The Calico Liberty is a roller-delayed blowback-operated semi-automatic rifle

Semi-automatic rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...

 (Liberty II) or pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

 (Liberty III) chambered for the 9 mm Para

9 mm Luger Parabellum

The 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge was designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken for their Luger semi-automatic pistol...

 round, designed by Calico Light Weapons Systems

Calico Light Weapons Systems

Calico Light Weapons Inc. is a privately held firearms manufacturing company based in Cornelius, Oregon. The company was established in 1982 in Bakersfield, California, and released its first production weapon in 1985. Calico was sold in 1990 but remained in Bakersfield...

. These firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

s use an unusual 50 or 100-round helical magazine

Magazine (firearm)

A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable . The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action...

 that allow for a large number of rounds in a relatively compact and convenient package. The spent cartridges are discharged in an unusual fashion as well: downward, ahead of the trigger guard

Trigger guard

A trigger guard is a loop surrounding the trigger of a firearm and protecting it from accidental discharge.Some assault rifles can have their trigger guard removed or positioned as not to impair firing with gloves for example in Arctic conditions....

. This makes it relatively easy to fit an effective device to catch the cartridge cases, which can then be reloaded. A full-automatic (machine gun) version is available for military, police and other government agencies.