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Bolt action
Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by directly manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of bolt-action firearms are rifles, but there are also some variants of shotguns and handguns that are bolt-action.
Bolt action firearms are generally repeating firearms, but many single-shot designs are available as well, particularly in shooting sports where single-shot firearms are mandated, such as most Olympic and ISSF rifle disciplines.
From the late 19th century all the way through both World Wars, bolt action rifles were the standard infantry service weapons for most of the world's military forces, with the exception of the United States Armed Forces, who used the M1 Garand Semi-automatic rifle. In modern military and law enforcement after the Second World War, bolt-action firearms have been largely replaced by semi-automatic and selective-fire firearms, and have remained only as sniper rifles due to the design's inherent potential for superior accuracy and precision, as well as ruggedness and reliability compared to self-loading designs.
Most bolt action firearms use a rotating turn-bolt operation,[dubious – discuss] where the handle must first be rotated upward to unlock the bolt from the receiver, then pulled back to open the breech and allowing any spent cartridge case to be extracted and ejected. This also cocks the striker within the bolt (either on opening or closing of the bolt depending on the gun design) and engages it against the sear. When the bolt is returned to the forward position, a new cartridge (if available) is pushed out of the magazine and into the barrel chamber, and finally the breech is closed tight by rotating the handle down so the bolt head relocks on the receiver. A less common bolt-action type is the straight-pull mechanism, where no upward handle-turning is needed and the bolt unlocks automatically when the handle is pulled rearwards by the user's hand.
The first bolt action rifle was produced in 1824 by Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse, following work on breechloading rifles that dated to the 18th century. Von Dreyse would perfect his Nadelgewehr (Needle Rifle) by 1836, and it was adopted by the Prussian Army in 1841. While it saw limited service in the German Revolutions of 1848, it was not fielded widely until the 1864 victory over Denmark. In 1850 a metallic centerfire bolt-action breechloader was patented by Béatus Beringer. In 1852 another metallic centerfire bolt-action breechloader was patented by Joseph Needham and improved upon in 1862 with another patent. Two different systems for primers –the mechanism to ignite a metallic cartridge's powder charge – were invented in the 1860s as well, the Berdan and the Boxer systems.
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 Battle of Antietam in 1862, during the American Civil War; however, this weapon was ultimately considered too complicated for issue to soldiers and was supplanted by the Springfield Model 1861, a conventional muzzle loading rifle. During the American Civil War, the bolt-action Palmer carbine was patented in 1863, and by 1865, 1000 were purchased for use as cavalry weapons. The French Army adopted its first bolt-action rifle, the Chassepot rifle, in 1866 and followed with the metallic cartridge bolt-action Gras rifle in 1874.
European armies continued to develop bolt-action rifles through the latter half of the 19th century, first adopting tubular magazines as on the Kropatschek rifle and the Lebel rifle. The first bolt-action repeating rifle was patented in Britain in 1855 by an unidentified inventor through the patent agent Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford using a gravity-operated tubular magazine in the stock. Another more well-known bolt-action repeating rifle was the Vetterli rifle of 1867 and the first bolt-action repeating rifle to use centerfire cartridges was the weapon designed by the Viennese gunsmith Ferdinand Fruwirth in 1871. Ultimately, the military turned to bolt-action rifles using a box magazine; the first of its kind was the M1885 Remington–Lee, but the first to be generally adopted was the British 1888 Lee–Metford. World War I marked the height of the bolt-action rifle's use, with all of the nations in that war fielding troops armed with various bolt-action designs.
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.
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Bolt action
Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by directly manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of bolt-action firearms are rifles, but there are also some variants of shotguns and handguns that are bolt-action.
Bolt action firearms are generally repeating firearms, but many single-shot designs are available as well, particularly in shooting sports where single-shot firearms are mandated, such as most Olympic and ISSF rifle disciplines.
From the late 19th century all the way through both World Wars, bolt action rifles were the standard infantry service weapons for most of the world's military forces, with the exception of the United States Armed Forces, who used the M1 Garand Semi-automatic rifle. In modern military and law enforcement after the Second World War, bolt-action firearms have been largely replaced by semi-automatic and selective-fire firearms, and have remained only as sniper rifles due to the design's inherent potential for superior accuracy and precision, as well as ruggedness and reliability compared to self-loading designs.
Most bolt action firearms use a rotating turn-bolt operation,[dubious – discuss] where the handle must first be rotated upward to unlock the bolt from the receiver, then pulled back to open the breech and allowing any spent cartridge case to be extracted and ejected. This also cocks the striker within the bolt (either on opening or closing of the bolt depending on the gun design) and engages it against the sear. When the bolt is returned to the forward position, a new cartridge (if available) is pushed out of the magazine and into the barrel chamber, and finally the breech is closed tight by rotating the handle down so the bolt head relocks on the receiver. A less common bolt-action type is the straight-pull mechanism, where no upward handle-turning is needed and the bolt unlocks automatically when the handle is pulled rearwards by the user's hand.
The first bolt action rifle was produced in 1824 by Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse, following work on breechloading rifles that dated to the 18th century. Von Dreyse would perfect his Nadelgewehr (Needle Rifle) by 1836, and it was adopted by the Prussian Army in 1841. While it saw limited service in the German Revolutions of 1848, it was not fielded widely until the 1864 victory over Denmark. In 1850 a metallic centerfire bolt-action breechloader was patented by Béatus Beringer. In 1852 another metallic centerfire bolt-action breechloader was patented by Joseph Needham and improved upon in 1862 with another patent. Two different systems for primers –the mechanism to ignite a metallic cartridge's powder charge – were invented in the 1860s as well, the Berdan and the Boxer systems.
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 Battle of Antietam in 1862, during the American Civil War; however, this weapon was ultimately considered too complicated for issue to soldiers and was supplanted by the Springfield Model 1861, a conventional muzzle loading rifle. During the American Civil War, the bolt-action Palmer carbine was patented in 1863, and by 1865, 1000 were purchased for use as cavalry weapons. The French Army adopted its first bolt-action rifle, the Chassepot rifle, in 1866 and followed with the metallic cartridge bolt-action Gras rifle in 1874.
European armies continued to develop bolt-action rifles through the latter half of the 19th century, first adopting tubular magazines as on the Kropatschek rifle and the Lebel rifle. The first bolt-action repeating rifle was patented in Britain in 1855 by an unidentified inventor through the patent agent Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford using a gravity-operated tubular magazine in the stock. Another more well-known bolt-action repeating rifle was the Vetterli rifle of 1867 and the first bolt-action repeating rifle to use centerfire cartridges was the weapon designed by the Viennese gunsmith Ferdinand Fruwirth in 1871. Ultimately, the military turned to bolt-action rifles using a box magazine; the first of its kind was the M1885 Remington–Lee, but the first to be generally adopted was the British 1888 Lee–Metford. World War I marked the height of the bolt-action rifle's use, with all of the nations in that war fielding troops armed with various bolt-action designs.
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.