Manual

Figure W. Loading rounda i&o a clip.
bullet seal which could result in changes in the
ballistic performance of the round.
15. Functioning of. the Rifle
a. The trigger must be pulled to fire each round.
When the last round is fired, the empty clip is
automatically ejected and the bolt remains to the
rear.
6. Each time a round is loaded and fired, many
parts inside the rifle work in a given order.
This
is known as the cycle of operation. This cycle
16
is similar in all small arms.
A knowledge of what
happens inside the rifle during this cycle of oper-
ation will help the soldier understand the cause
of and remedy for various stoppages.
c. The cycle of operation is broken down into
eight steps.
These steps are listed below, together
with a brief description of what actually occurs
inside the rifle during each step. Assume that a
full or partially filled clip has been loaded into
the rifle and that the first round has been fired
and the bolt is in its rearmost position (fig. 24).
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Feeding. Feeding takes place. when ‘a
round is moved into the path of the bolt.
This is done by the follower assembly
exerting an upward pressure on the bot-
tom round in the clip.
The follower as-
sembly is continuously forced up by the
pressure of the operating rod spring
through the follower rod and follower
arm (fig. 24).
Charnbering. Chamber&g occurs when
a round is moved into the chamber.
This
takes place as the bolt goes forward un-
der pressure of the expanding operating
rod spring, picking up the top round in
the clip and driving it forward into the
chamber (fig. 25). Chambering is com-
plete when the extractor snaps into the
extracting groove on the cartridge case
and the ejector is forced into the face of
the bolt.
Loci&g. Locking is complete when the
bolt is fully closed. This prevents the
loss of gas pressure until the bullet has
left the muzzle.
The bolt is locked by the
rear camming surface in the recess in the
hump of the operating rod, forcing the
operating lug of the bolt down.
This en-
gages the locking lugs on the bolt with
their recesses in the receiver (fig. 26).
IG=&ng. Firing occurs when the firing
pin strikes the primer. As the trigger
is pulled the trigger lugs are disengaged
from the hammer hooks and the hammer
is released.
The hammer moves forward
under the pressure of the hammer spring
and strikes the tang of the firing pm, driv-
ing the firing pin against the primer and
firing the round (fig. 27).
Unlocking. Unlocking occurs after the
firing of the round. As the bullet is
forced through the barrel by the expand-