Yes, it does have a trigger. Yes, it shoots. Yes, it is very painful at point blank range at lightly dressed or naked people. Oh yeah, the thing at the front is the cartridge where all the bullets are loaded. The thing at the back of the gun is the endpiece in which you pull back. The white thing next to the grip is the trigger you rotate to fire once you pull back the endpiece. You reload by putting that belt of ammo in the container and pulling the ring. There, happy? I know your inspecting me ompa.