Editing Automatic firearm (section)

==Rates of fire==
===Cyclic rate===
Self-loading firearms are designed with varying rates of fire due to having different purposes.  The speed with which a self-loading firearm can cycle through the functions of:

# Fire
# Eject
# Load
# Cock

is referred to as its cyclic rate.  In fully automatic firearms, the cyclic rate is tailored to the purpose the firearm is intended to serve.  Anti-aircraft machine guns often have extremely high rates of fire to maximize the probability of a hit.  In infantry support weapons, these rates of fire are often much lower and in some cases, vary with the design of the particular firearm.  The [[MG 34]] is a [[WWII]]-era machine gun which falls under the category of a "general purpose machine gun". It was manufactured in several variations: with a cyclic rate as high as 1200 rounds per minute, but also in an infantry model which fired at 900 rounds per minute.<ref name="MilFact - MG34">{{cite web|title=Maschinengewehr Modell 34 (MG34) General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG)|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=63|website=militaryfactory.com|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref>

===Effective rate of fire===
Continuous fire generates high temperatures in a firearm's barrel and increased temperatures throughout most of its structure.  If fired continuously, the components of the firearm will eventually suffer structural failure.  All firearms, whether they are semi-automatic, fully automatic, or otherwise, will overheat and fail if fired indefinitely.  This issue tends to present itself primarily with fully automatic fire.  For example, the MG34 may have a calculated cyclic rate of 1200 rounds per minute, but is likely to overheat and fail in the space of one minute of continuous fire.<ref name="Armystudy - M240B Machine Gun">{{cite web|title=M240B - Machine Gun|url=http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m240b/m240b-study-guide.shtml|website=armystudyguide.com|access-date=3 March 2017|archive-date=18 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218065331/http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m240b/m240b-study-guide.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Semi-automatic firearms may also overheat if continuously fired. Recoil plays a significant role in the time it takes to reacquire one's sight picture, ultimately reducing the effective rate of fire.<ref name="TFB - Sustained Rate of Fire">{{cite web|title=Maintaining a Sustained Rate or Fire|url=http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2012/08/03/maintaining-a-sustained-rate-or-fire/|website=thefirearmblog.com|date=3 August 2012|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref>