greater than with a handgun.
Abullpup like the Hellion, while much shorter than a traditional long gun, also offers this advantage.
In the ready position, a shooter can still have three points of contact on a long gun. Bringing the gun up to eye level will add the fourth point of contact: the cheek weld.
For me, that would be a pretty tough nut to crack with my old service pistol.
In the power sweepstakes, the rifle holds a serious edge.
Stocks Matter
The stock of the long gun contains the action as well as the barrel.
To get the best connection to the long arm, bring the stock up to the face rather than tilting the head down to the stock.
Stocks can be made of wood or of a number of synthetic materials.
If the stock does not fit correctly, recoil can be absolutely brutal and can cause injury.
The solution is really quite simple.
Even without a bipod, a rifle or other long gun can be shot accurately using good techniques.
Get a stock that fits!
Most off-the-shelf long guns feature a length of pull of somewhere between 13.5 and 14.
In my experience, this is too long for anybody other than a good-sized adult male.
But heres the good news.
Others have spacers in the buttstock that can be added or removed to better fit the individual.
I find stock fit with the shotgun to be especially important.
Many long guns utilize a rubber pad affixed to the buttstock to mitigate the effects of recoil.
Recoil pads do in fact work and come highly recommended for shotguns and many rifles.
Final Thoughts on Long Guns
Both shotguns and rifles continue to fill multiple roles.
Many moderately priced packages are available and novice shooters will not be intimidated by recoil or muzzle blast.
Go to forum thread
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