A shotgun is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug. The various parts of a shotgun make it a complete assembly to use in battle. We can find diverse manufacturers in the market that create different shotgun parts and do assembly. In this article, we will study all those parts and their functions.
Table of Contents
Shotgun Parts Diagram
Parts of a Shotgun Names
- Barrels
- Extractors
- Bolt
- Top Lever
- Safety Thumb Piece
- Trigger Guard
- Trigger
- Hammer
- Trigger Plate
- Mainspring
- Cocking Limb
- Fore-end
- The Loop
- Extractor Star
- Ejector Rod
- Stock
- Muzzle
Parts of a Shotgun
Barrels
A barrel is a straight high-strength metallic cylinder. It’s length and diameter (internal and external) depend on the shotgun type and manufacturer.
Barrel material should withstand the high pressure and temperature generated due to the gunpowder explosion.
Extractors
The function of the extractor is to release the cover of the cartridge after the firing. It helps the shooter to load the new bullet into the firing chamber.
Before firing the bullet, the extractor pulls the cartridge rim out of the barrel to remove easy.
Bolt
It holds the barrel & shuts it while the cartridge is shot.
Top Lever
It disengages the bolt from the barrel and allows the gun to open.
Safety Thumb Piece
It locks the trigger and prevents the gun from firing. Once we press the safety thump piece disengages the firing mechanism and allows the trigger to move without triggering a fire.
Trigger Guard
It is a protective edge that surrounds the trigger of a gun to prevent unwanted contact to avoid accidental discharge. Trigger guards are present in every firearm.
Trigger
The trigger is the actuating mechanism that allows the hammer to strike the projectile. It is a small curved metallic part where we put a finger to operate.
Hammer
The hammer is a part of a shotgun. The percussion cap/primer or a separate firing pin strikes the projectile to ignite the explosive and fire the bullet.
Shooters have to manually incline the hammer before firing. It is a metal piece that forcefully rotates about a pivot point.
Trigger Plate
From this plate, the trigger comes out. It has an oblong slot to move the trigger while firing a bullet and retrieve it afterward.
Mainspring
It is attached to the hammer. During shotgun loading with a bullet, the main spring store the energy due to tension and discharges with force through the hammer to strike a bullet.
Cocking Limb
When we open the gun, the fore-end forces the cocking limb to where the trigger, hammer, main spring, and sear are back in their original position.
Fore-End
The function of the fore-end is to remove the gun shell after firing a bullet and load the new ammunition. It moves back and forth side.
The backward action removes the shell of the cartridge, whereas the forward move loads the fresh round of the cartridge.
The Loop
It is attached to the barrel. On the loop, the delay catch holds the fore-end.
Extractor Star
It is a star shape mechanism that pushes cartridges out of the revolver cylinder.
Ejector Rod
The ejector rod helps the shooter to eject the cartridge casing after the fire. In a single-acting revolver, one cartridge expels at one time, whereas in a double-acting revolver, all cartridge ejects from a cylinder.
Stock
It is a backside part of the shotgun we hold against the shoulder while firing. It balances the gun and provides structural support during the action.
On the extreme side of the stock, we can find the recoil coil to dampen the reaction caused due to the bullet fire.
Muzzle
It is the end portion of the barrel from which the bullet comes out. It has an inside thread to attach the choke or silencer.
Read More-
- Guide for 24 Key Parts of a Pistol: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Guide for 16 Key Parts of a Revolver: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Learn 14 Essential Parts of a Sword: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Understand 11 Key Parts of a Knife: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Guide for 18 Key Parts of a Shotgun: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Ultimate Guide for 22 Crossbow Parts: Names, Functions & Diagram
- Ultimate Guide on 7 Parts of Hammer: Names, Functions & Diagram
A shotgun is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug.
Barrels
Extractors
Bolt
Top Lever
Safety Thumb Piece
Trigger Guard
Trigger
Hammer
Trigger Plate
Mainspring
Cocking Limb
Fore-end
The Loop
Extractor Star
Ejector Rod
Stock
Muzzle
