Rod Bender Machine Gun Mechanism?

A cylindrical breach housing with 10 or so aluminum alloy rods laying length-wise on the outside surface. At the back end the rods are securely anchored to the breach housing. At the front end the rods are engaged by a revolving latch arm that rotates to engage a new rod with each cycle of the action. When the gun is fired the recoil forces back the breach block, the latch arm travels back in a slot in the breach housing thereby bending a rod out and away from the gun. The return part of the cycle is accomplished by a conventional spring mechanism. The rationale for such a contraption is that it might allow more powerful ammunition to be used, that would make a weapon prohibitively heavy because of an inertial requirement with more conventional mechanisms.

I imagine something in the weight class of a 7.62 mm NATO (3,500 Joules) automatic rifle with biped firing something like the .338 lapua magnum (6,000 Joules +?). After a 10 round burst both the clip and and the plastic-frame pack of newly bent rods would be replaced. I only imagine a limited special forces application for such a contraption, maybe at the long ranges of the mountains of Afghanistan?

# # A cylindrical breach housing with 10 or so aluminum alloy rods #laying length-wise on the outside surface. At the back end the rods are #securely anchored to the breach housing. At the front end the rods are #engaged by a revolving latch arm that rotates to engage a new rod with #each cycle of the action. When the gun is fired the recoil forces back #the breach block, the latch arm travels back in a slot in the breach #housing thereby bending a rod out and away from the gun. The return #part of the cycle is accomplished by a conventional spring mechanism. #The rationale for such a contraption is that it might allow more #powerful ammunition to be used, that would make a weapon prohibitively #heavy because of an inertial requirement with more conventional #mechanisms. # # I imagine something in the weight class of a 7.62 mm NATO (3,500 #Joules) automatic rifle with biped firing something like the .338 lapua #magnum (6,000 Joules +?). After a 10 round burst both the clip and and #the plastic-frame pack of newly bent rods would be replaced. I only #imagine a limited special forces application for such a contraption, #maybe at the long ranges of the mountains of Afghanistan? #

When you want more powerful ammunition you just use your RTO and call it in. A 105 trumps a .338 Lapua any day.

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'When they poured across the border, I was cautioned to surrender. This I could not do I took my gun and vanished.'

'The Partisan' Emmanuel D'Astier de la Vigerie and Anna Marly 1943