The Bolt Action: Volume II: A Design Analysis

Stuart Otteson, an engineer by trade became a writer when he decided to describe bolt actions in a technical way. Everyone who builds rifles, hunts or shoots a bolt action will enjoy knowing more about them. This treatise is an absolute necessity for the true gun lover. Strengths and weaknesses of most popular rifle actions are discussed in great detail. History is not neglected either. Want to know what bolt action has the fastest lock time, this book not only tells you but shows how to calculate if for models that inevitably follow it publication.

This book was out of print for many years. In 2022 Z-Hat Publishing tracked down Stuart Otteson, because he owned the copyright for his books. They struck a deal and now the classic book is available once again. Stuart had all the original art work in his possession so Z-Hat was able to use it to create a cleaner and better publication with today's technology. So this edition of Volume II in the series, is better than the original, yet contains everything that was in the original.

It's clear for Stuart's introduction in this volume that he was reluctant to dive into producing a second volume. This, however, brings out an important point. Because this was done as a work of love rather than as a labor for pay it easy to see that Stuart put much more into the process than would many writers.

Time invested in the drawings presented here is a huge commitment. For those of you who are born as digital natives, it might be hard to understand that these precise drawings were laid down on paper, one line at a time. The draftsman had to take meticulous measurements and then translate them to the paper.

Otteson took actual firearms apart and measured them. It was important to him to represent the production firearms as they were found in the public. In addition to this Stuart managed to interview numerous engineers, designers and worker from various factories in an effort to deliver accurate information. Without such interviews, we might be left to guess about the choices made by designers.

Machine tool technology has a big influence on the design and function of all kinds of machines.Firearms are just machines after all.

There is no doubt that we should also thank Ken Warner and David LeGate and Mark Harris for their continued support and encouragement to Otteson. Ten years intervened between the first volume of The Bolt Action and this the second volume. For those of you who might wonder if there is a Volume III in a drawer somewhere? I can assure you that it will require a new writer to take up that project.

Stuart is understandably proud of the work he has shared in these two volumes, however he has moved on to other avocations as we all do. There seems to be no end to new designs coming to the marketplace. The information that Stuart so meticulously recorded is sufficient for future designers and engineers to stand upon the shoulders of the giants that came before, without the need to have every single design in these books. You might say that Stuart Otteson built a staircase that any gun lover, gunsmith or engineer can use to reach new heights of firearms design.

Asides from his two The Bolt Action books (1975-1985), Stuart served s a technical editor for Rifle Magazine (1983-1993), and design consultant for Remington Arms (1988 to 1993). Now long retired from is day job as a submarine designer - and even longer from his avocations as a gun writer and firearms consultant - he now lives along the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland, writing Science fiction, playing tennis, and operating a small fleet of vintage aluminum speed-boats.