Soper

Soper - An early type of breech-loading single-shot action whereby a block, hinged at the side, is rotated via a sidelever to expose the breech. A virtual mechanical microprocessor---Depressing the sidelever causes the following to occur, in sequence:  1. The hammer begins to cock rearwards;  2. The firing pin retracts to clear the breech;  3. The breechblock rotates out of battery;  4. The extractor withdraws the spent cartridge.  Although considerably faster to operate, it lost out to the Martini action in British Army trials because of its complexity and high cost of production.

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