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ARMAG

Search matches names, aliases and the text of every page. An arm found by its service designation is found by its alias, not its title.

Cyclic rate

The rate at which an automatic weapon completes its firing cycle, in rounds per minute, if the trigger were held and ammunition never ran out.

Also called Rate of fire, ROF

A theoretical figure, and a useful one for comparing mechanisms rather than for predicting anything about a battle. It says how fast the bolt goes back and forth, and nothing more.

Two things follow from it that do matter. A high cyclic rate empties a magazine very quickly — a MAC-10 at over a thousand rounds a minute empties thirty rounds in under two seconds — and it makes a burst harder to hold on target, because more recoil impulses arrive before the shooter can react to any of them. A low rate like the MP 40’s 500 rpm is easier to control and easier to fire in deliberate short bursts.

Published cyclic rates are very often ranges, because the real figure varies with ammunition, temperature and wear. Where a source gives a range, this site records the midpoint and says so on the figure.