The Firearm Guide: How do Firearms work? The 8 Cycles of Function.

I'm sure you're reading this because you're interested in finding out how your firearm works when it shoots.

Well, we can cover that!

We'll talk about what we call the cycles of function that will cover how a variety of your firearms actually operate in order to shoot.

Imagine yourself or someone else firing a weapon. There's a process in everything that's happening right? From loading the magazine, to letting the bolt run forward or pulling back the charging handle / slide. Each on of these actions is a function of the firearm.

Each firearm will generally maintain the same set of functions.

1. Feeding

2. Chambering

3. Locking

4. Firing

5. Unlocking

6. Extraction

7. Ejection

8. Cocking

Lets dive into each one really quick and explain them - don't worry, they're pretty simple.

Feeding

Feeding is in reference to providing a method of feeding your firearm ammunition. This function is all about placing your magazine, belt, or clip, into the firearm. If you do individual rounds, then you are the function of feeding as you place each individual round into the firearm.

Chambering

The act of getting the round situated in the firearm's chamber region.

The chamber region on a firearm is where the round sits in anticipation of being fired. Think of an Ar-15 style rifle or similar. Some people call this area the "star chamber"

because of the design.

This function is usually done by the firearms bolt or equivalent pushing it forward.

Locking

This function involves locking the bolt mechanism or equivalent in place and preventing the round from moving out of the chamber region.

It would be pretty awkward if when you chambered a round it decided to move around or fall out of the firearm when you shifted, right?

Firing

The act of striking the primer or rim of the round and activating it.

Self explanatory. You squeeze trigger, you shoot bullet, you do good at firearm usage.

If you want a deeper explanation of how projectiles actually work, check it out here.

Unlocking

Involves the bolt mechanism or equivalent unlocking from the chamber region and allowing the round to be able to be moved.

This process is just the opposite of locking. Most bolts rotate to lock themselves, then rotate the opposite direction to unlock themselves. Think of the star chamber again - those grooves allow the bolt to go all the way forward, then it rotates slightly, causing the bolt to seat behind the teeth and preventing it from coming backwards. After firing, it rotates the opposite direction to allow it to move between the teeth backwards.

Extraction

The process of pulling the round, whether spent or not, out of the chamber.

Take a look at your average cartridge case.

Remember that little lip at the bottom? The rim? Well, that allows cartridges to not only seat themselves properly in the chamber but also allows them to be grabbed and brought back by what's called an 'extractor' to be ejected.

Ejection

The cartridge case, whether spent or unspent, exits the firearm.

Again, relatively self explanatory. We have an ejector mechanism in most firearms that basically just push the cartridge out when it comes backwards.

Here's a very cool 3D animation of the extractor and ejector at work in a handgun.

Cocking

The function of resetting the hammer / striker mechanisms.

Just like we talked about in our post about functions checks, the hammer or striker needs to be reset back to its starting position to allow it to be used again. This is generally done when the slide or charging handle comes back with the bolt or striker, but some older firearms need to be manually cocked.

And there you have it - the 8 cycles of function. Now you can visually see what happens as a firearm is being shot, and that's always important! You don't want to use anything where you have no idea of how it operates.

As always, stay tuned for more guides.