| Term |
Definition |
| Falling Block |
A type of action used primarily for single shot rifles whereby some kind of lever actuates a breechblock, moving it downwards in a vertical recess to expose the chamber. |
| Federal Firearms License (FFL) |
A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture of firearms and ammunition or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms. Holding an FFL to engage in certain such activities has been a legal requirement within the United States of America since the enactment of the Gun Control Act in 1968. |
| Feed |
The process of moving live cartridges from the magazine of a firearm into the chamber. |
| Fiber-optic Sights |
Sight that gathers ambient light. |
| Field of View (FOV) |
Field of view (FOV) is the amount of area seen through your scope from right to left at 100 yards. |
| Firing Pin |
The Firing Pin is the part on the gun that strikes the primer and causes it to ignite the cartridge. |
| Fixed 3 Dot Sight |
On semi-automatic handguns, the most common type of enhancement is a bright white dot painted on the front sight near the top of the blade, and a dot on each side of the rear sight notch. In low lighting conditions the front sight dot is centered horizontally between the rear sight dots, with the target placed above the middle (front) dot. Some sight vendors offer differently colored dots for the front and rear sights. |
| Flash Suppressor |
A device affixed to the muzzle of a firearm barrel, designed to minimize the bright flash caused by escaping hot gases and burning powder residue upon firing. |
| Floor Plate |
Metal plate at the bottom of the magazine of a bolt action rifle. |
| Fluted Barrel |
A rifle or pistol barrel which grooves have been milled into the barrel. These flutes help reduce barrel weight and increase surface area to help cool the barrel quicker. |
| Follower |
A spring-loaded part of a firearm's magazine that controls the cartridges in the magazine and presents them in the proper orientation to be fed into the chamber. |
| Forearm |
The front part of a rifle or shotgun stock, when the stock is of two-piece design. |
| Forend |
The stock section under the barrel, uses to help hold the firearm by the support hand. |
| Fouling |
Metal or powder residue left in the bore of a firearm as a result of firing. |
| Front Strap |
Front, metal, part of a handgun's grip---which together with the backstrap, provides a mounting frame for the grip panels. |
| Full Metal Jacket |
A type of bullet in which the lead core is encased in a copper jacket on the front and sides. The copper jacket may also include the base, but this is rarer. |
