Which stage occurs immediately before Unlocking?

• A. Firing
• B. Unlocking
• C. Chambering
• D. Cocking

Answer: (A)

This question tests the order of events in a firearm’s cycling sequence. Immediately before unlocking, a round must have just been fired. When the primer detonates, the high chamber pressure drives the action and creates recoil that moves the slide and barrel backward as a locked unit. It is this recoil and pressure that cause the locking lugs to disengage, i.e., the unlocking step. Once unlocked, the slide continues rearward to extract and eject the spent case, then returns forward to chamber the next round.

So the firing event is the direct predecessor of unlocking because unlocking depends on the recoil generated by firing. The other stages occur after unlocking (or are part of the forward stroke that re-chambers the next round).