Rate of Fire: What Determines it and How to Change It
This video from Forgotten Weapons, hosted by Ian McCollum, provides an in-depth analysis of what determines a firearm's rate of fire and how it can be manipulated through design. McCollum, a recognized expert in historical firearms, explains the fundamental principles of bolt cycle time, bolt mass, and bolt velocity, and how these apply to different operating systems like simple blowback and locked breech. He illustrates these concepts with examples of various historical firearms, including the M11A1 and Chauchat, and discusses design modifications for rate adjustment.











