A rolling-block action is a form of
firearm action
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles (loads, locks, fires, extracts and ejects) the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically n ...
where the sealing of the
breech
Breech may refer to:
* Breech (firearms), the opening at the rear of a gun barrel where the cartridge is inserted in a breech-loading weapon
* breech, the lower part of a pulley block
* breech, the penetration of a boiler where exhaust gases leave ...
is done with a specially shaped
breechblock
A breechblock (or breech block) is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon (whether small arms or artillery) before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by t ...
able to rotate on a pin.
[Rolling-block action]
/ref> The breechblock is shaped like a section of a circle.
The breechblock is locked into place by the hammer, thus preventing the cartridge from moving backwards at the moment of firing. By cocking the hammer, the breechblock can be rotated freely to reload the weapon.
History
The Remington Rolling Block rifle is one of the most successful single-shot weapons ever developed. It is a strong and simple action, very reliable, and not prone to be jammed by dirt or rough usage. It was invented by Leonard Geiger during the United States Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
and patented in 1863, who (along with his partner, Charles Alger) negotiated a royalty deal with Remington when they put it into production as the so-called "split breech" action late in the war. That design was re-engineered by Joseph Rider in 1865 and called the "Remington System". The first firearm based on it, the Model 1865 Remington Pistol, was offered for sale to the United States Army and Navy in 1866. While the Army turned the design down, the Navy committed to purchase 5000 pistols.
The first rifle based on this design was introduced at the Paris Exposition in 1867 and the United States Navy placed an order for 12,000 rifles. Within a year it had become the standard military rifle of several nations, including Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
Many earlier percussion rifles and muskets were converted to rolling-block designs in the interim before the development of more modern bolt-action designs.
The Swedish–Norwegian Remington M1867
The Remington M1867 was a rolling-block rifle, the first rifle using metallic cartridges to be adopted by the Norwegian and Swedish armies. Nominally it had a caliber of 4 decimal lines, but the actual caliber was 3.88 Norwegian decimal lines or 4 ...
and US Springfield Model 1870 and Springfield Model 1871 also had this action.
Barton Jenks rolling block action
A single-shot action developed by Barton Jenks from Bridesburg, Philadelphia
Bridesburg is the northernmost neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Bridesburg is an historically German and Irish community, with a significant community of Polish immigrants who arrived mostly in ...
right after the Civil War was locked not by the hammer itself, but by a separate hinging piece on the breechblock; it was tested by the US military in 1866 but not adopted.
See also
*Bolt action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-actio ...
*Lever action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger ...
*Pump action
Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to ...
*Break action
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be requir ...
* Falling-block action
*Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolling Block
Firearm actions
Firearm components