<P> The Vetterli rifle was the first bolt action repeating rifle introduced by an army . It was used by the Swiss army from 1869 to circa 1890 . Modified Vetterlis were also used by the Italian Army . Another notable design is the Norwegian Krag--Jørgensen, which was used by Norway, Denmark, and briefly the United States . It is unusual among bolt - action rifles in that is loaded through a gate on right side of the receiver, and thus can be reloaded without opening the bolt . The Norwegian and Danish versions of the Krag have two locking lugs, while the American version has only one . In all versions, the bolt handle itself serves as an emergency locking lug . The Krag's major disadvantage compared to other bolt - action designs is that it is usually loaded by hand, one round at a time, although a box - like device was made that could drop five rounds into the magazine, all at once . This made it slower to reload than other designs which used stripper or en - bloc clips . Another historically important bolt - action system was the Gras system, used on the French Mle 1874 Gras rifle and the Mle 1886 Lebel rifle, which was first to introduce ammunition loaded with nitrocellulose - based smokeless powder . </P> <P> In addition to the turn - bolt action systems, other designs have been devised but failed to achieve the ubiquity of the turn - bolt Mauser, Lee--Enfield and Mosin--Nagant designs . Some of the most notable of these are the Canadian Ross rifle, the Swiss K31 and Austro - Hungarian Mannlicher M1895 designs . All three are straight - pull bolt actions, but are entirely unrelated designs . </P> <P> In the Mauser - style turn - bolt action, the bolt handle must be rotated upward, drawn rearward, pushed forward, and finally rotated downward back into lock to complete the loading cycle . In a straight - pull action, the bolt can be cycled back and forward without rotating the handle, hence producing a reduced range of motion by the shooter from four movements to two, with the goal of increasing the rifle's rate of fire . The Ross and Schmidt--Rubin rifles load via stripper clips, albeit of an unusual paperboard and steel design in the Schmidt--Rubin rifle, while the Mannlicher M1895 uses en - bloc clips . The Schmidt--Rubin series, which culminated in the K31, are also known for being among the most accurate military rifles ever made . Yet another variant of the straight - pull bolt action, of which the M1895 Lee Navy is an example, is a camming action in which pulling the bolt handle causes the bolt to rock, freeing a stud from the receiver and unlocking the bolt . </P> <P> More recently the German Blaser company has introduced a new straight - pull action where locking is achieved by a series of concentric "claws" that protrude / retract from the bolthead, a design that is referred to as Radialbundverschluss ("radial connection"). </P>

How does a bolt action rifle work diagram