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Introduction to Semi-automatic (self-loading) rifles
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Semi-automatic rifles differ from the manual repeaters in fact that semi-automatics used some amount of the energy, generated by the each shot fired, to commence the reloading cycle (extract and eject the spent case, feed a live round and lock the action, cock the hammer or striker). Due to this, semi-automatic rifles are often referred as a self-loading rifles, too. So, as long as a cartridge supply to the action remains uninterrupted (magazine is not empty), gun will fire each time the trigger is pressed, without any other manual operations. However, when gun is loaded for the first shot, it usually requires at first manual loading cycle to be commenced. The key difference between automatic and semi-automatic rifles is that the semi-automatic rifle will fire exactly one shot per each trigger pull, while automatic rifle will continue to fire continuously as long as the trigger is pulled and cartridge supply to action is not interrupted. First semi-automatic rifles appeared at the end of the XIX century,