Which action is characterized by manually cycling the bolt to load a cartridge?

The action characterized by manually cycling the bolt to load a cartridge is recognized as a bolt action. This design requires the shooter to physically manipulate the bolt to chamber a round from the magazine into the firing position. The process includes lifting the bolt handle, pulling it back to eject any spent cartridge, pushing it forward to load a new cartridge, and then locking it down.

This manual operation is a key defining feature of bolt-action firearms, which are known for their accuracy and reliability. Unlike semi-automatic actions, which automatically load the next round using the energy from the fired cartridge, or single-shot designs, which require a complete manual load for each shot, bolt actions require this specific cycling of the bolt by the shooter for each new shot. Lever-action firearms, on the other hand, use a lever mechanism to cycle rounds, distinct from the bolt cycling function. Therefore, the uniqueness of manually cycling the bolt makes this action a bolt action firearm.