Editing Action (firearms) (section)

===Breechblock===
[[File:Firearm actions.svg|thumb|400px|right|Diagram of various "block" firearm actions]]

{{main|Breechblock}}

====Dropping block====
The '''dropping block''' are actions wherein the [[breechblock]] lowers or "drops" into the [[Receiver (firearms)|receiver]] to open the breech, usually actuated by an underlever. There are two principal types of dropping block: the tilting block and the falling block.

====Pivoting block====
In a '''tilting block''' or '''pivoting block''' action, the breechblock is hinged on a pin mounted at the rear (in contrast with [[tilting bolt]], which is not hinged). When the lever is operated, the block tilts down and forward, exposing the chamber. The best-known pivoting block designs are the [[Peabody action|Peabody]], the Peabody–Martini, and [[Ballard Rifle|Ballard]] actions.

The original Peabody rifles, manufactured by the [[Providence Tool Company]], used a manually cocked side-hammer. Swiss gunsmith Friedrich Martini developed a pivoting block action by modifying the Peabody, which incorporated a hammerless striker that was cocked by the operating lever with the same single efficient motion that also pivoted the block. The 1871 [[Martini–Henry]] which replaced the "trapdoor" [[Snider–Enfield]] was the standard British Army rifle of the later Victorian era, and the Martini is also a popular action for civilian rifles.

Charles H. Ballard's self-cocking tilting-block action was produced by the [[Marlin Firearms Company]] from 1875 and earned a superlative reputation among long-range "Creedmoor" target shooters. Surviving Marlin Ballards are today highly prized by collectors, especially those mounted in the elaborate Swiss-style Schützen stocks of the day.

====Falling block====
[[Image:Ruger no1 243 left open.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ruger No. 1 single-shot falling-block rifle with action open]]
{{Main|Falling-block action}}
In a '''falling block''' or '''sliding block''' action, a solid metal breechblock "slides" vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the firearm and actuated by a lever. Examples of firearms using the falling-block action are the [[Sharps rifle]] and [[Ruger No. 1]].

====Rolling block====
{{Main|Rolling block}}
In a '''rolling block''' action, the breechblock takes the form of a part-cylinder, with a pivot pin through its axis. The operator rotates or "rolls" the block to open and close the breech; it is a simple, rugged, and reliable design. Rolling blocks are most often associated with firearms made by [[E. Remington and Sons|Remington]] in the late 19th century; in the Remington action the hammer serves to lock the breech closed at the moment of firing, and the block in turn prevents the hammer from falling with the breech open.

====Hinged block====
The '''hinged block''' used in the earliest metallic-cartridge breechloaders designed for general military issue began as conversions of muzzle-loading [[rifle-musket]]s. The upper rear portion of the barrel was filed or milled away and replaced by a hinged breechblock, which opened upward to permit loading. An internal angled firing pin allowed the re-use of the rifle's existing side-hammer. The Allin action made by Springfield Arsenal in the US hinged forward; the [[Snider–Enfield]] used by the British opened to the side. Whereas the British quickly replaced the Snider with a dropping-block [[Peabody action|Peabody-style]] Martini action, the US Army felt the trapdoor action to be adequate and followed its muzzleloader conversions with the new-production [[Springfield Model 1873]], which was the principal longarm used as a weapon in the [[American Indian Wars|Indian Wars]] and was still in service with some units in the [[Spanish–American War]].