Semi-automatic (military)

A semi-automatic firearm loads and fires one round with each pull of the trigger, in contrast to a full-automatic, which will continue to load and fire as long as the trigger is kept pulled and there is ammunition. While the term is sometimes used to suggest an especially powerful weapon, a semiautomatic pistol of a given caliber has a comparable rate of fire to a revolver of the same caliber. The only potential difference is that semiautomatics, which are fed from a magazine rather than a rotating cylinder, may have greater ammunition capacity: while a revolver rarely has more than six rounds, semiautomatics commonly have eight, and, with extended magazines, may have as many as 30.