A feed ramp is a basic feature of many

breech loading Breech may refer to: * Breech (firearms), the opening at the rear of a gun barrel where the cartridge is inserted in a breech-loading weapon * breech, the lower part of a pulley block * breech, the penetration of a boiler where exhaust gases leave ...

cartridge

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

designs. It is a tightly machined and polished piece of metal which guides a cartridge from the top of the

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

into the firing chamber of the

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

. The feed ramp may be part of the magazine (

AR-7 The ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer is a semi-automatic firearm in .22 Long Rifle caliber, developed in 1959 from the Armalite AR-5, AR-5 that was adopted by the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force as a pilot and aircrew survival weapon. The AR-7 was ...

), part of the receiver or frame (

Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20 ...

), part of the barrel ( H&K USP) or part of the barrel nut/locking lugs ( AR-15). Some firearms, like the FN Five-seven, have a beveled chamber instead of a feed ramp. The feed ramp is a critical part of

semi-automatic firearm A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm ( fully automatic and selective fire firearms are also variations on self-loading firearms), is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a follo ...

s and

automatic firearm An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously Chamber (firearms), chambers and fires Cartridge (firearms), rounds when the trigger (firearms), trigger ...

s. When the weapon is fired and the spent case is ejected, the feed ramp functions to direct a fresh cartridge from the magazine into firing position; that is, the fresh cartridge slides along the feed ramp into battery. The need for the cartridge to slide both forwards and upwards along the feed ramp and into the barrel is the primary design consideration that makes the

ogive An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two- or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture, woodworking, and ballistics. Etymology The French Orientalist Georges Séraphin Colin gives as ...

the preferred shape for all modern automatic pistol rounds (a hollow point bullet is a truncated ogive), as there are many other shapes that are stable in ballistic flight. A rough surface or the presence of debris on the feed ramp can knock cartridges off-center, inducing a jam. Polishing a feed ramp is among the tasks commonly performed by

gunsmiths A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

References

External links

Firearm components {{gun-stub

See also

References

External links