A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute.
Machine guns are used in military applications to inflict maximum personnel or equipment damage with bullets.
A Shotgun is described as “is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug”
It has different combinations and sizes, and is used for hunting, personal protection, and sport. A shotgun is traditionally a smooth bore gun, because they are mostly used to shoot a large amount of small pellets, to have a greater chance to hit its target, because the pellets tend to spread out after they leave the muzzle of the gun. They can also fire single metal object called slugs.
A rifle is described as “a gun, esp. one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance.”
Also known as a “long gun”.
There are many different types of rifles, including the much debated over “Assault Rifle“.
Rifles are used for hunting, sport and by the military for their long range capabilities and accuracy.
A handgun is described as “a gun designed for use by one hand, especially a pistol or revolver.”
They can come in different forms, including revolvers, semiautomatic and many more. A visual reference is shown below.
These types of firearms tend to be targeted the most for gun control issues. The reason being is because they are used the most for committing gun-related crimes and are easy to conceal.