Firearms Glossary: Repeating Firearms

[krispos42]

Repeating firearms are guns that have a mechanism that, only when physically manipulated by the shooter, will allow the shooter to fire multiple shots without reloading the gun.

Nearly all repeaters fall into the following categories:

Bolt-action

Lever-action

Slide- or pump-action

Revolving action



Bolt-action guns are typically rifles of the sort that rotates to lock and unlock the bolt. The handle is typically located convenient to the shooter's right hand, the same hand used to pull the trigger. To cycle the mechanism, the shooter first rotates the bolt counter-clockwise, then yanks the bolt rearward as far as it can go. This extracts and ejects the loaded cartridge, fired or not. The bolt is then pushed forward, which strips a fresh cartridge from the magazine and inserts it into the barrel, and in some designs, cocks the firing mechanism. Finally, the bolt is rotated clockwise, which lock the bolt in place and, in many designs, cocks the firing mechanism. These types of bolt-actions are called "turnbolt repeaters". There are some designs that are simply pulled straight back and pushed forward, but those are not common.

Bolt-action guns are almost all rifles, and are typically fed from a stacked magazine that may be fixed or detachable. Rifles the fire rimfire ammunition are often made with fixed tubular magazines that hold cartridges nose-to-tail underneath the barrel.


This turnbolt repeater has a fixed stacked magazine with a hinged floorplate for quick, safe unloading. It does not protrude from the rifle.




This turnbolt repeater has a detachable stacked magazine for quick, safe loading and unloading. It protrudes from the rifle.






Lever-action guns are typically rifles that use a lever with a loop for the shooter's hand to cycle the mechanism. The lever is located where the shooter holds the rear grip, and the shooter uses his or her trigger hand to work the lever after pulling the trigger. To cycle the mechanism, the shooter slips his or her hand into the loop below the grip and pushes down with the top of the hand. The lever moves down and forward, unlocking the bolt and moving it rearwards while extracting and ejecting the loaded cartridge and cocking the external hammer. The shooter then pulls the lever up and rearwards, causing the bolt to move forward, loading a cartridge from the magazine into the barrel, and locking the bolt closed. The gun is now ready to fire.

They are typically fed from a fixed tubular magazine attached to the underside of the barrel that holds the cartridges in a nose-to-tail configuration.


This lever-action rifle features a tubular magazine loaded through an opening just below the bolt. Some designs can be loaded by unscrewing the front of the magazine instead.





Slide-action/pump-action guns are typically shotguns with a foregrip that is used to operate the firing mechanism. The shooter uses his or her non-trigger hand to slide the foregrip back and forth after pulling the trigger. To cycle the mechanism after firing a shot, the shooter pulls back briskly on the foregrip. This causes the shotgun's bolt to unlock and slide rearward while extracting and ejecting the loaded shotshell and cocking the firing mechanism. Then the slide is pushed forward briskly, causing to bolt to move forward, strip a fresh shell from the magazine, and load it into the barrel, then finally locking the bolt closed.

Shotguns are almost always fed from a tubular magazine attached to the underside of the barrel that holds the shells in a nose-to-tail configuration.

This pump-action shotgun features a tubular magazine loaded though an opening located underneath the gun and in front of the triggerguard.





Revolving action guns are typically handguns called "revolvers", which have a cylinder behind the barrel which has holes bored in it for holding and firing cartridges. Unlike a magazine, which only holds cartridges until they can be loaded into the barrel, the cartridges in a revolver are fired in the cylinder. The cylinder acts as an array of separate firing chambers for the barrel.

Revolver mechanisms come in two types: single-action and double-action. Single-action revolvers have triggers whose only purpose is to release a cocked hammer. If the hammer does not cock, the gun will not fire. To fire a single-action revolver, the shooter draws back and cocks the hammer, typically with the shooter's thumb. This also causes the cylinder to rotate, putting a fresh cartridge in line with the barrel, then locking itself in place. With the hammer cocked, the shooter then pulls the trigger, which releases the hammer and fires a shot. For the next shot, the shooter must manually cock the hammer again.

Double-action revolvers have a mechanism that allows the trigger to both cock and release the hammer. There are two ways to fire a double-action revolver. You can shoot it like the single-action revolver described above, or you can simply keep pulling the trigger. Each time the trigger is pulled, the hammer is drawn backward while the cylinder rotates a fresh cartridge behind the barrel. One the fresh cartridge is aligned, the cylinder locks itself in place. Further pressure on the trigger will cause the drawn-back hammer to release and fire a shot. This type of trigger pull is longer and heavier than the single-action one.

Single-action revolvers typically have a fixed cylinder that is loaded and unloaded through a loading gate, while double-action revolvers typically have a swing-out cylinder for rapid loading and unloading.

This single-action revolver has a loading gate (shown closed) between the hammer and cylinder. An under-barrel hand ejector lets the shooter push out cartridges one at a time.




This double-action revolver has a cylinder that opens up. Cartridges are inserted into the rear of the cylinder. The rod protruding from the front of the cylinder is the ejector. Pushing this rod rearwards briskly will eject all of the cartridges simultaneously.

[krispos42]

1. No comments yet....

did I do a good job or a bad one?!?!?

[Irreverend IX]

2. Good work

I've got a thorough breakdown of the different firearm types, I should probably post it sometime.

[benEzra]

3. Aren't autoloaders considered a subtype of repeating firearms?

I would term those categories as manual repeaters, but I may be wrong here.

[krispos42]

7. I think you are techincally right

But when the self-cloading guns appeared, the term first applied was "automatic", as in "automatic pistol". As in automatically operating the repeating mechanism. As in the perpetual confusion between an automatic pistol and an automatic weapon.

The term first had its origins in the first repeating rifle, the Spencer lever-action rifle of the Civil War. It was a lever-action rifle that used the lever to unload and reload cartridges from a 7-round magazine, but it had a separate hammer that had to be cocked independent of the reloading mechanism.

To me, it seems that semi-auto and full-auto firearms are repeaters by default, but lever-action and bolt-action rifles are not necessarily repeaters. For example, the Ruger No. 1 single-shot rifle has a lever to open and close the breech, but it is not a repeater. And one of the Barrett .50 BMG rifles is a bolt-action single-shot, but it also is not a repeater.

If you have a semi-automatic rifle without a magazine, what do you really have? A single-shot rifle with an automatic ejector!

Just as you and I discussed using the term "autoloading pistol" in place of "automatic pistol" a few months ago for the sake of clarity, we should discuss using these terms. This way, an evil evil tactical pump shotgun with a *gasp* pistol grip and a *gasp* *gasp* folding buttstock we can rightly point out is a repeater. Which can't be confused like the terms "asault weapon" and "assault rifle" are, or "automatic" and "semi-automatic".

[pipoman]

4. "Repeating Arms"

What is the origin of that term? I know that Winchester used this term years ago, their company name was WRACO 'Winchester Repeating Arms Company'.

[krispos42]

8. "United States Repeating Arms Company"

Which, if memory serves, Winchester was a licenced trademark.

[qdemn7]

5. Damn good one!

No complaints here. Excellent job, great pics. Keep going with this.

[krispos42]

6. Thank you! :-) n/t

[SteveM]

9. Good post! How does a single-trigger double barrel stack up?

I can see how a two-trigger double would fall outside of a repeater because there are two (2) separate mechanisms to manipulate; but a single-trigger double could arguably be a repeater since the mechanism, I believe, is a single unit. Perhaps a caveat can be added: repeaters must have a single barrel.

[krispos42]

10. I think it's covered as a "single shot"

There is no mechanism to manipulate to reload it. I would call a double-barrled shotgun or rifle, or a derringer, a twinned or duel single-shot.

In the case of a single-trigger double-barreled shotgun, you have one trigger tied to two separate firing mechanisms on two separate barrels. YOu don't have to manipulate any kind of reloading mechanism.

I think that answers your question...?

[SteveM]

12. Yep. The question turns on a mechanism to reload. (nt)

[Aventurier]

11. Nice work

I've just registered, but I've read all of your explanatory efforts and think you're doing a good job. I've been reading DU for many years.

After trying desperately to explain to many friends that the expiration of the AWB would NOT make fully-automatic weapons legal (and thereby cause the end of society as we know it), I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of progressive and/or fair-minded liberals who simply do not understand the issue. Unfortunately, many political figures have not been entirely honest and forthright about it, and have often deliberately allowed this misconception to fester.

Hopefully, such information as you have assembled can be made available to a wider audience, to allow an informed debate about this most important issue to take place.

[virginia mountainman]

13. Even a cursory examination of the facts

Shows just how blatantly dishonest the politicians are that push anti-gun laws are, case in point, the California Micro-Stamping law, and the AW Ban..

Anyone who votes for such nonsense has proven that they don't have the intelligence to be in a position of power.

If the anti-gun rights forces, could not lie......they would have NO position.