Tags: Weapon.
A floating breech is a breechblock of a firearm that is not held rigidly to the barrel at the moment of firing but instead is free to move in the opposite direction to the projectile. This can help to reduce the recoil induced in the body of the firearm so long as the subsequent motion of the breechblock is retarded in some manner – either by a spring or by back-pressure against a piston attached to the breechblock provided by tapping the expelled propellant gases.