What is a firearm safety?

Answer 1

Most firearms have mechanical device built into the firing mechanism that inhibits the firearm from firing. This is called a "safety."

The M16 series, for example, have a selector switch in which the shooter can select from:

1- SAFE--gun will not fire if trigger is pulled

2- SEMI--gun will fire one bullet when trigger is pulled

3- AUTO--gun will fire several bullets when trigger is pulled, until out of ammo, or trigger is released

4- THREE ROUND BURST--gun will fire 3 bullets with each pull of the trigger*

*The 3 round burst function uses a geared cog, and may fire only 1, or 2, or 3 bullets per squeeze of the trigger, depending on which cog tooth was engaged when burst was selected.