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Bolt action rifle


Bolt action is a type of firearm action where the handling of cartridges into and out of the weapon's barrel chamber are operated by manually manipulating the bolt directly via a handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). As the handle is operated, the bolt is unlocked from the receiver and pulled back to open the breech, allowing the spent cartridge case to be extracted and ejected, the firing pin within the bolt is cocked (either on opening or closing of the bolt depending on the gun design) and engages the sear, then upon the bolt being pushed back a new cartridge (if available) is loaded into the chamber, and finally the breech is closed tight by the bolt locking against the receiver.

Bolt-action firearms (or "bolt guns" colloquially) are most often rifles, but there are some bolt-action variants of shotguns and a few handguns as well. Examples of this system 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 World Wars, the bolt-action rifle was the standard infantry firearm for most of the world's military forces. In modern military and law enforcement use, the bolt action has been mostly replaced by semi-automatic and selective-fire firearms, though the bolt-action design remains dominant in dedicated sniper rifles due to inherently better precision, and are still very popular for civilian hunting and target shooting.


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