Noun
A firearm which receives its load at the breech.
Source: Webster's dictionaryBolt actions main Although bolt actions are usually associated with fixed or detachable box magazines, in fact the first general-issue military breechloader was a single-shot bolt action: the paper-cartridge Prussian Needle Gun of 1841. Source: Internet
Gallear, 2001 The breechloader design patent for the Springfield's Erskine S. Allin "trapdoor" system was owned by the US government and the firearm could be easily adapted for production with existing machinery at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. Source: Internet