Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Armalite AR-17, short recoil system.

So, now we come to the question of, what possible advantage could non-gas-operated autoloaders hold over gas-operated guns. Most will agree that dependability is no longer the big issue with gas-operated guns, so that is not an advantage for non-gas guns. Possibly the biggest difference between the gas and the non-gas autoloaders is their respective handling characteristics, their dynamics. Some gas-operated autoloaders may very well weigh less than their non-gas-operated counterparts, but their balance points will be different and chances are their forearms will be thicker.

By their very nature, the gas-operated guns require more hardware up front in the forearm area. It is amazing how balance can shift with something as seemingly insignificant as the gas piston. That is one reason why the floating chamber Winchester Models 50 and 59 are light up front. The Browning Double Auto also owes its excellent handling qualities to the lack of a magazine. The Franchi 48AL solves this problem by having a lightweight alloy magazine tube, so the weight up front is considerably less than, say, that of the Browning A-5. Still, the A-5 has a much livelier feel and thinner forearm than a gas-operated autoloader because it has less material up front. Some of the gas-operated autoloaders today, those designed as “upland” guns, do employ alloy magazine tubes to reduce weight. But there’s still all that hardware up front that has to be there for the gun to function.