Bolt action
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Bolt-action is a type of manual
Most bolt-action firearms use a rotating bolt design, where the handle must first be rotated upward to unlock the bolt from the
Bolt-action firearms are generally repeating firearms, but many single-shot breechloaders also use bolt-action design as a breechblock mechanism, particularly in target sports. Single-shot firearms are mandated in most ISSF rifle disciplines. The majority of bolt-action firearms are rifles, but there are also some variants of shotguns and handguns. Examples of these date as far back as the early 19th century, notably in the Dreyse needle gun.
From the late 19th century all the way through both
History
The first bolt-action rifle was produced in 1824 by
The United States purchased 900 Greene rifles (an under hammer, percussion capped, single-shot bolt-action that used paper cartridges and an ogival bore rifling system) in 1857, which saw service at the
European armies continued to develop bolt-action rifles through the latter half of the 19th century, first adopting
During the buildup prior to World War II, the military bolt-action rifle began to be superseded by semi-automatic rifles and later fully automatic rifles, though bolt-action rifles remained the primary weapon of most of the combatants for the duration of the war; and many American units, especially the USMC, used bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifles until sufficient numbers of M1 Garand rifles were made available. The bolt-action is still common today among many sniper rifles, as the design has the potential for superior accuracy, reliability, reduced weight, and the ability to control loading over the faster rate of fire that all semi-automatic rifle alternatives allow. There are, however, many semi-automatic rifle designs used especially in the designated marksman role.
Today, bolt-action rifles are chiefly used as hunting and target rifles. These rifles can be used to hunt anything from
Some pistols use a bolt-action system, although this is uncommon, and such examples are typically specialized hunting and target handguns.
Major bolt-action systems
Rotating bolt
Most of the bolt-action designs use a rotating bolt (or "turn pull") design, which involves the shooter doing an upward "rotating" movement of the handle to unlock the bolt from the breech and cock the firing pin, followed by a rearward "pull" to open the breech, extract the spent cartridge case, then reverse the whole process to chamber the next cartridge and relock the breech. There are four major turn bolt-action designs: the Remington M-700, possibly the single most numerous produced rifle in history which is now also used as basis for most custom competition rifle actions,[11] along with the Mauser system, the Lee–Enfield system, and the Mosin–Nagant system.
All four differ in the way the bolt fits into the receiver, how the bolt rotates as it is being operated, the number of locking lugs holding the bolt in place as the gun is fired, and whether the action is cocked on the opening of the bolt (as in both the Mauser system and the Mosin Nagant system) or the closing of the bolt (as in the Lee–Enfield system). The vast majority of modern bolt-action rifles were made for the commercial market post-war, numbering in the tens of millions by Remington in the unique, and most accurate Model 700, two of the others use the Mauser system, with other designs such as the Lee–Enfield system and the Mosin Nagant system, of only limited usage.
Mauser
The Mauser bolt-action system is based on 19th-century Mauser bolt-action rifle designs and was finalized in the
A novel safety feature was the introduction of a third locking lug present at the rear of the bolt that normally did not lock the bolt, since it would introduce asymmetrical locking forces. The Mauser system features "cock on opening", meaning the upward rotation of the bolt when the rifle is opened cocks the action. A drawback of the Mauser M 98 system is that it cannot be cheaply mass-produced very easily.[citation needed] Many Mauser M 98-inspired derivatives feature technical alterations, such as omitting the third safety locking lug, to simplify production.
The
- Gewehr 98/Standardmodell/Karabiner 98k
- M24 series
- vz. 24/vz. 33
- Type 24 rifle
- M1903 Springfield
- Pattern 1914 Enfield
- M1917 Enfield
- Type 99
- M48 Mauser
- Kb wz. 98a/Karabinek wz. 1929
- FR 7/FR 8
- modern hunting/sporting rifles like the CZ 550, Heym Express Magnum, Winchester Model 70 and the Mauser M 98
- modern sniper rifles like the Sako TRG, Accuracy International Arctic Warfare and GOL Sniper Magnum
Versions of the Mauser action designed prior to the Gewehr 98's introduction, such as that of the Swedish Mauser rifles and carbines, lack the third locking lug and feature a "cock on closing" operation.
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield bolt-action system was introduced in 1889 with the
The disadvantage of the rearward-located bolt lugs is that a larger part of the receiver, between chamber and lugs, must be made stronger and heavier to resist stretching forces. Also, the bolt ahead of the lugs may flex on firing which, although a safety advantage with repeated firing over time, this may lead to a stretched receiver and excessive headspacing, which if perceived as a problem can be remedied by changing the removable bolt head to a larger sized one (the Lee–Enfield bolt manufacture involved a mass production method where at final assembly the bolt body was fitted with one of three standard size bolt heads for correct
- Lee–Enfield (all marks and models)
- Ishapore 2A1
- Various hunting/sporting rifles manufactured by Parker Hale
- Australian International Arms M10 and No 4 Mk IV hunting/sporting rifles
- Rifle Factory Ishapore's hunting Lee Enfield rifle in .315
Mosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant action, created in 1891 and named after the designers
Other designs
Both the
The United States Army's Joint Munitions and Lethality Contracting Center has awarded Remington a
The
The Norwegian and Danish versions of the Krag have two locking lugs, while the American version has only one. In all versions, the bolt handle itself serves as an emergency locking lug. The Krag's major disadvantage compared to other bolt-action designs is that it is usually loaded by hand, one round at a time, although a box-like device was made that could drop five rounds into the magazine, all at once via a stripper or en bloc clip. This made it slower to reload than other designs which used stripper or en bloc clips. Another historically important bolt-action system was the Gras system, used on the French Mle 1874
Straight pull
Straight-pull bolt-actions differ from conventional turn-pull bolt-action mechanisms in that the bolt can be cycled back and forward without rotating the handle and thus only a linear motion is required, as opposed to a traditional bolt-action, where the user has to axially rotate the bolt in addition to the linear motions to perform chambering and primary extraction. The bolt locking of a straight pull action is achieved differently without needing manual inputs, therefore the entire operating cycle needs the shooter to perform only two movements (pull back and push forward), instead of four movements (rotate up, pull back, push forward, and rotate down), this greatly increases the rate of fire of the gun.
In 1993, the German Blaser company introduced the Blaser R93, a new straight pull action where locking is achieved by a series of concentric "claws" that protrude/retract from the bolthead, a design that is referred to as Radialbundverschluss ("radial connection"). As of 2017 the Rifle Shooter magazine[16] listed its successor Blaser R8 as one of the three most popular straight pull rifles together with Merkel Helix and Browning Maral.[17] Some other notable modern straight pull rifles are made by Beretta,[18] C.G. Haenel,[19] Chapuis,[20] Heym,[21] Lynx,[22] Rößler,[23] Savage Arms,[24] Strasser,[25] and Steel Action.[26]
Most straight bolt rifles have a firing mechanism without a hammer,[citation needed] but there are some hammer-fired models, such as the Merkel Helix. Firearms using a hammer usually have a comparably longer lock time than hammerless mechanisms.
In the sport of biathlon, because shooting speed is an important performance factor and semi-automatic guns are illegal for race use, straight pull actions are quite common and are used almost exclusively in the Biathlon World Cup. The first company to make the straight pull action for .22 caliber was J. G. Anschütz; Peter Fortner junior designed the "Fortner Action",[27][28][29] which was incorporated into the Anschütz 1827 Fortner. The Fortner action is specifically the straight-pull ball bearing lock action, which features spring-loaded ball bearings on the side of the bolt which lock into a groove inside the bolt's housing. With the new design came a new dry fire method; instead of the bolt being turned up slightly, the action is locked back to catch the firing pin. The action was later used in the centre-fire Heym SR 30.
Operating the bolt
Typically, the bolt consists of a tube of metal inside of which the firing mechanism is housed, and which has at the front or rear of the tube several metal knobs, or "lugs", which serve to lock the bolt in place. The operation can be done via a rotating bolt, a lever, cam action, a locking piece, or a number of systems. Straight pull designs have seen a great deal of use, though manual turn bolt designs are what is most commonly thought of in reference to a bolt-action design due to the type ubiquity. As a result, the bolt-action term is often reserved for more modern types of rotating bolt designs when talking about a specific weapon's type of action.
However, both straight pull and rotating bolt rifles are types of bolt-action rifles.
has a lug and guide rib, which lock on the rear end of the bolt into the receiver.Bolt knob
The bolt knob is the part of the bolt handle that the user grips when loading and reloading the firearm and thereby acts as a
Reloading
Most bolt-action firearms are fed by an internal
See also
- Antique guns
- British military rifles
- Service rifle
- List of bolt action rifles
Other firearm actions
- Automatic rifle
- Blowback operated
- Recoil operated
- Gas operated
- Break action
- Falling block action
- Lever action
- Pump action
- Rolling block
- Rotating bolt
- Semi automatic rifle
References
- ^ Dupuy, Trevor N. (1980). Evolution of Weapons and Warfare. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, p. 293.
- ^ Description des machines et procedes specifies dans les brevets d'invention, de perfectionnement et d'importation, dont la duree est expirée ... (in French). Bouchard-Huzard. 1855.
- ^ Office, Great Britain Patent (1859). Abridgments of the Specifications Relating to Fire-arms and Other Weapons, Ammunition, and Accoutrements: A.D. 1588–1858]-Pt. II. A.D. 1858–1866. George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, pub. at the Great seal patent office.
- ^ English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1862, 1522 – 1600. H.M. Stationery Office. 1862.
- ^ Blackmore, Howard L. (1965). Guns and Rifles of the World, p. 69. London: Chancellor Press.
- OCLC 847527424.
- ISBN 978-0-470-06158-9, retrieved 3 April 2021
- ^ "NRA Museums".
- ^ "English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1855, 1419 – 1481". 1856.
- ^ Lugs, Jaroslav. Firearms Past and Present, p. 147.
- ^ "Make Bolt Action Run Smoothly". Tactec. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ ".315" Sporting Rifle". rfi.gov.in. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "M24 Sniper Rifle". Military.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ "10--M24 Sniper Weapon System Reconfiguration".
- ^ Bacon, Lance M. (30 April 2011). "Improved carbines headed your way". Army Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Holtam, Dominic (10 March 2017). "Straight pull rifles". Rifle Shooter. Retrieved 12 April 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Browning Maral / Straight-Pull Rifles Reviews". Gun Mart. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Beretta introduces the BRX1 hunting straight-pull repeater
- ^ Premiere at Haenel: the new Jaeger NXT straight-pull repeater
- ^ "Chapuis Armes "ROLS": New Straight Pull Bolt Action Rifle –". The Firearm Blog. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ UK, Shooting (13 December 2010). "Heym SR30 straight-pull rifle review review". Shooting UK. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Lynx 94 Review". Sporting Rifle magazine. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Potts, Bruce (16 December 2015). "Titan 16 straight-pull rifle review". Shooting UK. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Brand new 2021: Savage Impulse, the new straight-pull rifle from the USA
- ^ Potts, Bruce (2 November 2016). "Strasser RS Solo review". Shooting UK. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Hrachya, H. (7 June 2017). "German Straight Pull Bolt Action Rifles by Steel Action –". The Firearm Blog. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Patent DE3432537A1 (expired)
- ^ DE3432537A1 Repeater rifle, especially as a sporting rifle, such as for biathlon
- ^ Bracholdt, Claudia (16 February 2013). "This German invention is used in 95% of rifles in biathlon". Quartz. G/O Media. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Get a Handle on It". Shooting Illustrated. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "419 Bolt Knobs – Area 419". Area 419 – Precision Comes Standard. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Pandemic, Major (18 October 2016). "Review: KRG Remington Action Bolt Lift Oversized Bolt Handle Knob". AllOutdoor.com. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
Further reading
- Zwoll, Wayne (2003). Bolt Action Rifles. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-660-5.
External links
Media related to Bolt action (firearms) at Wikimedia Commons