It can be said that the rifle has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Let's start with the advantages of the supportless structure.
The biggest advantage of the supportless structure is that it is short.
In the case of using a barrel of the same length, the stockless structure significantly shortens the barrel.
So how does this work?
In fact, it is very simple, that is, the bolt is moved back so that the bolt enters the butt structure, and the whole rifle does not have an independent butt.
The control part (trigger, etc.) is moved forward, which is equivalent to the barrel extending backwards and lengthening.
This naturally achieved the same gun length and a longer barrel. The same barrel is longer, and the gun has a shorter effect.
In fact, the no-support structure appeared very early. In the era of bolt-action rifles (Thorneycroft rifles), there was a design with the trigger front in order to shorten the barrel and move the magazine back, but it did not become mainstream.
The generally accepted design of the modern stockless gun should have been the British EM1 rifle.
This strange rifle has all the typical features of a stockless rifle construction:
The receiver is in the rear, and the ammunition feeding module is before the trigger.
Because it was designed very early, there are also some typical features of old rifles. For example, wooden lower handguards, etc.
Its structure refers to some technical features of the German STG45, and adopts the automatic mode of ball delayed locking.
However, a new 7mm mid-power bullet was used.
It then evolved into EM2.
Originally, the British were expected to be equipped with the first stockless automatic rifle, but because the United States forced unified ammunition in NATO, it was not until the eighties that they completed their own stockless rifle, and the result was a shameful model of stockless rifles: the British Shame L85A1 rifle.
The most defeated modern rifle SA80
In fact, after World War II, rifles in various countries were shortened in length.
There is a very practical need here, that is, the infantry is "cavalry" again.
Mechanized infantry has vehicles, so how their rifles are suitable for combat is a new question.
In the history of the development of rifles, their length has always been in a trend of shortening.
Many of the early rifles were more than 1 meter long, and 1 was common2-1.4 meters.
For example, the German G98 rifle is long 125 meters, Mosin Nagant 1891 rifle length 1234 meters, Type 38 rifle 128 meters.
These rifles are used by real infantrymen.
Soon many rifles appeared in their short rifle models, such as the 98k, such as the Mosin Nagan carbine, the overall length of these short rifles was shortened to about 1 meter, and the length of mainstream rifles during World War II was 1 meter.
After the end of World War II, all countries were considering shortening the length, so the type of rifle without stock structure appeared.
However, the two main military powers after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union, did not use stockless rifles, so their stockless rifles have not become mainstream.
Among the major countries, the stockless rifles with relatively large influence mainly include the French FAMAS FAMAS rifle, the British L85 rifle, the Chinese 95 rifle, and the Austrian AUG rifle that has been successful in foreign trade.
On the whole, the British L85 is known as the shame of the United Kingdom, which has little to do with the non-trusteeship institution.
The French FAMAS is decent, and the overall mediocrity is enough.
If China's 95 is to say that it is successful or not, it depends on the development of the Type 03 rifle later.
Austria's AUG is considered a success, at least the foreign trade is good, and the overall evaluation is okay.
The most successful stockless rifle - AUG rifle February** Dynamic Incentive Program
Why haven't trayless structures become mainstream?
I think there are several reasons for this.
The first is the inherent disadvantage of the supportless structure, which is not very ergonomic friendly.
Because the bolt is rear-mounted, both the shell and the cartridge bay will be arranged backwards, which will be very uncomfortable for lifting the gun to shoot.
In fact, the problem of shell throwing has always been a problem for stockless rifles.
At the same time, there are also problems such as fever.
Human-machine habits are inherently flawed and difficult to change by design, which is the best for AUG.
At the same time, the stockless rifle bolt is rear, on the whole, it will be light in front and heavy in the rear, although there can be a small grip in front to balance, but the whole is still uncoordinated, according to the gun action force has a little downward feeling is also very uncomfortable, the traditional rifle arrangement in front of the hand is to hold up the feeling, relatively accustomed to a little bit.
The disadvantages are hard to avoid, so can the advantages be enough to offset them?
It's also hard. Although the traditional rifle structure does grow a little longer, with the popularization of folding stock and telescopic stock, the length of the traditional structure has been relatively short.
For example, the M4 carbine, with a barrel of 368mm, has a total length of 760mm under the shrinking stock.
The Type 03 rifle barrel is 440mm, and the butt is 725mm with the stock folded.
95 rifles including short rifles with a barrel length of 326mm, a full barrel length of 609mm, and a standard type with a barrel length of 463mm and an overall length of 746mm.
Carbine type AUG-P of the AUG. A 407mm barrel was used, and the full gun was 690mm long.
FAMAS barrel 488mm, overall length 757mm.
Comparing these data, it can be seen that the stockless structure does have certain benefits for the overall shortening of the gun, but its benefits are not high.
The wave of no-support has basically not become a weak mainstream structure, and eventually rifle shooting has returned to the traditional mode. In the foreseeable future, non-trusting will still be a niche structure.
In fact, stockless is not the patent of ordinary rifles, there have been some large-caliber sniper rifles that also have a stockless structure, such as Barrett M82 has a stockless version of M82A2, which is used for ***
Russia also has sniper rifles ASVK without pallet structures.