Home » Gun Information » Gun Glossary | Gun Terminology » Semi-Automatic Semiautomatic Pistol (Image via ATF) Semi-automaticA semi-automatic firearm fires, extracts, ejects and reloads once for each pull and release of the trigger. Rifles, pistols, and shotguns are all available in semi-automatic variants.Also called Self-loading or Auto-loading. Share: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest