Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Ironically, although the Winchester choke system survived, later to be reborn as the “Winchoke,” the floating chamber action did not, at least not in a shotgun. Like the short recoil system, the floating chamber system could be very reliable, providing the gun was cleaned and maintained properly. Most of the problems found associated with this system were simply caused by lack of maintenance and cleaning!

The Winchester Model 50 lasted only seven years. Introduced in 1954, a year after the Browning Double Automatic, it was discontinued in 1961. The Model 59 was introduced in 1958 and lasted until 1965. The Browning Double Automatic outlasted both Winchesters by staying in production until 1971. With the discontinuance of the Double Automatic, the choice in autoloaders was reduced to either the old long recoil or the newer gas operated system.

In 1967, a relatively little known company in Italy – Benelli – introduced their version of an inertia-driven system in an autoloader, the M-1. In 1983 Benelli further refined the system by providing a rotating bolt head. The first of the early Benelli shotguns began to appear in the U.S. around mid 1970s; these guns were brought in initially either individually or by small importers, but in 1977 Heckler & Koch began importing the Benelli shotguns in larger numbers. The Benelli is an extremely reliable, well-made, well-finished gun. In the Benelli system, the barrel is stationary as in the floating chamber, and only the breech bolt moves back at the shot and completes the cycle.