The Fedorov Avtomat (also anglicized as Federov,[4][5] Russian: Автома́т Фёдорова, romanized: Avtomát Fyódorova, IPA: [ɐftɐˈmat ˈfʲɵdərəvə], lit.

[citation needed] Captain V. Fedorov began a prototype of a semi-automatic rifle in 1906, working with future small arms designer Vasily Degtyaryov as his assistant.

This new rimless ammunition was more compact than the rimmed Russian 7.62×54mmR, better suited for automatic weapons and produced less recoil but occasionally caused jamming.

Therefore, in practice, the Fedorov was issued to the troops with only three magazines, which would be reloaded through the breech via standard 5-round Arisaka stripper clips.

[3][13] A US Army analysis from the early 1950s considered that the Fedorov Avtomat was unreasonably complex to manufacture and that it suffered from rapid overheating of the barrel on automatic fire.

The main factor in the increased heat dissipation was the metal shroud over the barrel at the end of the forearm, which acted as a radiator.

In terms of accuracy, Russian data indicates that when fired in short bursts the Fedorov Avtomat could reliably hit targets having a profile of 0.6×0.5 m at a distance of 200 m. At 400 m the dispersion increased to 1.1×0.9 m, and at 800 m it was 2.1×1.85 m. Consequently, burst fire was only considered effective up to about 500 m.[14] In 1916, the Weapons Committee of the Russian Army decided to order no less than 25,000 Fedorov automatic rifles.

It was supposed to report back valuable combat experience with the new weapon, but this did not happen because the company disintegrated during the Kerensky Offensive.

About 10 other Avtomats were given to the Russian naval aviation; Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia telegraphed back that his pilots found it more suitable than the Chauchat in light aircraft.

[17] In 1920, Lev Kamenev found the Fedorov Avtomat to be a promising design and authorized a limited production run.

Although these alternative rifles were initially intended for mobile assault fire, both models became more or less exclusively used as stationary light machine guns due to their higher weight and caliber.

However, the lighter, lower recoil Fedorov Avtomat, which was less than half the weight of the BAR and CSRG, retained a unique niche role as a mobile assault rifle.

During the 1939–1940 Soviet–Finnish war, an acute lack of individual automatic weapons led to the reintroduction of the stockpiled Fedorovs into service.

[28] Some say it is "conforming to the specification of an assault rifle", stating 6,5mm Arisaka goes to the same category as 6.8x43 Remington SPC "in terms of calibre and muzzle energy", while being a service weapon in WWI.