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124-570: The Karabiner Modell 1931 replaced both the Model 1911 rifle and carbine and was gradually replaced by the Stgw 57 from 1958 onwards. Although the Kar. 31 is a straight-pull carbine broadly based on previous Swiss " Schmidt–Rubin " service rifles and carbines, the Kar. 31 was not designed by Colonel Rudolf Schmidt (1832–1898) as he was not alive in 1931 to do so. Mechanical engineer Eduard Rubin (1846–1920)

248-493: A speedloader ; or the en bloc clip for M1 Garand rifles, among others. Use of the term "clip" to refer to detachable magazines is a point of strong disagreement. The earliest firearms were loaded with loose powder and a lead ball, and to fire more than a single shot without reloading required multiple barrels , such as in pepper-box guns, double-barreled rifles , double-barreled shotguns , or multiple chambers , such as in revolvers . The main problem with these solutions

372-621: A "quad-column", can hold a large amount of ammunition. It is wider than a standard box magazine, but retains the same length. Casket magazines can be found on the Suomi KP/-31 , Hafdasa C-4 , Spectre M4 , QCW-05 and on 5.45×39mm AK rifle derivatives, and now the Kel-Tec CP33 as well. Magpul has been granted a patent for a STANAG -compatible casket magazine, and such a magazine was also debuted by SureFire in December 2010, and

496-524: A 270 mm (10.63 in) rifling twist rate . The action itself is only connected to the stock by two screws, one attaching to the recoil lug, with the second attaching to the tang. This allowed the Swiss to eliminate the aluminium barrel mounting collar used in the Schmidt-Rubin series. The trigger was also redesigned. Karabiner Modell 31s are noted for their excellent accuracy and quality for

620-467: A Karabiner Modell 31 are open sights that can be adjusted for both windage and elevation and have a sight radius of 568 mm (22.36 in). The rear sight is graduated from 100–1,500 m (109–1,640 yd) in 100 m (109 yd) increments. The sight line can be adjusted with a front sight adjustment tool. Moving the front post 1 mm (0.04 in) horizontally results in a 120 mm (4.72 in) shift at 300 m (328 yd). To adjust

744-404: A circle of the mentioned diameter at that distance. The employed circular error probable method cannot be converted and is not comparable to US military methods for determining rifle accuracy. For reference a 1 minute of arc (MOA) circle at 300 m (328 yd) has a diameter of 8.72 cm (3.4 in) and at 1,000 m (1,094 yd) has a diameter of 29.08 cm (11.4 in). When

868-713: A company by the name of Swiss Products in the United States makes a clamp-on diopter which was recently approved for use at official Swiss shooting matches. During its production run there were several modifications tested, rejected and made to the Kar. 31. Karabiner Modell 31s were issued with slings, muzzle caps, knife-type detachable bayonets , cleaning kits and carrying pouches for stripper clips. There were three Karabiner Modell 31 variants that featured telescopic sights . These were the: The telescopic sights of these models were made by Kern and mounted on production Karabiner Modell 31s chosen for their accuracy offset on

992-600: A conventional detachable box, but it was non-detachable and only reloaded by using 20 round stripper clips . Box magazines may come in straight, angled, or curved forms depending if the cartridges are tapered rimmed/rimless or bottlenecked. Straight or slightly curved magazines work well with straight-sided rimless cartridges, angled magazines work well with straight-sided rimmed/rimless cartridges and curved magazines work well with rimmed/rimless tapered cartridges. Pistol magazines are often single- or double-stack with single-feed, which may be due to this design being slimmer at

1116-490: A crucial safety feature for hunting dangerous game: when empty the follower stops the bolt from engaging the chamber, informing the operator that the gun is empty before any attempt to fire. The first successful semi-automatic pistol was the Borchardt C-93 (1893) and incorporated detachable box magazines. Nearly all subsequent semiautomatic pistol designs adopted detachable box magazines. The Swiss Army evaluated

1240-578: A drum magazine's extra capacity is its added weight that, combined with the gun, can affect handling and prolonged use. Drum magazines can be more difficult to incorporate into combat gear compared to more regular, rectangular box magazines. Many drum-fed firearms can also load from conventional box magazines, such as the Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun, RPK light machine gun, and the American Thompson submachine gun . The term "drum"

1364-444: A new 4-groove type, adding a pistol grip to the stock, changing the magazine to the 6-round type used in the 1900 short rifle, and modernizing the sights. This also streamlined the appearance of the rifles. Because more rifles were needed than were available, the model 1911 rifle, with slight changes, was put into production. Almost all of the 127,000-plus model 89/96 rifles were converted to the 96/11 specifications. An improvement over

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1488-718: A position where it may be readily loaded into the barrel chamber by the firearm's moving action . The detachable magazine is sometimes colloquially referred to as a " clip ", although this is technically inaccurate since a clip is actually an accessory device used to help load ammunition into a magazine or cylinder. Magazines come in many shapes and sizes, from integral tubular magazines on lever-action and pump-action rifles and shotguns, that may hold more than five rounds, to detachable box magazines and drum magazines for automatic rifles and light machine guns , that may hold more than fifty rounds. Various jurisdictions ban what they define as " high-capacity magazines ". With

1612-444: A series of Swiss Army service rifles in use between 1889 and 1958. They are distinguished by the straight-pull bolt action invented by Rudolf Schmidt and use Eduard Rubin 's GP90 7.5×53.5 and GP11 7.5×55 Schmidt–Rubin rifle cartridge. The Model 1889 was the first in the series of Schmidt–Rubin rifles that served Switzerland from 1889 to 1958. The rifle takes its name from the designer of its action, Colonel Rudolf Schmidt, and

1736-544: A service rifle. The Swiss armed forces considered individual marksmanship to be of utmost importance. Therefore, the K. 31/Kar. 31 was made to tight tolerances and excellent overall craftsmanship. According to the Swiss Military manual for the Karabiner Modell 31 using standard issue 7.5×55mm Swiss GP 11 ball ammunition in a fixed mounting the expected accuracy of fire at a range of 300 m (328 yd)

1860-405: A shellac protective layer that easily dissolves in alcohol for (arsenal) repairs. As of 2010, the Swiss arsenals are long sold out and the rifles now available for sale from military surplus vendors in countries around the world are ex-Swiss-civilian owned rifles. The stocks are usually in average condition, but the barrel and bolt assembly are usually in very good condition because the Swiss used

1984-415: A single round of ammunition without manual reloading require some form of magazine designed to store and feed cartridges into the firearm's action. Magazines come in many shapes and sizes, with the most common type in modern firearms being the detachable box type. Most magazines designed for use with a reciprocating bolt firearm (tube fed firearms being the exception) make use of a set of feed lips which stop

2108-486: A single-feed design the top cartridge touches both lips and is commonly used in single-column box magazines, while a staggered feed magazine (sometimes called "double-feed" magazine, not to be confused with the firearm malfunction ) consists of a wider set of lips so that the second cartridge in line forces the top cartridge against one of the lips. The staggered-feed design has proven more resistant to jamming in use with double-column magazines than single-feed variants, since

2232-420: A special feed cover. The 75 rounds of ammunition were evenly distributed in each side of the magazine with a central feed "tower" where the ammunition is fed to the bolt. The ammunition was fed by a spring force, with rounds alternating from each side of the double drum so that the gun would not become unbalanced. Pan magazines differ from other circular magazines in that the cartridges are stored perpendicular to

2356-419: A special gun grease known as Waffenfett instead of gun cleaning oil, and the issued ammunition was non-corrosive. Some Kar. 31s can be found with "troop tags" underneath the steel butt plate at the rear end of the stock, showing its former Swiss government user. Many collectors of the Kar. 31 recovered a small tag of plasticized paper containing the military unit, name and address and national insurance number of

2480-420: A tinned metal edge holding six rounds was used. Whereas most chargers or stripper clips only held the rounds at the end of the cartridge cases, the Kar. 31 charger nearly covers the entire cartridge. The charger has a guide slot wide enough for a gloved thumb to force rounds down and into the magazine in one smooth motion. The chargers or stripper clips have to be manually removed before the bolt can be closed. When

2604-517: A wide range of national militaries. In 1890 the French adopted the 8mm Lebel Berthier rifles with 3-round internal magazines, fed from en bloc clips; the empty clips were pushed from the bottom of the action by the insertion of a loaded clip from the top. In the late 19th century, there were many short-lived designs, such as the M1895 Lee Navy and Gewehr 1888 , eventually replaced by

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2728-400: Is 4 cm (1.6 in) (R 50 ) in the horizontal (windage) axis and 6 cm (2.4 in) (R 50 ) in the vertical (elevation) axis. Accuracy of fire at a range of 1,000 m (1,094 yd) is 21 cm (8 in) (R 50 ) in the horizontal axis and 43 cm (16.9 in) (R 50 ) in the vertical axis. R 50 at a range means the closest 50% of the shot group will all be within

2852-399: Is a popular form of recreation, and is encouraged by the government , particularly for the members of the militia. Typical Swiss rifle shooting (Eidgenössisches Feldschiessen) is done with an (ex) Swiss service rifle at a range of 300 m (328 yd), prone. For this the standard iron sights can be replaced by target shooting diopter and globe sight sighting lines. In other countries

2976-531: Is a type of box magazine with another magazine placed in front. When firing, the bolt travels further back past the front section magazine until the rear section is empty, then uses the front section. Firearms using tandem magazines are the Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) and Gerasimenko VAG-73. The rotary (or spool) magazine consists of a cylindrical sprocket actuated by a torsion spring , with cartridges fitting between

3100-458: Is also likely that battlefield experience had proven the futility of this philosophy. One of the last new clip-fed, fixed-magazine rifles widely adopted that was not a modification of an earlier rifle was the M1 Garand . The M1 Garand was the first gas-operated semi-automatic rifle adopted and issued in large numbers as the standard service rifle of any military in the world. The M1 Garand

3224-464: Is free spinning under grease friction. Like the standard K. 31/Kar. 31 iron sight line elevation concept the BDC adjustment of the telescopic sight is somewhat unconventional and designed for center hold (point of aim = point of impact) at the 100–300 m (109–328 yd) settings with GP11 ammunition. At more distant ranges the shooter should aim below the bottom of the target for a 6 o'clock hold, so that

3348-424: Is much more common because of its ability to store more rounds), since a staggered column is actually two single side-by-side vertical columns offset by half of the diameter of a round. As the firearm cycles, cartridges are moved to the top of the magazine by a follower driven by spring compression to either a single-feed (center-feed) position or side-by-side (staggered-feed) positions. Box magazines may be integral to

3472-621: Is now sold as the MAG5-60 and MAG5-100 high capacity magazine (HCM) in 60 and 100 round capacities, respectively, in 5.56mm for AR-15 compatible with M4/M16/AR-15 variants and other firearms that accept STANAG 4179 magazines. Izhmash has also developed a casket magazine for the AK-12 . Desert Tech have also released the QMAG-53 compatible Quattro-15 lower receiver for the AR-15. A tandem magazine

3596-411: Is removed from the rifle. It operates reliably with cartridges of different lengths. It is insertable and removable at any time with any number of cartridges. These features allow the operator to reload the gun infrequently, carry magazines rather than loose cartridges, and to easily change the types of cartridges in the field. The magazine is assembled from inexpensive stamped sheet metal. It also includes

3720-419: Is shorter than the firing slot so the firing pin cannot protrude past the face of the bolt cylinder. Any contact with the cartridge primer is thus prevented. The safe mode also prevents the action from being cycled hence preventing the bolt from accidental opening. The operating ring is quite large, making it easy to operate with gloves. When the operating ring is in the vertical position and pulled back by cycling

3844-476: Is sometimes applied to a belt box for a belt-fed machine gun, though this is just a case that houses a length of ammunition belt, not a drum magazine. [REDACTED] Media related to Drum magazines at Wikimedia Commons Before WWII the Germans developed 75-round saddle-drum magazines for use in their MG 13 and MG 15 machine guns. The MG 34 machine guns could also use saddle-drum magazine when fitted with

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3968-423: Is strengthened as the lugs lock into the much thicker forward part of the receiver. Lock-up is also more precise. The cocking piece doubles as a safety and is attached at the rear of the bolt sleeve assembly and secures the firing pin . When the cocking piece ending in a cocking ring is pulled rearward and turned horizontal, the cocking piece sear can be placed in a recessed safety slot in the bolt plug. This slot

4092-560: Is that they increase the bulk and/or weight of a firearm, over a firearm with a single barrel and/or single chamber. However, many attempts were made to get multiple shots from loading a single barrel through the use of superposed loads . While some early repeaters such as the Kalthoff repeater managed to operate using complex systems with multiple feed sources for ball, powder, and primer, easily mass-produced repeating mechanisms did not appear until self-contained cartridges were developed in

4216-450: Is wrapped around the bolt-action to save vertical space and ease loading from the side. The Krag-Jorgensen bolt-action rifle is the only firearm to use this type of magazine and it was adopted by the militaries of Denmark, Norway, and the United States in the late 19th century. Drum magazines are used primarily for light machine guns . In one type, a moving partition within a cylindrical chamber forces loose rounds into an exit slot, with

4340-547: The American Civil War . The Spencer used a tubular magazine located in the butt of the gun instead of under the barrel and it used new rimfire metallic cartridges. The Spencer was successful, but the rimfire ammunition did occasionally ignite in the magazine tube and destroy the magazine. It could also injure the user. The new bolt-action rifles began to gain favor with militaries in the mid-1880s and were often equipped with tubular magazines. The Mauser Model 1871

4464-610: The Battle of the Little Bighorn , and being the basis for the iconic Winchester lever-action repeating rifle , which is still in production to the present day. The Henry and Winchester rifles would go on to see service with a number of militaries including Turkey. Switzerland and Italy adopted similar designs. The second magazine-fed firearm to achieve widespread success was the Spencer repeating rifle , which saw service in

4588-704: The Luger pistol using a detachable box magazine in 7.65×21mm Parabellum and adopted it in 1900 as its standard sidearm. The Luger pistol was accepted by the Imperial German Navy in 1904. This version is known as Pistole 04 (or P.04). In 1908 the German Army adopted the Luger to replace the Reichsrevolver in front-line service. The Pistole 08 (or P.08) was chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum . The P.08

4712-538: The M1903 Springfield rifle and Gewehr 98 respectively. The Russian Mosin–Nagant , adopted in 1891, was an exception. It was not revolutionary; it was a bolt-action rifle, used a small-bore smokeless powder cartridge, and a fixed box magazine loaded from the top with stripper clips , all of which were features that were used in earlier military rifles. What made the Nagant stand out was that it combined all

4836-514: The M249 and other squad automatic weapons , can feed from both magazines and belts. Many of the first repeating rifles and shotguns , particularly lever-action rifles and pump-action shotguns, used magazines that stored cartridges nose-to-end inside of a spring-loaded tube that typically runs parallel underneath the barrel, or inside of the buttstock. Tubular magazines are also commonly used in .22 caliber bolt-action rimfire rifles, such as

4960-605: The Marlin Model XT . Tubular magazines and centerfire cartridges with pointed ( spitzer ) bullets present a safety issue: a pointed bullet may (through the forces of recoil or simply rough handling) strike the next round's primer and ignite that round, or even cause a chain ignition of other rounds, within the magazine. The Winchester Model 1873 used blunt-nosed centerfire cartridges as the .44-40 Winchester . Certain modern rifle cartridges using soft pointed plastic tips have been designed to avoid this problem while improving

5084-586: The Ruger American series, the semi-automatic Ruger 10/22 , the bolt-action Ruger 77/22 and the Steyr SSG 69 . A capsule magazine functions similar to a box magazine, but the spring and follower is stowed away when the magazine bottom is flipped open. The cartridges are loosely dumped into the magazine and spring-fed to the chamber when the bottom is closed. On the Krag-Jørgensen the magazine

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5208-467: The Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle concept with its 30-round detachable magazine. After WWII, automatic weapons using detachable box magazines were developed and used by all of the world's armies. Today, detachable box magazines are the norm and they are so widely used that they are simply referred to as magazines or "mags" for short. All cartridge-based single-barrel firearms designed to fire more than

5332-563: The United Kingdom ) is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. Several different types of clips exist, most of which are made of inexpensive metal stampings that are designed to be disposable, though they are often re-used. The first clips used were of

5456-449: The War to End All Wars , military planners failed to recognize the importance of automatic rifles and detachable box magazine concept, and instead maintained their traditional views and preference for clip-fed bolt-action rifles . As a result, many promising new automatic rifle designs that used detachable box magazines were abandoned. An important development that took place during this war was

5580-521: The en bloc system is that the firearm cannot be practically used without a ready supply of (mosty disposable) clips. Paul Mauser would solve this problem by introducing a stripper clip that functioned only to assist the user in loading the magazine quickly: it was not required to load the magazine to full capacity. He would continue to make improved models of rifles that took advantage of this new clip design from 1889 through 1898 in various calibers that proved enormously successful, and were adopted by

5704-567: The en bloc variety, developed by Ferdinand Mannlicher and first adopted by the Austro-Hungarian Army , which would be used Austro-Hungarians during the first world war in the form of the Mannlicher M1895 , derivatives of which would be adopted by many national militaries. The Germans used this system for their Model 1888 Commission Rifle , featuring a 5-round en bloc clip-fed internal box magazine. One problem with

5828-438: The 100 m (109 yd) and 200 m (219 yd) meter settings with GP11 ammunition. Starting at 300 m (328 yd) and more distant ranges the shooter should aim below the bottom of the target, so that the front sight's post is just out of the way. The 6 o'clock hold is intended for target shooting at 300 m (328 yd), meaning the sight line is designed to let GP11 ammunition hit 30 cm (11.8 in) over

5952-399: The 1930s era Swiss method for determining accuracy, which is more complex than Western methods which usually involve firing a group of shots and then measuring the overall diameter of the group. The Swiss method differs in that after a group of shots is fired into the target from a machine rest hits on the outer part of the target are disregarded, while only half of the hits on the inner part of

6076-555: The 19th century. The first successful mass-produced repeating weapon to use a "tubular magazine" permanently mounted to the weapon was the Austrian Army's Girandoni air rifle , first produced in 1779. The first mass-produced repeating firearm was the Volcanic Rifle which used a hollow bullet with the base filled with powder and primer fed into the chamber from a tube called a "magazine" with an integral spring to push

6200-447: The 5-round stripper clips). Helical magazines extend the drum magazine design so that rounds follow a spiral path around an auger-shaped rotating follower or drive member , allowing for large ammunition capacity in a relatively compact package (compared to a regular box magazine of similar capacity). Early helical magazine designs include that patented by an unidentified inventor through the patent agent William Edward Newton in 1857 and

6324-451: The AK-47. The detachable magazine quickly came to dominate post-war military rifle designs. Firearms using detachable magazines are made with an opening known as a magazine well into which the detachable magazine is inserted. The magazine well locks the magazine in position for feeding cartridges into the chamber of the firearm, and requires a device known as a magazine release to allow

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6448-571: The GP11 cartridge was adopted; very few unconverted rifles remain. The Schmidt–Rubin 1896/11 rifle, or the Model 96/11, was a Swiss upgrade to the 89/96 rifles they had, to use the more powerful cartridge adopted as the GP11 . The GP11 cartridge operated at a higher chamber pressure, which the 89/96 action could easily handle. The model 89/96 rifles were modernized by changing the three-groove rifled barrel to

6572-545: The German Karabiner 98k , or the British Lee–Enfield Rifle No. 4 . A straight-pull bolt action reduces the range of motion by the shooter, with the goal of increasing the rifle's rate of fire. Unlike the previous Schmidt–Rubin series of rifles, the Kar. 31's locking lugs lock up immediately behind the chamber. This forward positioning of the locking lugs affords several advantages. The entire action

6696-440: The Kar. 31 can often be used in vintage military service rifle matches. Clamp-on sighting options for competition diopter style sights and telescopic sights make it easier to mount more precise aiming means than the standard factory tangent iron sights on the receiver. Many competition shooters are able to achieve 1 MOA shooting groups with unmodified Kar. 31s with the factory tangent iron sight line. To celebrate its introduction in

6820-434: The Kar. 31 was made to tight tolerances and excellent overall craftsmanship. The Swiss Military manual for the Karabiner Modell 31 using standard issue 7.5×55mm Swiss GP 11 ball ammunition in a fixed mounting mentions the expected accuracy of fire at various ranges. The following table lists accuracy statistics for typical in service K31 rifles firing 7.5×55mm Swiss GP 11 service ammunition. The statistics were computed under

6944-415: The Karabiner Modell 31 bolt and receiver were significantly shortened, allowing for a rifle length barrel and sight radius, without increasing the overall length of the Model 1911 carbine, moving the rear sight element closer to the eye, and cutting in half the amount of time for the firing pin to strike the cartridge after the trigger was pulled. The Karabiner Modell 31 barrel has 4 rifling grooves and

7068-648: The Mark II Lee-Metford , three years after the Schmidt-Rubin. The first pistol with a double-stack, staggered-feed magazine was the Mauser C96 although it was an integral design fed by stripper clips. The first detachable double-stack, single-feed magazine for pistols was probably the one patented by the American Elbert H. Searle in 1904 and adopted by Arthur Savage though he didn't apply it in practice to his designs until much later. One of

7192-498: The R 50 results are doubled the hit probability increases to 93.7%. The Karabiner Modell 31 is noted for its straight-pull bolt action, meaning that the bolt handle is pulled directly rearward to unlock the action and eject the spent cartridge case in one motion, and then pushing the bolt handle forward again to chamber a new cartridge, cock the striker, and lock the action, rather than being manually turned and pulled back and forth, as in contemporary bolt action service rifles, like

7316-572: The Swiss armed forces a small commemorative batch of Karabiner Modell 31s was produced 80 years later. In rare instances, the locking lugs of some Kar. 31 rifles can develop cracks that can be visually determined by the naked eye or with the help of a loupe. Rifles with substandard locking lugs should be immediately be withdrawn from shooting and professionally repaired to prevent dangerous situations. Schmidt%E2%80%93Rubin#Model 1911 Rifle M1889, M1889/96:.2,900 m (3,171 yd) K11:3,500 m (3,828 yd) The Schmidt–Rubin rifles were

7440-411: The Swiss citizen to whom the rifle was issued. In some cases, collectors have used the information to contact the previous users, and have recounted the details of those encounters on a variety of collector web forums. Karabiner Modell 31s are noted for their excellent accuracy and quality for a service rifle. The Swiss armed forces considered individual marksmanship to be of utmost importance. Therefore,

7564-439: The Swiss have a militia army where soldiers sometimes keep their service rifles for a lifetime and also compete with their service rifle. Many aftermarket sights were available: Waffenfabrik Bern made the "S" and "K" (Klammer) diopter sights , Wyss makes the "W" diopter and Furter, Haemmerli and Gruenig & Elmiger made special windage and elevation fine-correctors, Sahli and many other made elevation fine correctors and these days

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7688-540: The United States, a number of states have passed laws that ban magazines which are defined as "high-capacity" by statute. High-capacity or large-capacity magazines are generally those defined by statute to be capable of holding more than 10 to 15 rounds, although the definitions will vary by state. Other nations impose restrictions on magazine capacity as well. In Canada, magazines are generally limited to 5 rounds for rifles and shotguns (with some exceptions) and 10 rounds for handguns (with some exceptions), depending on

7812-458: The Zf. Kar. 55 is heavier than the one on the Karabiner Modell 31 and is fitted with a muzzle brake . The Zf. Kar. 55 also has a half-stock with a checkered pistol grip instead of a semi-pistol grip and an underfolding integrated bipod . A total of 4,150 Zf. Kar. 55s where manufactured. The poor condition of many stocks was caused mostly by the wearing of crampons [ice-cleats that project not only from

7936-462: The action or cocking it by hand the action is ready to fire. The Karabiner Modell 31 feeds from a detachable box magazine machined to match the cartridge for which the rifle was being chambered, that can hold up to 6 rifle cartridges. The magazine release button is an integral part of the magazine. For reloading the Kar. 31 box magazine was normally not exchanged for another magazine but a unique formed phenolic resin embedded paper stripper clip with

8060-415: The aerodynamic qualities of the bullet to match those available in bolt-action designs, therefore extending the effective range of lever-actions. The most popular type of magazine in modern rifles and handguns, a box magazine stores cartridges in a column, either one above the other or in staggered zigzag fashion. This zigzag stack is often identified as a double-column or double-stack (The double-stack

8184-443: The average height of the point of impact 5 front posts ranging from 5.9 to 7.1 mm (0.23 to 0.28 in) height in 0.3 mm (0.012 in) increments are available. The change in impact height from one front sight to the next is 160 mm (6.30 in) at 300 m (328 yd). The standard Kar. 31 iron sight line elevation concept is somewhat unconventional and designed for center hold (point of aim = point of impact) at

8308-513: The axis of rotation, rather than being parallel, and are usually mounted on top of the firearm. This type is used on the Lewis Gun , Vickers K , Bren Gun (only used in anti-aircraft mountings), Degtyaryov light machine gun , and American-180 submachine gun. A highly unusual example was found on the Type 89 machine gun fed from two 45-round quadrant-shaped pan magazines (each magazine held 9 of

8432-454: The bolt handle to unlock the action before pulling the bolt back. The rifle is roughly musket length with a free-floating barrel , 12-round magazine, and wood stock that extends almost to the tip of the barrel. The Schmidt–Rubin 1889 was an advanced weapon for its time, and one of the first rifles to use copper-jacketed ammunition as its standard ammunition. Most of the bullets used in Europe at

8556-496: The bolt mechanism of the Schmidt–Rubin Model 89/96 rifle. It was to use a reduced-power GP90 7.5×53.5mm cartridge, for cadets. The rifles' sights were graduated both for the light and the standard loads. Approximately 7,900 cadet rifles were made. The model 1899/1900 short rifle was an answer to a call for a short rifle that would replace the unpopular Model 1893 Mannlicher straight pull action carbine. The 99/00 short rifle

8680-461: The bore. In 1923, long after the discontinuation of the Model 1889, the GP11/23 7.5×54.5mm round was produced without the paper patching instead using a full jacket around the bullet. The Model 1889 was eventually replaced by its successor models, including the Model 1896, Model 96/11, Model 1911, Model 1911 carbine. The Schmidt–Rubin Model 1889/96 was the replacement for the 1889. The biggest change

8804-480: The cartridges being stored parallel to the axis of rotation. After loading of the magazine, a wound spring or other mechanism forces the partition against the rounds. In all models a single column is pushed by a follower through a curved path. From there the rounds enter the vertical riser either from a single or dual drums. Cylindrical designs such as rotary and drum magazines allow for larger capacity than box magazines, without growing to excessive length. The downside of

8928-639: The cartridges in to the action, thence to be loaded into the chamber and fired. It was named after a building or room used to store ammunition. The anemic power of the Rocket Ball ammunition used in the Volcanic doomed it to limited popularity. . The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action , breech-loading , tubular magazine-fed repeating rifle , and was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic rifle. Designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, it

9052-424: The circles are counted (50% or R 50 ), which significantly reduces the overall diameter of the groups. The vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups are then used to measure accuracy. This circular error probable method used by the Swiss and other European militaries cannot be converted and is not comparable to US military methods for determining rifle accuracy. When the R 50 results are doubled

9176-496: The clips to hold them in place so they would not fall out while the weapon was being transported or fired. A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement ( STANAG ) 4179 was proposed in order to allow NATO members to easily share rifle ammunition and magazines down to

9300-415: The designer of its ammunition, Colonel Eduard Rubin. Production of the rifle began in 1891. The straight-pull bolt action allows the user to pull the bolt straight back to unlock the action, cock the striker, extract, and eject the spent cartridge in one motion, and then push the bolt forward to chamber a round and lock the action. This is as opposed to a traditional bolt action, which requires the user to lift

9424-417: The earlier features in a form that was to last virtually unchanged from its issue by Russia in 1894 through World War II and with its sniper rifle variants still in use today. A feature of many late 19th and early 20th century bolt-action rifles was the magazine cut-off, sometimes called a feed interrupter. This was a mechanical device that prevented the rifle from loading a round from the magazine, requiring

9548-447: The entire stripper clip into the hopper magazine. The Japanese Type 11 light machine gun was the only weapon system that used a hopper magazine. This light machine gun was fed by standard 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka stripper clips that were used by riflemen armed with the Type 38 bolt action rifle . The hopper is located on the left side of the receiver and held 6 of the 5-round clips, for a total of 30 rounds of ammunition. The hopper magazine

9672-485: The firearm or removable: There are, however, exceptions to these rules. The Lee–Enfield rifle had a detachable box magazine only to facilitate cleaning. The Lee–Enfield magazine did open, permitting rapid unloading of the magazine without having to operate the bolt-action repeatedly to unload the magazine. Other designs, like the Breda Modello 30 , had a fixed protruding magazine from the right side that resembled

9796-640: The first double-stack, single-feed box magazines was patented in November 1888 by an English inventor called Joseph James Speed of Waltham Cross. Another was patented in May 1887 by the Austro-Hungarian Karl Krnka. The bolt-action Krag–Jørgensen rifle, designed in Norway in 1886, used a unique rotary magazine that was built into the receiver. Like Lee's box magazine, the rotary magazine held

9920-446: The hit probability increases to 93.7%. For reference a 1 minute of arc (MOA) circle at 300 m (328 yd) has a diameter of 8.72 cm (3.4 in) and at 1,000 m (1,094 yd) has a diameter of 29.08 cm (11.4 in). The radius of a circle is half its diameter. Outside of Switzerland, the Karabiner Modell 31 is like other (ex) Swiss service rifles used for target shooting matches. Recreational practice with guns

10044-452: The increased use of semi-automatic and automatic firearms , the detachable magazine became increasingly common. Soon after the adoption of the M1911 pistol, the term "magazine" was settled on by the military and firearms experts, though the term " clip " is often used in its place (though only for detachable magazines, never fixed). The defining difference between clips and magazines is

10168-869: The individual soldier level. The U.S. M16 rifle magazine was proposed for standardization. Many NATO members subsequently developed or purchased rifles with the ability to accept this type of magazine. However, the standard was never ratified and remains a "Draft STANAG". The STANAG magazine concept is only an interface, dimensional, and control (magazine latch, bolt stop, etc.) requirement. Therefore, it not only allows one type of magazine to interface with various weapon systems, but also allows STANAG magazines to be made in various configurations and capacities. The standard STANAG magazines are 20, 30, and 40 round box magazines, but there are many other designs available with capacities ranging from one round to 60 and 100 round casket magazines, 90 round snail-drum magazines , and 100 round and 150 round double-drum magazines. In

10292-626: The internal magazine of the Evans Repeating Rifle , patented in the late 1860s. This type of magazine is used by the Calico M960 , PP-19 Bizon , CS/LS06 and KBP PP90M1 . The North Korean military uses a 100- to 150- round helical magazine in the Type 88 assault rifle. Helical magazines offer substantially more ammunition carriage; however, they are inherently complex designs. As such, they can be difficult to load and may decrease

10416-475: The invention of Schmeisser's Cone in 1916 by Hugo Schmeisser which allowed high-capacity double-stack, single-feed box magazine using guns to function reliably although it wasn't implemented on any of his designs until after World War One . The first reliable high-capacity double-stack, staggered-feed box magazine was developed by an American designer called Oscar V. Payne for the Thompson submachine gun around

10540-442: The last cartridge from the magazine is fired, the follower comes up automatically during cycling locking the bolt open and preventing it from closing reminding the user the Kar. 31 needs to be reloaded. The Karabiner Modell 31 has a two-stage trigger with a noticeable long take up before the trigger engages the sear. This feature aids in preventing premature firing during stressful (combat) situations. The standard iron sights on

10664-628: The left side of the receiver enabling the shooter to use the standard iron sight line. In the 1950s an elaborate modified variant of the Karabiner Modell 31 was developed for designated marksman / sniper use. This rifle was not issued as a Model 31 variant, but as the Zielfernrohr-Karabiner 55 (Zf. Kar. 55) sniper rifle. It featured a more powerful 3.5×23 telescopic sight made by Kern adjustable for bullet drop from 100–800 m (109–875 yd) in 100 m (109 yd) increments. The bullet drop compensation (BDC) adjustment turret

10788-641: The magazine aligned horizontally over the barrel. Rather than being positioned laterally to the barrel like with the aforementioned examples, ammunition is positioned vertically with the bullet facing downward at a 90-degree angle relative to the barrel where it is fed into a rotary chamber before firing. The AR-57 , also known as the AR Five-seven, is an upper receiver for the AR-15 rifle lower receiver, firing FN 5.7×28mm rounds from standard FN P90 magazines. Another form of box magazine, sometimes referred to as

10912-560: The magazine through recoil or simply rough handling. This remains a concern with lever-action firearms today. Two early box magazine patents were the ones by Rollin White in 1855 and William Harding in 1859. A detachable box magazine was patented in 1864 by the American Robert Wilson. Unlike later box magazines this magazine fed into a tube magazine and was located in the stock of the gun. Another box magazine, closer to

11036-506: The magazine to be separated from the firearm. The Lee–Metford rifle, developed in 1888, was one of the first rifles to use a detachable box magazine, and the spare one could be optionally worn on soldier equipment , although with the adoption of the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I this became only detachable for cleaning and not swapped to reload the weapon. However, the first completely modern removable box magazine

11160-571: The magazine. One of the first detachable box magazines with a double-stack staggered-feed was the Schmidt-Rubin of 1889. Other examples include the patent of Fritz von Stepski and Erich Sterzinger of Austria-Hungary in May 1888 and the British patents by George Vincent Fosbery in 1883 and 1884. James Paris Lee is sometimes claimed to have invented the double-stack, staggered-feed detachable box magazine but he didn't design one until 1892 for

11284-548: The modern type though non-detachable, was patented in Britain (No. 483) by Mowbray Walker, George Henry Money and Francis Little in 1867. James Paris Lee patented a box magazine which held rounds stacked vertically in 1875, 1879 and 1882 and it was first adopted by Austria in the form of an 11mm straight-pull bolt-action rifle, the Mannlicher M1886 . It also used a cartridge clip which held 5 rounds ready to load into

11408-421: The mounts on the left side of the receiver. The entire action of the Zf. Kar. 55 is tilted at an angle of approximately 15 degrees to provide room for the unimpaired loading and ejecting cartridges with the telescopic sight mounted. The tilting of the action and magazine also provided a centered position of the telescopic sight over the action and stock at the cost of widening the rifle somewhat. The barrel fitted to

11532-510: The narrowing of a magazine tube to a single-feed induces extra friction which the magazine springs needs to overcome. Some magazine types are strongly associated with certain firearm types, such as the fixed "tubular" magazine found on most modern lever-action rifles and pump-action shotguns. A firearm using detachable magazines may accept a variety of types of magazine, such as the Thompson submachine gun , most variations of which would accept box or drum magazines. Some types of firearm, such as

11656-533: The new assault rifle developed by the Germans. The SKS used a fixed magazine, holding ten rounds and fed by a conventional stripper clip. It was a modification of the earlier AVS-36 rifle, shortened and chambered for the new reduced power 7.62×39mm cartridge. It was rendered obsolete for military use almost immediately by the 1947 introduction of the magazine-fed AK-47 assault rifle, though it remained in service for many years in Soviet Bloc nations alongside

11780-620: The newer specifications; the earlier short rifles are rarely found in their original state. The K11 rifle and carbine were the last of the Vogelsgang/Rebholz weapons produced. Other models include: Box magazine A magazine , often simply called a mag , is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm , either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges within itself and sequentially pushing each one into

11904-851: The original 1889 version of the Schmidt–Rubin rifle, the Swiss M1911 placed the locking lugs in the middle of the bolt, rather than at the rear, strengthening the action and allowing a more powerful cartridge, the Gewehrpatrone 11 or GP 11 to be used. It is distinguished from the 96/11 rifle by a curved buttplate and by a stock with an integral semi-pistol grip. It uses a graduated tangent sight which begins at 300 meters. The 1911 and 96/11 rifles were made with excellent craftsmanship, and were exceptionally accurate. As Switzerland remained neutral through both world wars, remaining rifles are typically in far better condition than other European rifles of

12028-531: The point of aim on a 60 cm (23.6 in) diameter bulls eye the Swiss military and shooting clubs used for sighting in the Kar. 31, marksmanship training and competitions. A 6 o'clock hold is only good for a known target size at a known distance and will not hold zero without user adjustment if these factors are varied. Combined with GP11 ammunition the 300 m (328 yd) and 400 m (437 yd) settings can alternatively be used as center holds for 400 m (437 yd) and 500 m (547 yd). As

12152-405: The presence of a feed mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower, which a clip lacks. A magazine has four parts as follows: a spring, a spring follower, a body and a base. A clip may be made of one continuous piece of stamped metal and have no moving parts. Examples of clips are moon clips for revolvers; "stripper" clips such as what is used for military 5.56 ammo, in association with

12276-459: The reliability of feeding the weapon. The hopper magazine is a very unusual design. Unlike many other types of magazine-fed machine guns, which commonly used either box magazines or belts to feed ammunition into the firearm's action, the hopper magazine functioned differently. It would use stripper clips from an infantryman or machine gunner to supply ammunition for the machine gun to operate. This could be accomplished at any time, by just dropping

12400-512: The reticle's post is just out of the way. The windage adjustment turret of the telescopic sight features more conventional click adjustments. Each full windage increment corresponds to a horizontal displacement of 45 cm (17.7 in), i.e. the width of a man at 300 m (328 yd) (1.5 mil /1.5 ‰ ). The full increments are themselves subdivided into six 7.5 cm (3.0 in) at 300 m (328 yd) (0.25 mil/0.25 ‰) clicks. The Zf. Kar. 55 weighs 6.1  kg (13  lb ) empty with

12524-539: The rifle ready to be quickly reloaded. The M14 rifle , which was based on incremental changes to the Garand action, switched to a detachable box magazine. However, the M14 with magazine attached could also be loaded via 5-round stripper-clips. The Soviet SKS carbine, which entered service in 1945, was something of a stopgap between the semi-automatic service rifles being developed in the period leading up to World War II, and

12648-467: The rounds side-by-side, rather than end-to-end. Like most rotary magazines, it was loaded through a loading gate one round at a time, this one located on the side of the receiver. While reliable, the Krag–Jørgensen's magazine was expensive to produce and slow to reload. It was adopted by only three countries, Denmark in 1889, the United States in 1892, and Norway in 1894. A clip (called a charger in

12772-452: The same time as Schmeisser's Cone. As World War II loomed, most of the world's major powers began to develop submachine guns fed by 20- to 40-round detachable box magazines. However, of the major powers, only the United States would adopt a general-issue semi-automatic rifle that used detachable box magazines: the M1 carbine with its 15-round magazines. As the war progressed the Germans developed

12896-428: The shooter to manually load each individual round as he fired, saving the rounds in the magazine for short periods of rapid fire when ordered to use them. Most military authorities that specified them assumed that their riflemen would waste ammunition indiscriminately if allowed to load from the magazine all the time. By the mid-20th century, most manufacturers deleted this feature to save costs and manufacturing time; it

13020-412: The sole but the sides of the heels] worn over hobnail boots and rifle drills that were common. The military habit of stacking rifles in threes – often in the snow – also contributes to the 'ragged' appearance of the end of the butt. Postwar beech stocks are more affected than the older walnut ones. Walnut stocks – the material of choice prior to 1946 – were treated with linseed oil and later beech stocks got

13144-400: The telescopic sight mounted and has an overall length of 1,210 mm (47.64 in). The Zf. Kar. 55 only has four small parts in common (the cocking piece, the firing pin, the firing pin spring, and the extractor) with the Karabiner Modell 31. The telescopic sight mounts are an integral part of the receiver. The 3.5×23 telescopic sight features an integral quick release mount that connects to

13268-476: The time, except for the Mle 1886 Lebel rifle metal-jacketed 8mm bullet, were around .45 caliber, as opposed to the revolutionary .308 caliber of the GP11 7.5×53.5mm round designed by Col. Rubin in 1882. The round was "paper patched": the bullet was surrounded by a piece of paper, covering the exposed lead shank of the bullet while a steel cap covered the nose of the bullet. The paper patch helped prevent lead fouling of

13392-556: The time. Support troops, cavalry, and certain other units required a shorter rifle, so the Swiss designed the Model 1911 carbine, smaller and lighter than the rifle, and still very accurate. It became a favorite of the Swiss Army, and its popularity contributed to the design of its successor the K31. Production of the K11 carbine included conversion of the model 1900 and 1905 short rifles to

13516-403: The tooth bar of the sprocket, which is mounted on a spindle parallel to the bore axis and rotates each round sequentially into the feeding position. Rotary magazines may be fixed or detachable, and are usually of low capacity, generally 5 to 10 rounds, depending on the caliber used. John Smith patented a rotary magazine in 1856. Another rotary magazine was produced by Sylvester Roper in 1866 and

13640-504: The top which can simplify the design of the pistol frame with regards to grip thickness. The FN P90 , Kel-Tec P50 , and AR-57 personal defense weapons use horizontally mounted feeding systems. The magazine sits parallel to the barrel, fitting flush with the top of the receiver, and the ammunition is rotated 90 degrees by a spiral feed ramp before being chambered. The Heckler & Koch G11 , an experimental assault rifle that implements caseless ammunition , also functions similarly with

13764-482: The user depresses the slide stop, throwing the slide forward, stripping a round from the top of the magazine stack and chambering it. In single-action pistols this action keeps the hammer cocked back as the new round is chambered, keeping the gun ready to begin firing again. During World War One, detachable box magazines found favor, being used in all manner of firearms, such as pistols, light-machine guns, submachine guns, semi-automatic and automatic rifles. However, after

13888-458: The vertical motion of the cartridges out of the magazine but allow one cartridge at a time to be pushed forward (stripped) out of the feed lips by the firearm's bolt into the chamber. Some form of spring and follower combination is almost always used to feed cartridges to the lips which can be located either in the magazine (most removable box magazines) or built into the firearm (fixed box magazines). There are also two distinct styles to feed lips. In

14012-457: Was adopted in 1896. When the cartridge was modified in 1911 to increase the velocity of the bullet, the 1896 bolt system was used. Almost all the model 89/96 rifles were converted to 96/11; only a few remain in the original configuration, most of them private series rifles rather than military issue. The Schmidt–Rubin Model 1897 cadet rifle was intended as a replacement for the earlier Vetterli rifles . The Model 97 rifles were single-shot, using

14136-546: Was also used in the weapons by Anton Spitalsky and the Savage Model 1892 . Otto Schönauer first patented a spool magazine in 1886 and his later design, patented in 1900, was used on bolt-action rifles produced at least until 1979, among them Mannlicher–Schönauer adopted by the Greek Army in 1903. The M1941 Johnson rifle also uses a rotary magazine. The design is still used in some modern firearms, most notably

14260-439: Was designed with a series of mechanical teeth activated by a cam track on the gas piston to pull cartridges off each clip and into the action. After the fifth and final round from each stripper clip was fed and fired, the empty clip would then fall out the bottom of the hopper magazine and the next fully loaded stripper clip would then be dropped into place for feeding. There is a spring-loaded follower that applied pressure on top of

14384-415: Was fed by a special eight-round en bloc clip. The clip itself was inserted into the rifle's magazine during loading, where it was locked in place. The rounds were fed directly from the clip, with a spring-loaded follower in the rifle pushing the rounds up into feeding position. When empty, the bolt would lock open, and a spring would automatically eject the empty clip with a distinctive pinging sound, leaving

14508-496: Was meant to be used by artillery and other rear-echelon troops. Design began in February 1900, and production began in 1901 and lasted for 10 years (18,750 were made). It was issued to fortress troops, artillerymen, bicycle troops, and balloon companies. The model 99/00 short rifle can be fitted with Model 1889/92 bayonet and the Model 1906 bayonet. Most of the 99/00 and later 1905 short rifles were converted to model K11 carbines when

14632-434: Was moving the locking lugs from the rear to the front of the bolt sleeve, allowing the receiver to be slightly shortened. The change also allowed the bolt and receiver to handle more pressure. Colonel Schmidt was asked to do this for the model 1889, but refused, saying that it was not possible. Colonel Vogelsgang and his assistant Rebholz worked out the details, which were not complex but required time to retool. The rifle system

14756-556: Was one of the first firearms to use self-contained metallic cartridges . The Henry was introduced in 1860 and was in production until 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company . It was adopted in small quantities by the Union Army in the American Civil War and was favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine . Many later found their way Westward and was famed both for its use at

14880-599: Was originally a single-shot action that added a tubular magazine in its 1884 update. The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was adopted in 1884 and also used a tubular magazine. The French Lebel Model 1886 rifle also used 8-round tubular magazine. Tubular magazines remain common on many makes and models of shotgun. The military cartridge was evolving as the magazine rifle evolved. Cartridges evolved from large-bore cartridges (.40 caliber/10 mm and larger) to smaller bores that fired lighter, higher-velocity bullets and incorporated new smokeless propellants . The Lebel Model 1886 rifle

15004-512: Was patented in 1908 by Arthur Savage for the Savage Model 99 (1899), although it was not implemented on the 99 until 1965. James Paris Lee’s patent of November 4, 1879, Number 221,328 would have been before Arthur Savage's magazine. Lee's magazine was also used on the Remington Lee model 1899 factory sporting rifle. Other guns did not adopt all of its features until his patent expired in 1942: It has shoulders to retain cartridges when it

15128-587: Was the designer of the 7.5×55mm Swiss ammunition previous Swiss service rifles and the Kar. 31 are chambered for. The Karabiner Modell 31 was a new design by the Eidgenössische Waffenfabrik in Bern, Switzerland under Colonel Adolf Furrer (1873–1958). The first 200 Kar. 31s were made in May 1931 for troop trials (serials 500,001 – 500,200), thus the model number of 1931. Compared to the previous Schmidt–Rubin series Model 1911 rifle and carbine,

15252-476: Was the first rifle and cartridge to be designed for use with smokeless powder and used an 8 mm wadcutter -shaped bullet that was drawn from a tubular magazine. This would later become a problem when the Lebel's ammunition was updated to use a more aerodynamic pointed bullet. Modifications had to be made to the centerfire case to prevent the spitzer point from igniting the primer of the next cartridge inline in

15376-402: Was the usual side arm for German Army personnel in both World Wars . The M1911 semi-automatic pistol set the standard for most modern handguns and likewise the mechanics of the handgun magazine. In most handguns the magazine follower engages a slide-stop to hold the slide back and keep the firearm out of battery when the magazine is empty and all rounds fired. Upon inserting a loaded magazine,

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