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Asemi-automatic rifle is a type ofself-loading rifle that fires a single round each time thetrigger is pulled while automatically loading the nextcartridge. Suchrifles were developed before World War II and were widely used throughout that war. Rifles arefirearms designed to be fired while held with both hands and braced against the shooter's shoulder for stability. Externally similarshotguns can fire multiplepellets simultaneously through asmoothbore, while riflebarrels arerifled to spin-stabilize individualbullets. The actions of semi-automatic rifles use a portion of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the spent casing and load a new round into thechamber, readying the rifle to be fired again.[1][2] This design differs from manually operated rifles such asbolt-action andlever-action rifles, which need to chamber a cartridge manually before firing again, andautomatic rifles, which continue firing as long as the trigger remains depressed.[3][4]
In 1883,Hiram Maxim patented a recoil-operated conversion of aWinchester rifle.[5][6] Another early design for a recoil-operated semi-automatic rifle was byFerdinand Mannlicher, who unveiled his design in 1885, building on earlier work from 1883.[7][8][9] Several of his early models, including the Mannlicher Model 85, the 91, the 93, and the 95, used non-gas-operated mechanisms.[10] However, the designs remained prototypes because of challenges associated with theblack powder used in their cartridges (based around theAustrian11×58 mm R M/77), such as lowvelocity and excessivefouling. The adoption ofsmokeless powder later facilitated the practical development offully-automatic andsemi-automatic firearms.
Mannlicher's designs contributed to the evolution of laterfirearms, including theBrowningM1917,M1919, andM2 Browning machine guns.[11][12] In the early 1880s,Mannlicher began producing versions of his rifles designed for smokeless powder, continuing his work until his death on January 20 1904.[13]
In 1903 and 1905, theWinchester Repeating Arms Company introduced the first low-powerblow back (shell-operated) semi-automatic rifles firingRimfire andcenter fire ammunition. TheWinchester Model 1903[14] and theWinchester Model 1905[15] both operated on the blow back principle to function. Designed byThomas C. Johnson, the Model 1903 was commercially successful and remained in production until 1932 – when it was succeeded by theWinchester Model 63.[16]
By the early 20th century, several manufacturers began producing semi-automatic.22 caliber rifles, includingWinchester,[14]Remington,[17]Fabrique Nationale,[18] andSavage Arms,[19] all using the direct blow back system of operation. Winchester later introduced a.351 Winchester Self-Loading semi-automatic rifle, theModel 1907,[20] as an upgraded version of the Model 1905 offering greater power than its .22 caliber predecessor and utilizing a blow back system. Both the Model 1905 and Model 1907 saw limitedmilitary andpolice use.[21]
In 1883, Artillery Officer Wilhelm H. O. Madsen and Julius A. N. Rasmussen, the attendant of theCopenhagen arms factory, initiated the development of recoil-operated self-loading firearm designs. By 1887, they had produced a functional prototype, later designated theM1888 Forsøgsrekylgevær. The Danish military tested this rifle but ultimately didn't adopt it. Subsequently, the pair developed a new design known as the M1896 Flaadens Rekylgevær. This model underwent testing by the Danish military and was deemed reliable. Consequently, 60 units were procured for theDanish Navy, making it one of the earliest semi-automatic rifles officially adopted by a military force.[22][23]
In the final years of the 19th century and the early 20th century, experiments and patents withgas-operated reloading systems were developed byHiram Maxim and Richard Paulson as well as a gas-operated conversion system from an American inventor named Henry Pitcher. Other designs were also developed, such as theCei-Rigotti in 1900.[24]
In 1906,Remington Arms introduced theRemington Auto-loading Repeating Rifle which was renamed the Model 8 in 1911 and marketed as a sporting rifle. It was sold in Europe byFN Herstal as the FN Browning 1900.[25] The rifle is alocked breech,long recoil action designed byJohn Browning, and had.25,.30, .32, and.35 caliber variants. In 1936, the Model 81 superseded the Model 8 and was offered in.300 Savage as well as the original Remington calibers.
In 1908, GeneralManuel Mondragón patented theMondragón rifle, designated the M1908. The rifle was used by Mexican forces in theMexican Revolution, makingMexico the first nation to use a semi-automatic rifle in battle, in 1911.
Shortly after the Mondragón rifle was produced,France introduced its semi-automatic rifle, theFusil Automatique Modele 1917, also known as the Repetier-Selbstlader-Gewehr M1917 (RSC M1917). The Modele 1917 had a locked breech, gas-operated action that was similar in its mechanical principles to the AmericanM1 Garand. However, the shortened and improved version, the Model 1918, saw more use during theMoroccan Rif War from 1921 to 1926.[26][27] The bolt-actionLebel Model 1886 rifle remained the standardFrenchinfantry rifle until it was replaced in 1936 by another bolt-action rifle, theMAS-36.
TheUnited Kingdom experimented withself-loading rifles during the interwar period, intending to replace the bolt-actionLee–Enfield with a self-loading rifle. This plan was discarded when theSecond World War became imminent and the United Kingdom hastily rearmed with more traditional weapons designs.
Springfield, Massachusetts –John Garand, aCanadian-bornfirearms designer, was tasked with designing a basicgas-actuated self-loading infantry rifle andcarbine rifle that would eject the spentcartridge and reload a new round using a gas-operated system. It took 15 years to perfect the M1 prototype model to meet all theU.S. Army specifications.[28][29] The resultingSemi-Automatic, .30 caliber, M1 Rifle was patented by Garand in 1932, approved by theU.S. Army on January 9, 1936, and underwent mass production in 1940.[30]General George S. Patton described the M1 Garand as "the greatest battle implement ever devised."[31] It replaced thebolt actionM1903 Springfield and was the first gas-operated semi-automatic rifle adopted as a national standard-issue service rifle, and was often referred to as the "Garand Rifle".[32] DuringWorld War II, over 4,000,000 M1 rifles were manufactured.[33]
TheSovietAVS-36,SVT-38, and SVT-40, as well as the GermanGewehr 43, were semi-automaticgas-operated rifles issued duringWorld War II in relatively small numbers. In practice, they did not replace the bolt-action rifle as a standard infantry weapon of their respective nations—Germany produced 402,000Gewehr 43 rifles,[34] and over 14,000,000 of theKar98k.[35]
Another gas-operated semi-automatic rifle developed toward the end of World War II was theSKS. Designed bySergei Gavrilovich Simonov in 1945, it came equipped with abayonet and could be loaded with ten rounds using astripper clip. It was the first widely issued rifle to use the7.62×39mm cartridge.[36] By the end of World War II, however, semi-automatic rifles had been largely superseded in military usage by their select-fire counterparts - weapons such as theAK-47,FN FAL, andM16 limited the viability of widespreaddeployment of semi-automatic rifles.
Gradually,military doctrine increasingly prioritised the volume of fire over individual marksmanship. During World War II, American ground forces fired approximately 25,000rounds for each enemy killed. This number rose to 50,000 rounds in theKorean War, and rose again, to 200,000, during theVietnam War.[37] The first fully-automatic rifle to see widespread usage was the GermanSTG-44, which was reportedly well-liked by troops,[38] as the 30-round select-fire rifle gave them much more flexibility than the bolt-actionKarabiner 98k.
Ultimately,fully-automatic rifles would become standard in military usage, as theirfirepower was superior to that of a semi-automatic rifle. However, both semi-automatic and bolt-action rifles are still widely used today in military service in specific roles, such asdesignated marksman rifles, which prioritize accuracy over volume of fire. Furthermore, to accommodate for this greater firepower,battle rifles were mostly replaced byassault rifles, whose lighter bullets allowed moreammunition to be carried at once. Where semi-automatic rifles continue to be used, they are usually in higher calibers, such as the.50 BMGBarrett M82.
Semi-automatic rifles usegas,blow-forward,blow-back, orrecoil energy to eject the casing after a round has been fired, to chamber a new cartridge from themagazine, and to reset theaction. This enables another round to be fired once the trigger is depressed again.[39]
Semi-automatic rifles can be fed by anen-bloc clip,external magazine, or stripper clip.
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The primary advantage of semi-automatic rifles is their ability to fire multiple sequential shots without manuallychamberingcartridges, increasing rate of fire and allowing the shooter to maintain their aiming position. Repeatedly engaging single or multiple targets rapidly greatly increases the effectiveness of a firearm in most applications. Semi-automatic rifles can typically more than double the hits at close range and increase hits by about 50% at longer distances compared to manually loaded rifles. The added weight ofsprings and fittings in self-loading mechanisms, along with some of the cartridge energy being used to reload, can help reducerecoil.[40] Reduced recoil helps keep the rifle on target for successive shots, improving overall accuracy.
A self-loading mechanism designed for specific cartridge dimensions and power may fail to reload dirty or bent cartridges, struggle to extract low-power training cartridges, or be damaged by cartridges of excessively high power. Some rifles requirelubricated cartridges, making them prone to collecting dirt. Reliability issues in the mechanism can negate the advantage of fasterfiring, potentially lowering therate of fire compared to manually loaded rifles if not designed for easy manual reloading. TheUnited Kingdom regarded the reliable rate of fire from manually loaded rifles as nearly as high as self-loading rifles as recently as World War II.[41]
Semi-automatic rifles are uniquely susceptible toslamfire malfunctions caused by abrupt cartridgeacceleration during self-loading. Slamfire discharges are unlikely to hit the target and may causecollateral damage.[42]
The time required for changing or reloadingmagazines can reduce the effectiveness of a rifle, as it imposes a duration limit on the continuous rate of fire. High-capacity magazines increase the rifle's weight and typically reduce feeding reliability due to the varying spring tension ranging from a full magazine to a nearly empty magazine. Additionally, detachable magazines are generally less durable than internal magazines.[43]
The complexity of a self-loading mechanism makes self-loading rifles more expensive to manufacture and heavier than manually loaded rifles. The semi-automatic M1 Garand weighs about 410grams (0.9 lbs.) more than the bolt-action M1903 Springfield it replaced, an increase of seven percent. American development of a self-loading infantry rifle began with the.276 Pedersen cartridge in recognition of the difficulties of producing reliable self-loading mechanisms for more powerful cartridges. Although the M1 Garand was ultimately adapted to fire the.30-06 Springfield cartridge at the insistence of GeneralDouglas MacArthur,[44] most subsequent self-loading rifles for infantry use have been chambered for less powerful cartridges to reduce weight, making the service rifles easier to carry.[45]
Semi-automatic rifles are often used forsport shooting. There are various types of sport shooting, ranging from rapid-fire, target, and distance shooting. Shooting clubs in America became increasingly common in the 1830s,[46] and have since grown in popularity.
Semi-automatic rifles have grown in popularity among hunters.[47] Some hunters use semi-automatic rifles, includingAR-15 style models, citing their compact design and customization options, effectively making it easier to traverse rugged terrain while tracking a target and providing a large variety of customization ranging from scopes and muzzle devices to different calibers.[citation needed] Semi-automatic fire greatly assists in maintaining one's sight picture, which is especially important when follow-up shots are required.[48] Due to their demand, the manufacturers of semi-automatic firearms have greatly increased the effective firing distance of their products compared to the first semi-automatics sold on the civilian market.[49]
Semi-automatic rifles have been used forself-defense. However, in the United States, this use has been rare, totaling only between 51 and 69 self-defense incidents withAR-15-style semi-automatic rifles over the span of 9 1/2 years.[50]
Johnson, Melvin M. (1944).Rifles and Machine Guns. New York: William Morrow and Company.
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