Page 93 - FAT 105 4.17 MOODLE

Figure 14b: Long recoil-operated action.

The barrel will continue forward while combined with the distance of travel lead
the bolt stays behind, extracting the to a fairly slow-cycling gun. This leads to
empty case from the moving chamber. a greater perceived recoil because of the
When the barrel nears the end of its for- duration of the recoil impulse. The slow
ward stroke (clearing the ejection port), cycling speed does lend itself to greater
it will trip the ejector, which kicks the reliability because the action has more
empty case from the breech. The barrel time to perform the cycles of operation.
will also trip the cartridge release, which
The long recoil-operated action is one of
will feed a fresh round into the breech.
the oldest recoil-operated actions, with
When the barrel has reached the end
th
early models in the late 19 century.
of its stroke, it will trip the bolt release.
The long recoil action is primarily found
The action/recoil spring will drive the
in shotguns, with only a few known
bolt forward, driving the round into the
examples of rifles (Remington Model
chamber and seating it. Once the bolt
8), and only one known example of a
and barrel have reached their forward-
pistol (Frommer Stop). The first semi-
most position, the locking surfaces will
automatic shotgun (Browning Auto-5)
engage and the breech will lock.
employed the long recoil action.
The long recoil-operated action tends to
• Short Recoil – Unlike the long recoil
be very robust, with a heavy barrel and
action, where the barrel and bolt/slide
bolt designed to withstand high power
travel together almost the entire length
cartridges. This heavy-duty design does
of the action’s stroke, with the short
have a downside. The mass of the parts
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