cammed

Updated: May 14, 2025

When the handle is turned up to unlock the bolt, the hammer is cammed slightly to the rear, by means of oblique bearings on the bolt and hammer, so as to withdraw the point of the striker within the face of the bolt. This oblique cam action also gives great power to the extractor at first starting the empty cartridge case out of the chamber.

Various - Scientific American Supplement, No. 601, July 9, 1887