Page 55 - FAT 105 4.17 MOODLE

heavy artillery cannons. The action gets all of to the rolling-block action. When the lever is
its strength from the sheer size and mass of the manipulated down and forward, linkage pulls
breechblock. The receiver is also fairly stout, the front of the breechblock down as it rotates
which adds to the strength of the action. around its pivot pin. When the lever is pulled
to the rear and up, the front of the breechblock
One of the first and most notable firearms to
will pivot up, sealing the chamber and locking
use the falling-block action was the Sharps rifle.
the breech.
The Sharps rifle and the falling-block action
saw great success during the civil war, becoming BOLT-ACTION
a popular weapon amongst sharpshooters and
snipers. The firearms that saw use during the The bolt-style action is so named because it
civil war still used percussion cap technology, uses a cylindrical tube called a bolt rather than a
which was a huge advance over the muzzleload- breechblock. The bolt is manipulated in various
ers, match, and flintlock technologies. It wasn’t ways to complete the various steps in the cycle
until 1874 that metallic, centerfire cartridges re- of operations. The bolt-style action is used with
placed percussion caps. pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The bolt-style ac-

Despite the incredible strength the action has tion system (Figure 27) is a manual action that
to offer, its major downfall is its inability to fire must be manipulated by the operator in order
more than one round. Although the falling- to complete the cycle of operations. With an
block action was extremely popular during its empty and locked action, the cycle of operations
time, the advent of the bolt-action and its ability for a bolt-action firearm is as follows:
to fire multiple rounds before reloading made • A handle that is attached to the bolt is
the falling-block obsolete. The falling-block ac- manipulated to unlock the breech and
tion still sees use today as a collector's and en- open the chamber. Depending on the spe-
thusiast's item and is still manufactured in small cific model, the bolt may need to be rotat-
numbers as a reproduction piece. ed and pulled to the rear of the receiver or
Similar to the falling-block action, the tilting- pulled straight to the rear of the receiver.
block action operates almost identically. The le- The chamber is now open and exposed.
ver manipulation and cycle of operations almost Also, depending on model, the striker is
mirror the falling-block, with the one difference set to the cocked position. (1)
being the movement of the breechblock. While
• Depending on the specific model, feeding
the falling-block breechblock moves vertically,
will happen one of two different ways.
the tilting-block breechblock pivots similarly

Figure 25: Falling-block rifle.

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