Swing-Lock design is always at the center of attention and improvements are made at every opportunity in every area.
For that reason, this page is very much subject to alteration or change depending upon improvements being made or the type of rifle being built.
Some newer rifles such as the 6.5mm and .416 cal. versions shown on the home page utilize a special powder chamber breech design which has significant differences with regards to certain components and the type of assembly required. While newer designs have differences as compared to some of the designs and structures shown presently on this page, they are very solid, accurate and always give attention to features which increase the safety of such rifles.

Swing-Lock new action and breech designs are currently due for updated patent consideration and are patent pending.
One improvement added to Swing-Lock designs are over pressure venting devices in the breech powder chamber area as described below.

The following picture shows a new long range high performance .416 cal. breech/barrel assembly. In the side of the breech wall just below the sight mounting rail are two hex socket openings where over pressure safety valves/plugs are installed. The purpose for such plugs is to prevent possible catastrophic failure if the rifle should be overloaded, double loaded, incorrectly loaded, ramrod not removed before firing or some other gross error which would cause over pressure.

Proof of function was performed using a special test barrel before application in actual breech designs.
 
These devices have already shown their worth in one rifle which was mistakenly double loaded. Although the rifle was damaged, no observable external visual damage was noted except that the safety plugs had functioned as designed. If the rifle had not been equipped with such devices, the rifle might have failed with catastrophic results causing serious injury or death to the shooter and bystanders. 

Safety plugs are designed to support normal proof pressure while blowing out long before burst pressure is reached should the rifle be overpressured due to some form of gross error. These devices are considered potentially life saving and will be used in all Swing-Lock breech designs whenever possible.  A very thick breech wall is required for proper installation.





Although the rifle shown above is not of the most current Swing-Lock design, it is still very similar to any of the more recently made rifles in .45 caliber.
  
The breech in this rifle is machined directly into the barrel blank as one solid unit which provides the most rigid, strong and potentially accurate design possible.

The picture below shows the rear end underside of a typical Swing-Lock breech. It shows the very heavy wall material thickness surrounding the breech plug which is necessary for the highest strength possible. The rear face and shoulder face of the breech also provide considerable area of contact for transfer of recoil force in addition to the forward recoil lug shown further down. This breech is slightly different from the breech used in the rifle shown in that the scope mount blocks are flush with the rear face of the breech. If you look again at the rifle shown above, you will see that the scope mount blocks are mounted further forward and that they are also positioned further apart. Those changes were made to make a longer and more stable footing for the scope and to provide better positioning for proper scope placement.



Below is a breech plug with orifice seal module and primer adapter.

As shown, the heat treated, alloy steel breech plug is very long and fully threaded to be able to withstand the high linear force generated during firing.
 
Chamber pressure is positively sealed through use of the soft steel "orifice seal module" which is installed in front of the breech plug. 

The orifice seal module could actually be referred to as a modified cartridge case in that it is hollow and has a thin flexible wall. The seal module differs from a cartridge case in that it is oversize in diameter and is "sized down" during installation in much the same way that a cartridge case is resized when forced into a reloading sizing die. 

The two following pictures show a new orifice seal module next to a used one. You can see the reduction in size to the mouth end of the used module as compared to the new one. The second picture shows the mouth of the used seal module and its reduced diameter from sizing.

 This design produces an immediate and very reliable, trouble free seal which only needs to be lubricated upon installation. Because the orifice seal module is steel and a very close fit which is fully supported inside the breech recess, it does not significantly deform during firing and therefore is not subject to fatigue. It can be removed and installed as many times as needed without worry of failure.

More recent design seal modules also have a thread on the outside diameter at the rear end which allows the seal to be " pulled " out of the breech using a simple seal puller tool. The design shown is knocked out from the muzzle using the ramrod.

All orifice seal modules have a very thick base where a "tungsten carbide" ignition orifice is permanently installed.

 Testing has shown that the tungsten carbide orifice will out-last even orifices made from silicon carbide ceramic.... the hardest and most heat resistant ceramic available. A tungsten carbide orifice using the highest performance loads will last approximately 100 shots where ceramics, even silicon carbide showed considerable erosion and burn-out even after only 20 shots. M2 high speed steel hardened to a measured Rc 64 (hard enough that a file won't mark it) went about 15 shots and steel is not even worth mentioning. 

Certain new ignition designs give considerably more orifice life where a carbide orifice could easily last several hundred shots before needing replacement. See info for the .416 cal. long range rifle on the home page.

The primer adapter is positioned in the picture to point toward its entry socket in the side of the breech plug. This design positions the breech plug such that the primer adapter enters very close to the breech plugs front face which also places the ignition passage from the primer adapter right at the immediate entry into the ignition orifice. For the best possible ignition performance, this design also places the powder charge as close as possible to the ignition source.

The picture below shows breech plug, orifice seal module and primer adapter.

New orifice seal module above, used module below

Used orifice seal module sshowing reduced mouth diameter

Barrel/breech showing aluminum "V"bedding block with stainless steel stock screw pillars and mating recoil lug. Also seen is the rear aluminum stock pillar and steel stock screw plate. Machined surfaces for scope mounting blocks can also be seen. Steel scope mount blocks are secured using #8-40 screws.



Barrels in most Swing-Lock rifles are free floated and in the above rifle, the barrel is bedded onto a solid aluminum "V" block which is epoxy bedded into the stock forend. The barrel is pulled solidly down onto the block by two screws passing through stainless steel pillars which are also epoxied into the stock blank and make reference against the underside of the "V" block for a rock solid assembly. The stock screws screw into the underside of the thick walled breech to a depth which assures great holding strength without adversly weakening the breech wall.

The "V" block is also precision fitted to provide a solid recoil shoulder for the barrel lug which is dowel pinned and screwed to the underside of the barrel. 

The rear of the breech is held in stable position by a steel screw plate which serves to lock the rear of the breech securely into the stock. Below is another picture view showing the "V" block with reference to the barrel and recoil lug.

Other bedding designs may be used depending upon the type of rifle ordered and the forend profile used.



The picture below shows another view of the rear aluminum stock pillar, stock screw plate and the action lock/ release spring.



This picture shows an earlier action design with automatic safety installed in the bow of the trigger guard (compare with new manual safety shown below). The picture also shows function of the action lock/release spring holding the action closed.



The new action in the picture below shows the new manual cross bolt safety in the "FIRE" or "OFF" position as indicated by the red marking on the cross bolt. This safety is easy to operate, smooth and very quiet. It is very positive in that it directly blocks the trigger sear when engaged or "ON". Because the trigger is positively linked to the sear, both the trigger and sear are locked against movement when the safety is "ON". The safety can only be placed "ON" when the action is cocked. Unlike the previous automatic design, the new manual safety can be placed "ON" or "OFF" at will without the need to unlock and rotate the action.

This picture also shows the cocking plunger removed from the action which is now a solid steel heat treated assembly with no internal moving parts which directly hooks onto the drive pin of the action pivot block for positive function. The cocking plunger is held in place inside the action housing by a spring loaded ball detent and a stop screw which both assure that the cocking plunger cannot fall out of the action housing. It is still removable from the action without the need for tools when cleaning is to be performed.
 
The action is removable from the rifle through use of the thumb release located on the side of the action



The picture below is another view of the new action with the safety shown in the "ON" position (no red showing). You will also observe that the cocking plunger as shown removed above is installed in the action in the cocked position. The thumb release slide is also visible on the side of the action.



This picture is a view of the primer support surface with firing pin protruding. The smooth, continuous milled primer support surface is easy to clean. This action is designed such that entry of fouling or other contamination is blocked as much as possible, which helps to assure that internal action function will not be impaired and that cleaning will be as trouble free as possible.
The trigger in this action is adjustable for both engagement and force. Anyone who has had any experience with Swing-Lock triggers will tell you that they are smooth, without perceptible creep, and have very clean let off.

All action and pivot block components subject to wear are made from heat treated tool steel. Trigger gaurds are made from high strength ZA-12 alloy.

SWING-LOCK PROOF, LOAD DEVELOPMENT

AND

TESTING