M1922 Bang rifle

The Model 1922 Bang rifle was an American experimental semi-automatic rifle designed by the Danish arms designer Soren Hansen Bang. It was a modification of his earlier 1909 and 1911 rifles, which were chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, and the 1922 model was also listed in 6.5x55mm Swedish. Its gas operation was unusual: a sliding muzzle cup was blown forward by the combustion gases as the bullet left the barrel, and that motion worked the rotating bolt. The system descended from Bang's blow-forward design of 1903, which had also inspired earlier French machine gun efforts. Bang demonstrated his rifles in United States field trials in 1919 and 1927, and the Bang rifle was a leading candidate for American contracts from 1925 to 1928, a competition finally won by the M1 Garand. It failed in testing because of its mechanical complexity and because the sliding muzzle cup was prone to fouling.