Questions from a Newbie

[iapetus]

Hi.

I've been coming to these forums for a few months now, mainly "legal and political". But there are a number of terms I've seen people use, and not know/am not sure what they mean. Could someone explain them for me please?

(I have never used a firearm of any type myself, as I like in a country (UK) where almost all firearms are banned, and the rest highly regulated. I came to this site here while researching pro/anti RKBA issues, and eventually settled down as firmly pro-RKBA).


But back to my questions:

Bolt/lever-action rifles.

What exactly are they? (I know they are non-automatic rifles, but would like to know more about how they actually work).

And what advanteges do they have (if any) over semi-auto rifles? (I've read several posts where someone has said "The best gun for x situation is a high-precision level rifle, so I assume they have some specific advantage over other types?)


Thanks

 

[Thunderstick]

Semi-auto, bolt action, and lever action are action types for repeating firearms.....firearms capable of firing two or more rounds without reloading.

Semi-autos either use gas from the fired round or the recoil of the fired round to eject the spent round and load a fresh round. So, the bolt is moving back towards the shooter as the projectile is leaving the barrel. As a result, they tend to be slightly less accurate that lever/bolt actions.

Lever action firearms have a lever on the bottom of the rifle that is pushed down/forward after firing to eject the spent round and pull back/up to load a new round.

Bolt action firearms have a bolt on the top usually right side (left side for left handed rifles) that rotates up and back to eject the spent round and forward and down to load a new round.

Because lever action/bolt do not use recoil/gas to move the bolt, they tend to be more accurate. That is why military/police snipers typically use bolt action type weapons. There are sniper versions of semi-auto weapons but the preference is for bolt.

 

[MaterDei]

iapetus,

Good on ya for your stance on RKBA, your country needs more like you.

This is a good write-up on how machine guns (and others) work. Most, though not all, modern semi automatic rifles work like the one in this article labeled 'The Gas System'.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/machine-gun.htm/printable

Lever actions and bolt actions both require the shooter to manually load each successive cartridge, either via a lever or a handle on the bolt itself. The simplest and most accurate design is the bolt action.

Hope this helps.

Michael

 

[N3rday]

Well, aren't you the n00b.
Watch some old World War II movies like Enemy at the Gates. All those Russian and German rifles everyone has are bolt action. You can tell...well...by the bolt.

I have never used a firearm of any type myself, as I like in a country (UK) where almost all firearms are banned, and the rest highly regulated

Sorry...what are the laws like there? I'm not familiar. I know handguns are banned (and subsequently crime is rising), but what are the laws involving rifles? I'm sure bolt and lever actions aren't banned. At least I hope.

Look into the other side of the argument, like the Brady campaign. You will find that most of their arguments rely solely on the lack of knowledge the average citizen has about the operation of firearms. You will hear ridiculous statements like 'Able to put 12 slugs into a cops body in 2 seconds' and bogus terms like 'cop-killer bullets', which don't exist, 'junk guns', which also don't really exist, and 'assault rifles', which have been illegal and regulated since 1934. Its almost tasteless.

 

[JesusCow]

Sorry...what are the laws like there? I'm not familiar. I know handguns are banned (and subsequently crime is rising), but what are the laws involving rifles? I'm sure bolt and lever actions aren't banned. At least I hope.

i've heard of some people that have licenses that allow them to have something like 7 or 8 guns limiting them on caliber and type. also, they might eventually have all toy guns banned according to a bcc article i read a few weeks ago

 

[iamkris]

iapetus

Here are a few areas to pick up how these actions work. Not comprehensive but only a couple of minutes of Googling. Definitely easier to see how they work if there is a picture involved :

From a Sheriff's Dept website:

http://sheriff.co.sangamon.il.us/gunsafety.html

A women's organization dedicated to shooting:

http://www.womenshooters.com/gunsafe/gunsafe3.html#anchor595173

And from a US state wildlife management department

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/PDF/chapter2.pdf

 

[4v50 Gary]

Lever action - think of John Wayne twirling his rifle to recock it. Arnauld the Gubernator of California does the same with a shotgun. Closer to home, the classic movie Zulu had lever action falling block Martini Henry rifles.

For bolt action, think of the sniper in Saving Private Ryan or what American actor Gary Cooper used when he played in the starring role of Sergeant York.

 

[iapetus]

Thanks everyone.

N3rday Well, aren't you the n00b.
Watch some old World War II movies like Enemy at the Gates. All those Russian and German rifles everyone has are bolt action. You can tell...well...by the bolt.

I've seen plenty of guns in film/TV that I assumed were lever/bolt rifles, I just wanted to get a "proper" definition. (Besides, I've seen plenty of guns in movies/TV with infinite magazines, and bullets that will send a man flying 10 feet through the air ).

quote:I have never used a firearm of any type myself, as I like in a country (UK) where almost all firearms are banned, and the rest highly regulated

Sorry...what are the laws like there? I'm not familiar. I know handguns are banned (and subsequently crime is rising), but what are the laws involving rifles? I'm sure bolt and lever actions aren't banned. At least I hope.

I think they are still legal. Semi-auto and pump-action rifles (and shotguns) are banned, though. And to get a license for any sort of gun, you need to have a "good reason" to own own. "Good reasons" include needing it for work (e.g. if you are a farmer or gamekeeper), or being a member of a shooting club. There may be other "good reasons" as well, but self-defence is not considered to be one.