Types of Rifles: Every Action, Type and Use Explained (2026)

Last updated October 26th 2026

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By Nick Hall

Rifles are sorted by action, the mechanism that loads, fires and ejects each cartridge. The main types of rifles are bolt-action, lever-action, semi-automatic, pump-action, single-shot and muzzleloading. Inside the semi-auto family sit the rifles most people picture today: the AR-15, the AR-10, the AK, bullpups and pistol-caliber carbines.

Rifles also split by cartridge, rimfire or centerfire, and by job: hunting, target, home defense and plinking. I’ve owned or shot every type below. For each one you’ll get how it works, what it’s good at, a real rifle you can buy with live prices from our 200+ retailers on October 26, 2026, and the federal rules that decide what counts as a rifle. For handguns and shotguns too, start at our types of guns hub.

Table of Contents

Types of Rifles at a Glance

Type	How you load the next round	Rounds on board	Best for	Example on this page
Bolt-action	Lift, pull, push and lock a bolt	3 to 5	Hunting, long range	Ruger American Gen II
Lever-action	Swing a lever under the grip	5 to 10	Brush hunting, cowboy action, fun	Henry Big Boy
Semi-auto rimfire	Recoil cycles a blowback bolt	10 to 25	Learning, plinking, small game	Ruger 10/22
AR-15	Gas cycles the bolt carrier	30	Home defense, target, varmints	PSA PA-15
AR-10	Gas cycles a larger bolt carrier	20	Big-game hunting, long range	PSA PA-10
AK-pattern	Long-stroke gas piston	30	Rugged all-rounder	PSA AK-47 GF3
Pistol-caliber carbine	Blowback, pistol magazines	10 to 17	Home defense, cheap practice	Ruger PC Carbine
Bullpup	Semi-auto with the action behind the grip	30	Compact home defense	IWI Tavor X95
Pump-action	Slide the forend	12 to 16 in .22	Plinking, rare in centerfire	Henry Pump Action
Single-shot	Open the action, load one by hand	1	Hunting, a first rifle	Henry Single Shot
Muzzleloader	Powder and bullet down the muzzle	1	Muzzleloader deer seasons	CVA Wolf

What Makes a Rifle a Rifle: The Legal Definition

Under 18 U.S.C. 921, a rifle is a weapon made to be fired from the shoulder that fires only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each pull of the trigger. The spiral grooves in the bore spin the bullet so it flies point-first, and that spin is what lets a rifle hit at distances no shotgun or handgun can match.

The same section draws the lines that matter when you buy:

• Short-barreled rifle: a barrel under 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches makes it an SBR under the National Firearms Act. In 2026 Congress cut the tax to $0, and on October 9, 2026 ATF said it would no longer require registration. State laws still apply, so read our ATF NFA guidance story first.
• Machine guns: a true assault rifle fires full auto. Civilians can only own a machine gun registered before May 19, 1986, so the AR-15s and AKs sold in stores are semi-automatic only.
• Antique muzzleloaders: a muzzleloading rifle that cannot fire fixed ammunition is an antique, not a firearm, under federal law. That’s why many states let you buy one with no background check.
• Age: a dealer can sell a rifle or shotgun to anyone 18 or older. Handguns, and pistol versions of rifles, need a buyer of 21.

Bolt-Action Rifles

A bolt-action rifle locks a cartridge in the chamber with a bolt you work by hand: lift the handle, pull it back to eject the empty case, push it forward to strip a fresh round from the magazine, and turn it down to lock. Locking lugs on the bolt hold it rock-solid against the barrel, which is why the bolt gun is still the most accurate and the most popular hunting rifle in America. It’s also the simplest to clean and the easiest to fit with a scope.

Most bolt guns hold three to five rounds in an internal or detachable box magazine. The Ruger American Gen II is where I tell most new hunters to start. It’s light, it shoots well and it costs a lot less than the big names.

Bolt guns come in two feed styles. A controlled-round feed action, like the Mauser 98 and the Winchester Model 70, grabs the cartridge rim with a big claw extractor as soon as it leaves the magazine. A push-feed action, like the Remington 700 and Savage 110, pushes the round into the chamber and the extractor snaps over the rim at the end. Push-feed actions are cheaper to make and just as accurate; dangerous-game hunters still prefer controlled feed. Our Winchester Model 70 review and Savage 110 models explained cover both.

The Savage Axis is the cheapest centerfire bolt gun most dealers stock, and it’s a fine first deer rifle.

A straight-pull bolt is the European twist: you pull the bolt straight back and push it straight forward with no lift, which is faster. Blaser, Merkel and Browning make them, and they cost more. For picks, see our best hunting rifles and best .22 bolt-action rifles.

Lever-Action Rifles

A lever-action rifle cycles with a loop-shaped lever behind the trigger. Swing it down and the bolt slides back and ejects the empty; swing it up and a fresh round goes from the magazine to the chamber. Most levers carry their ammo in a tube under the barrel, and they’re fast, flat and slim, which makes them great brush guns for deer and hogs inside 150 yards.

Tube magazines have one rule. The tip of each bullet rests on the primer of the round in front, so you shoot flat-nose or round-nose bullets, or soft-tipped loads like Hornady LEVERevolution, never pointed spitzers. That’s why the classic lever cartridges are .30-30, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .45-70. The Henry Big Boy is chambered for revolver rounds, so you can carry one cartridge for your rifle and your sixgun. Our Henry Big Boy X review and best lever-action rifles go further.

A .22 lever is the most fun rifle you can own. The Henry Classic holds 15 rounds of .22 LR, and our Henry Classic H001 review shows why it’s my favorite plinker. See our best .30-30 lever-action rifles for centerfire picks.

Semi-Automatic Rifles

A semi-automatic rifle fires one round per trigger pull and uses the energy of the shot to eject the empty and chamber the next round. The difference between semi-autos is how they tap that energy:

• Blowback: the case pushes the bolt back directly. Simple and cheap, it works for low-pressure rounds like .22 LR and 9mm.
• Direct impingement: gas from the barrel is piped straight into the bolt carrier. That’s the AR-15 and AR-10.
• Gas piston: gas pushes a piston that drives the bolt. The AK, Ruger Mini-14, M1A and FN SCAR all work this way, and they run cleaner inside.

Rimfire Semi-Autos

The Ruger 10/22 is the best-selling .22 rifle ever made, and for good reason. It runs on a 10-round rotary magazine, it’s accurate enough for squirrels and tin cans, and there are more aftermarket parts for it than for any rifle except the AR-15. A brick of .22 LR costs less than one box of deer ammo, so this is where every new shooter should start. Our Ruger 10/22 review and best .22 LR rifles cover the class.

AR-15 Rifles

The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America. It’s a lightweight, modular semi-auto in 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington, with a 16 inch barrel on most carbines and standard 30-round magazines. The upper and lower halves come apart with two pins, so you can swap barrels, calibers, stocks and optics yourself. Recoil is light enough that almost anyone can shoot it well. AR stands for ArmaLite Rifle, the company that designed it, not assault rifle.

The PSA PA-15 is the cheapest AR-15 I trust. Our best AR-15 rifles and best AR-15s under $1,000 rank the rest.

AR-10 Rifles

An AR-10 is the bigger brother, built on a larger receiver for full-power cartridges like .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s heavier and kicks harder, but it’s a real big-game and long-range rifle. AR-10 and AR-15 parts mostly don’t interchange, and there’s no single AR-10 standard, so check magazine and upper fit before you buy parts. See AR-15 vs AR-10 and our best AR-10 rifles.

AK-Pattern Rifles

The AK-47 uses a long-stroke gas piston bolted to its carrier and loose tolerances, which is why it keeps running dirty. It’s chambered for 7.62x39mm, a heavier bullet than 5.56 that hits harder inside 200 yards, and the ammo has been cheap for decades. The trade-offs are heavier recoil, worse ergonomics for optics and less accuracy than an AR. The PSA AK-47 GF3 is the best American-made AK for the money; we tested it in our PSAK-47 GF3 review, and AK-47 vs AR-15 settles the old argument.

The Ruger Mini-14 sits between the two: a Garand-style piston rifle in 5.56 with a wood or synthetic stock that looks like a ranch rifle. Our Ruger Mini-14 review and Mini-14 vs AR-15 explain where it fits.

Pistol-Caliber Carbines

A pistol-caliber carbine, or PCC, is a rifle chambered for a handgun round like 9mm. It shoots softer and quieter than a 5.56 AR, uses cheap ammo, and the Ruger PC Carbine takes Glock or Ruger pistol magazines with a swappable magwell. That makes a PCC a good home-defense rifle for anyone who already owns a 9mm pistol. See our best 9mm carbines.

Bullpup Rifles

A bullpup puts the action and magazine behind the pistol grip. You keep a full-length barrel in a much shorter rifle: the IWI Tavor X95 has a 16.5 inch barrel and is about 26 inches long, several inches shorter than an AR carbine with a 16 inch barrel. The catch is a heavier trigger and slower reloads, since the magazine sits by your armpit.

Pump-Action Rifles

A pump rifle works like a pump shotgun: slide the forend back and forward to cycle. Centerfire pumps were a favorite of Northeast deer hunters, but almost nobody makes one now. Today the type lives on mostly in .22, and the Henry Pump Action with its octagon barrel is the one I’d buy. It feeds .22 LR from a tube under the barrel.

Single-Shot Rifles

A single-shot rifle holds one round. You open the action, load by hand and close it. A break-action like the CVA Scout and Henry Single Shot hinges open like a shotgun. A falling-block like the Ruger No. 1 or the Winchester 1885 drops a solid steel block when you swing the lever, and it’s among the strongest actions ever built. Single-shots are short, light, cheap and safe, so they make great first rifles and walking deer guns in straight-wall states.

Muzzleloading Rifles

A muzzleloader is loaded from the front: powder down the barrel, then a bullet rammed on top. A traditional sidelock fires with a flint or a percussion cap, the way rifles worked before 1860. A modern inline like the CVA Wolf puts a shotgun primer right behind the powder, opens like a break-action for cleaning and takes a scope where your state allows it. Most states have muzzleloader-only deer seasons, and that’s the main reason to own one. See our best inline muzzleloaders and best traditional muzzleloaders.

Rimfire vs Centerfire Rifles

A rimfire cartridge has its priming compound in the rim of the case. It’s cheap and quiet, but the thin case limits power, so rimfires are small rounds like .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR. A centerfire cartridge has a separate primer in the middle of the base. That handles far higher pressure, so every hunting, defense and long-range cartridge is centerfire, and the brass can be reloaded. Our rifle caliber guide walks through which centerfire cartridge suits which job, and our rimfire vs centerfire guide goes deeper on pressure, cost and reloading.

Rifle Types by Purpose

Job	Best rifle type	Why
Deer and elk	Bolt-action centerfire	Accuracy, power and easy scope mounting
Brush and hogs	Lever-action	Fast, handy and quick for a second shot
Home defense	AR-15 or 9mm PCC	Capacity, low recoil, easy to mount a light
Varmints and predators	Bolt or AR in .223 or .22-250	Flat shooting and accurate
Learning and plinking	.22 semi-auto or lever	Cheap ammo, no recoil
Long range	Heavy bolt-action or AR-10	Stiff barrels and high-BC cartridges
Muzzleloader season	Inline muzzleloader	Required by the season
History and collecting	Military surplus bolt and semi-autos	Garands, Mosins and SKS rifles

Military surplus rifles are their own rabbit hole. Our best military surplus rifles covers the Garand, Mosin-Nagant, SKS and more.

Which Type of Rifle Should You Buy?

• First rifle: a Ruger 10/22 or Henry Classic. Learn on .22 before you spend on centerfire ammo.
• First deer rifle: a bolt-action in .308, 6.5 Creedmoor or .270, like the Ruger American Gen II or Savage Axis.
• Home defense: an AR-15 like the PSA PA-15, or a 9mm carbine if you want to share magazines with your pistol.
• One rifle that does a bit of everything: a lever gun in .357 or .44 Magnum, or an AR-15.

Ready to pick a model? Start with our best hunting rifles, the parts of a gun diagram of a bolt-action rifle, and our types of handguns and types of shotguns guides.

Frequently Asked Questions