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Falling-block action military rifles were common in the 19th century. They were replaced for military use by the faster bolt-action rifles, which were typically reloaded from a magazine holding several cartridges. [2] A falling-block breech-loading rifle was patented in Belgium by J. F. Jobard in 1835 using a unique self-contained cartridge. [3]
Springfield Model 1866, trapdoor breech closed. In 1872–1873 a military board, headed by Brigadier-General Alfred H. Terry, conducted an examination and trial of 99 rifles from several domestic and foreign manufacturers, including those from Springfield, Sharps, Peabody, Whitney, Spencer, Remington, and Winchester pursuant to the selection of a breech-loading system for rifles and carbines ...
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 .
Springfield Model 1870 (center) The Springfield Model 1870 was one of the rifles which used the trapdoor breechblock design developed by Erskine S. Allin. The Model 1870 was a minor improvement to the Springfield Model 1868, and retained most of the Model 1868 rifle features.
Original U.S. Ordnance Department instructions for the Springfield Model 1873 write: "Should the head of a cartridge come off in the act of firing, the best mode of extracting the shell is to take out a ball from a cartridge and reduce it with a knife or by rolling, so that it can be inserted into the muzzle of the barrel.
The Stevens Boys Rifles were a series of single-shot takedown rifles produced by Stevens Arms from 1890 until 1943. The rifles used a falling-block action (sometimes called a tilting-block, dropping-block, or drop-block) and were chambered in a variety of rimfire calibers, such as .22 Short, .22 Long Rifle, .25 Rimfire, and .32 Rimfire.
The Rolling Block was also one of two makers rifles used by the American team to win the International Long Range matches held at Creedmoor Rifle Range on Long Island, New York, in 1874. Team members shot against the Irish team with half the shooters using Rolling Block Creedmoor models, and the other half using Sharps Model 1874 Long Range rifles.
The sliding action is perpendicular to the axis of the barrel. When the breechblock slides down to expose the breech, it is referred to as a falling-block, as used in the Sharps rifle. A sliding block is common in artillery. A vertical sliding block rises and falls while a horizontal sliding block slides to one side. It is a strong design.