Editing Semi-automatic firearm (section)

==Early history (1885–1945)==

[[File:FSA-1917-detoured.jpg|thumb|The [[Fusil Automatique Modele 1917]] was the first semi-automatic gun that fires [[cartridge (firearms)|cartridges]] to be widely issued in the infantry of any nation's army.]]
The first successful design for a [[semi-automatic rifle]] is attributed to [[Austria]]-born gunsmith [[Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher]], who unveiled the design in 1885.<ref name="Jewison2010">{{cite web |last1=Jewison |first1=Glenn |last2=Steiner |first2=Jörg C. |year=2010 |title=Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher |url=http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/biog/mannlicher.htm |website=austro-hungarian-army.co.uk |publisher=Glenn Jewison }}</ref> The Model 85 was followed by the equally innovative Mannlicher Models 91, 93 and 95 semi-automatic rifles.<ref name="Smith1947">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Walter H.B. |year=1947 |title=Mannlicher Rifles and Pistols: Famous Sporting and Military Weapons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfqingEACAAJ |publisher=Military Service Publishing |isbn=9781258889470 }}</ref> Although Mannlicher earned his reputation with his [[bolt-action]] rifle designs, he also produced a few semi-automatic pistols, including the [[Steyr Mannlicher M1894]], which employed an unusual [[Blow forward|blow-forward action]] and held five rounds of 6.5mm ammunition that were fed into the M1894 by a [[stripper clip]].

===Semi-automatic shotgun===

[[File:Remington 1100 Tactical 8 Rounds.jpg|thumb|right|[[Remington 1100]] Tactical Shotgun in 12 gauge – an example of a semi-automatic [[shotgun]]]]

In 1902, American gunsmith [[John Browning|John Moses Browning]] developed the first successful [[semi-automatic shotgun]], the [[Browning Auto-5]], which was first manufactured by [[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]] and sold in America under the Browning name. The Auto-5 relied on [[recoil operation|long recoil operation]]; this design remained the dominant form in semi-automatic shotguns for approximately 50 years. Production of the Auto-5 ended in 1998.

===Blowback semi-automatic===

In 1903 and 1905, the [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company]] introduced the first semi-automatic [[Rimfire ammunition|rimfire]] and [[Centerfire ammunition|centerfire]] rifles designed especially for the civilian market. The [[Winchester Model 1903]] and [[Winchester Model 1905]] operated on the principle of [[Blowback (arms)#blowback|blowback]] in order to function semi-automatically. Designed entirely by [[T. C. Johnson]], the Model 1903 achieved commercial success and continued to be manufactured until 1932 when the Winchester Model 63 replaced it.

By the early 20th century, several manufacturers had introduced semi-automatic .22 sporting rifles, including [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]], [[Remington Arms|Remington]], Fabrique Nationale and [[Savage Arms]], all using the direct blow-back system of operation. Winchester introduced a medium caliber semi-automatic sporting rifle, the [[Winchester Model 1907|Model 1907]] as an upgrade to the Model 1905, utilizing a blowback system of operation, in calibers such as [[.351 Winchester Self-Loading|.351 Winchester]]. Both the Models of 1905 and 1907 saw limited military and police use.

===Notable early semi-automatic rifles===

In 1906, [[Remington Arms]] introduced the [[Remington Model 8|Remington Auto-loading Repeating Rifle]]. Remington advertised this rifle, renamed the "Model 8" in 1911, as a sporting rifle. This is a locked-breech, [[long recoil]] action designed by [[John Browning]]. The rifle was offered in .25, .30, .32, and .35 caliber models, and gained popularity among civilians as well as some law enforcement officials who appreciated the combination of a semi-automatic action and relatively powerful rifle cartridges. The Model 81 superseded the Model 8 in 1936 and was offered in [[.300 Savage]] as well as the original Remington calibers.

The first semi-automatic rifle adopted and widely issued by a major military power ([[France]]) was the [[Fusil Automatique Modele 1917]]. This is a locked-breech, gas-operated action that is very similar in its mechanical principles to the future [[M1 Garand]] in the United States. The M1917 was fielded during the latter stages of [[World War I]] but it did not receive a favorable reception. However, its shortened and improved version, the Model 1918, was much more favourably received during the Moroccan [[Rif War (1920)|Rif War]] from 1920 to 1926. The [[Lebel Model 1886 rifle|Lebel]] bolt-action rifle remained the standard French infantry rifle until replaced in 1936 by the [[MAS-36 rifle|MAS-36]] despite the various semi-automatic rifles designed between 1918 and 1935.

Other nations experimented with self-loading rifles between the two World Wars, including the [[United Kingdom]], which had intended to replace the bolt-action [[Lee–Enfield]] with a self-loader, possibly chambered for sub-caliber ammunition, but discarded that plan as the imminence of the Second World War and the emphasis shifted from replacing every rifle with a new design to speeding-up re-armament with existing weapons. The [[Soviet Union]] and [[Nazi Germany]] would both issue successful self-loading and selective-fire rifles on a large scale during the course of the war, but not in sufficient numbers to replace their standard bolt-action rifles.

===Notable gas-operated rifles===

[[File:SKS Flickr.jpg|thumb|right|The SKS is a semi-automatic Russian rifle]]

In 1937, the American [[M1 Garand]] was the first semi-automatic rifle to replace its nation's bolt-action rifle as the standard-issue infantry weapon. The [[gas-operated]] M1 Garand was developed by Canadian-born [[John Garand]] for the U.S. government at the [[Springfield Armory]] in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]. After years of research and testing, the first production model of the M1 Garand was unveiled in 1937. During [[World War II]], the M1 Garand gave American infantrymen an advantage over their opponents, most of whom were issued slower firing bolt-action rifles.<ref name=Springfield375>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2011 |title=Firsts: Springfield 375 |url=http://springfield375.org/?p=126 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314004454/http://springfield375.org/?p=126 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[AVS-36]], [[SVT-40|SVT-38 and SVT-40]] (originally intended to replace the [[Mosin-Nagant]] as their standard service rifle), as well as the German [[Gewehr 43]], were semi-automatic [[Gas-operated reloading|gas-operated]] rifles issued during [[World War II]]. In practice, they did not replace the bolt-action rifle as a standard infantry weapon.

Another gas-operated semi-automatic rifle developed toward the end of World War II was the [[SKS]]. Designed by [[Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov]] in 1945, it came equipped with a [[bayonet]] and could be loaded with ten rounds, using a [[stripper clip]]. However, the SKS was quickly replaced by the [[AK-47]], produced at around the same time, but with a 30-round magazine, and select fire capability. The SKS was the first widely issued weapon to use the [[7.62×39mm]] cartridge.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}