Blowback (firearms) - Principle of Operation

Principle of Operation

The blowback system is generally defined as an operating system in which energy to operate the firearm's various mechanisms and provide automation is derived from the movement of the spent cartridge case pushed out of the chamber by rapidly expanding powder gases. This rearward thrust, imparted against the bolt, is a direct reaction of the total reaction to the forward thrust applied to the bullet and the expansion of propellant gases. Certain guns will use energy from blowback to perform the entire operating cycle (these are typically designs using relatively "low power" ammunition) while others will use a portion of the blowback to operate only certain parts of the cycle or simply use the blowback energy to enhance the operational energy from another system of automatic operation.

What is common to all blowback systems is that the cartridge case must move under the direct action of the powder pressure, therefore any gun in which the bolt is not rigidly locked and permitted to move while there remains powder pressure in the chamber will undergo a degree of blowback action. The energy from the expansion of gases on firing appears in the form of kinetic energy transmitted to the bolt mechanism, which is controlled and used to operate the firearm's operation cycle. The extent to which blowback is employed largely depends on the manner used to control the movement of the bolt and the proportion of energy drawn from other systems of operation. It is with how the movement of the bolt is controlled where blowback systems differ. Blowback operation is most often divided into three categories, all using residual pressure to complete the cycle of operation: simple blowback, advanced primer ignition and delayed blowback or retarded blowback.