What's the difference between rifle vs. gun vs. cannon vs. howitzer?

SPC David S. — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 15:58:06 -0500

In receiving a pic from the ladies of the YPJ I was impressed with their "small" sniping Zagros rifle. My first thought was - what's the caliber then it went its a big gun, then to its a small cannon then to what is this thing? Is it as simple as a matter of barrel length compared to the bore or is there more?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7yAMV95Zl4

Mortars, Howitzers, and Cannons

A cannon typically refers to a light caliber long barreled automatic weapon fit on armoured cars, personnel carriers, helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, and j...

Response by Sgt John Steinmeier made Feb 13 at 2019 4:04 PM

Sgt John Steinmeier — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:04:38 -0500

I do believe Gunnery Sergeant Hartman already answered the first part of the question

https://youtu.be/4kU0XCVey_U

This Is My Rifle. This Is My Gun

This is for fighting. This is for fun. *UPLOADED WITH PERMISSION*

Response by SFC Pete Kain made Feb 13 at 2019 4:24 PM

SFC Pete Kain — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:24:20 -0500

Howitzers and canons, mortars are all crew served. of course not everything fits that mold

https://youtu.be/7eZ4MwgViQI

Kurdish 12.7mm Zagros and 14.5mm Şer Anti-Materiel Rifles

Support Forgotten Weapons: http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons Thanks to correspondent Ed Nash (he gave me permission to use his name after I had recorde...

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 13 at 2019 4:28 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:28:15 -0500

That's looks like a small artillery piece itself.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 13 at 2019 4:57 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:57:49 -0500

A rifle is a weapon with a rifled barrel and stock.
A cannon is a smooth bore direct fire (as opposed to indirect fire like artillery) weapon greater than 50 cal (.5 inches)
A howizter is an indirect fire weapon (between the gun and the mortar)
A gun is a "catch all" term. Some rifles are also guns (the M16/M4 is a light machinegun).

Response by SGT Kevin Berman made Feb 13 at 2019 5:08 PM

SGT Kevin Berman — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 17:08:11 -0500

I'd say crew served, small cannon! Would not want to be on the receiving end of what that crew serves.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Feb 13 at 2019 5:40 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 17:40:38 -0500

The UN cutoff for Large Caliber weapons is 75mm. Smaller than that they are considered either small arms (hand guns, SMGs, rifles etc) or light weapons (AT missiles, machine guns, mortars below 75mm, etc)

https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/transparency-in-armaments/

The trajectory, muzzle velocity. and indirect fire vs direct fire differentiate between gun or cannon (direct fire, flatter trajectory), mortars (indirect fire, arc trajectory), and howitzers (can be employed in direct or indirect modes)

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-cannon-a-mortar-and-a-howitzer

transparency-in-armaments

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 13 at 2019 6:35 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 18:35:50 -0500

And for the Navy, they are called guns. Interesting thing, most all Naval gun shoots are low angle. That's because platforms and targets are moving and anything to reduce the time of flight makes for a more reliable solution. That said, way back in the day, the dreadnoughts tended not to be armored heavily on the main deck. The Battlecruiser HMS Hood was one example and was done in by "plunging fire". Bismarck's naval guns were elevated to function like a howitzer, but in direct fire mode.

Response by Drake Younger made Apr 25 at 2023 8:08 AM

Drake Younger — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:08:30 -0400

Hey there! I read your post, and I can understand why the different types of firearms can be confusing. Simply put, rifles are generally long-barreled firearms with grooves in the barrel to make the bullet spin, improving accuracy. Guns, conversely, is a more general term that can refer to any firearm. I personally prefer Staccato Guns at https://coppertopfirearms.com/product-category/firearms/staccato-guns/ and keep them for my safety. Let me know if it is helpful!

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Response by Dylan Mathis made May 8 at 2023 9:03 AM

Dylan Mathis — Mon, 08 May 2023 09:03:12 -0400

Hi folks. I stumbled upon this old thread, and as a newbie to this forum, I thought I'd chime in. Thanks a lot for sharing the info on the difference between rifle, gun, cannon and howitzer As for the Zagros rifle, I'm not exactly sure about the specifics, but I think it's a sniping rifle with a smaller caliber than a typical gun. In terms of barrel length and bore, those factors can definitely impact the performance of a firearm, but there's a lot more that goes into it than just that. Just wanted to say that I recently got myself Bergara BXR on https://walkeroutdoors.net/product/bergara-bxr-22lr-semi-auto/ , and I'm really exited to give it a shot this Saturday (give it a shot, lol). Anyways, thanks a lot for the info! Let's keep this discussion updated.

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