The BMS Cam rifle is a series of British

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

rifles made by BMS Trading Ltd chambered in the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and using STANAG magazines.Official webpage of BMS Trading Ltd
/ref> The rifle was introduced in 1980ohrana.ru - The Milcam rifle
(Russian) and is still in production as of 2018. The rifle has been popular for

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

and

sport shooting Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

in the UK, and has also seen some limited use as a

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

rifle by some British police and military units as well as some American police units.

Technical

The name of the rifle comes from the unique camming mechanism design of the

bolt The BOLT Browser was a web browser for mobile phones including feature phones and smartphones that can run Java ME applications. The BOLT Browser was offered free of charge to consumers and by license to mobile network operators and handset manuf ...

which is used in order to provide a

mechanical advantage Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. The device trades off input forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force. The model for ...

to ensure chambering and

primary extraction In breechloading firearms, primary extraction is the initial phase (the first few millimeters) of the extraction of a spent casing from the firearm chamber. After the primary extraction comes the secondary extraction where the bolt is moved f ...

with the AR-type barrel and bolt head used on the rifle. With its eight bolt lugs the rifle has a bolt lift of only 22.5°, which is very short compared to the 60 to 90° bolt lifts found on most other rifles. Patents for the camming action were applied for in 1988, but were refused in 1992 as details had been made public by the makers before the application was submitted. The mechanism cocks on closing similar to the

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's s ...

, and the trigger unit is very similar to the Mauser K98. Due to its firing pin design being similar to the Mauser, the Cam rifle has a lock time comparable to the Mauser. The rifle has a relatively small and constricted ejection port which enhances receiver stiffness. Trigger pull weight can be adjusted using a

hex key Hex keys of various sizes Socket head screws of various sizes A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench) is a simple driver for bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (sockets). Hex keys are fo ...

, and the safety operates similarly to the Garand rifle.Security Arms , Firearm Photo Archive - Milcam 5.56mm Sniper rifle
/ref> The trigger guard is oversized to facilitate operation with gloves in cold weather.weaponland.ru - Sniper rifle BMS Milcam HB / Snicam / Polcam (UK) - description, specifications, photos
/ref>

Variants

Numerous versionsBMS Milcam Rifle Series - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
/ref> and upgrades have been made over the years. The latest versions all have a

carbon fiber composite Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

stock.Thames Valley Guns - Gallery One
/ref> Options for mounting optical sights have also varied thoroughout the years, from iron sights only on the first models, to various

dovetail rail A dovetail rail or dovetail mount can refer to several types of sliding rail system found on firearms primarily for mounting telescopic sights. Colloquially, the term ''dovetail rail'' usually refer to any straight mounting bracket with an inve ...

s on later models. All current models have an integrated

Weaver rail A Weaver rail mount is a system to connect telescopic sights (often via a scope mount) and other accessories to firearms and certain crossbows. It uses a pair of parallel rails and several slots perpendicular to these rails. The later Picatinny ...

(not

Picatinny The Picatinny Arsenal ( or ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The A ...

compatible). * Series 1 (Mk1): Wooden stock with a wooden

handguard A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm, to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects, or the user accidentally t ...

. Only iron sights. * Series 2 (Mk2): Wooden stock with a weight saving cutout in the rear and without a

. Detachable Weaver rail. * Series 3 (Mk3): Carbon fiber stock in a somewhat similar design to the Mk2. Integrated Weaver rail.

Models

*Milcam was originally offered in a wooden stock with iron sights only, an A2

flash hider A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that ...

and no mounting point for a scope. Later the HB version was offered, which was tapped for a scope sight and had a heavier barrel. The current Milcam version has an integrated Weaver rail and a carbon fiber stock. *Comcam is a more compact carbine version with a shorter barrel than the Milcam. The Comcam also originally came with no scope mount. *Snicam: A dedicated

precision rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a port ...

produced to tighter tolerances. The Snicam has always been delivered without iron sights, and therefore has always had some form of mounting options for an optical sight. The current stock is a carbon fiber composite. All versions of the Snicam has had a stock adjustable for cheek height and length of pull. The Snicam has a special prong style flash hider, and has been delivered with different factory option bipods over the years (e.g. Atlas, G3 style or Versa-Pod spigot style). *Covcam was an integrally suppressed takedown version. *Polcam was a simplified and lower cost version of the Snicam precision rifle, and had a stock with no adjustment for length or height.Firearms and small arms, description and specifications - BMS Milcam / HB / Snicam / Polcam
/ref>

References

External links

Thames Valley Guns - The BMS CAM Rifle
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429082104/http://thamesvalleyguns.co.uk/CAM%20Rifle.pdf , date=2016-04-29 Bolt-action rifles of the United Kingdom Rifles of the United Kingdom 5.56 mm firearms

Technical

Variants

Models

See also

References

External links