<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A repeating rifle is a single - barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition which are loaded into the gun's chamber from a magazine by means of either a manual or automatic mechanism, and the act of loading the rifle typically also recocks the firing action . In common usage, the term "repeating rifle" is most often applied specifically to weapons in which the next cartridge is loaded by a manual action, as opposed to self - loading rifles, in which the recoil of one shot is used to cycle the action and load the next round . </P> <P> Repeating rifles were a significant advance over the preceding breech loaded single - shot rifles when used for military combat, as they allowed a much greater rate of fire . Repeating rifles saw use in the American Civil War during the early 1860s, and the first repeating air rifle to see military service was the Windbüchse Rifle . </P>

When did the first repeating rifle come out