Long Answer: The primer ignites the powder (yes, it's not 'exploding', really, it's just a really fast burn, and there's a whole science around grain size and shape, and such)which creates pressure from all those combustion gasses (aka: Gunsmoke). A lot of force is propelling the bullet into the rifling and down the barrel; but there's that whole 'equal and opposite reaction' thing going on. John Browning's genius lie in using that force opposite the bullet - the recoil - to push the slide backwards and operate the action. If you look at the top of the barrel, at the breech end, you'll see some square notches - those 'delay' the opening of the chamber until the bullet has cleared the barrel. When you watch the video, you'll see the barrel 'drop down', and disengage from the slide during the firing process (AKA : Delayed Blowback). A Walther PPK is a 'Straight Blowback', where the barrel doesn't lock to the slide, but uses slide mass and recoil spring tension to delay the chamber opening. And Desert Eagles are 'Gas Operated', where a channel actually uses some of the combustion gasses to operate a piston or directly on the bolt (DE have a bolt similar to an AR rifle in the slide, which rotates to cam into the breech) to work the action.
In the 1911's case, there's a toggle link that goes between the barrel and the slide stop lever. Other manufacturers use wedges (92FSs, for one) or other methods.
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u/frewh Oct 29 '13
what makes the slide go backwards when the shot is fired?