I noticed that some revolvers have a rod attached to the barrel. What does this rod do?
Some assault rifles also seem to have some extra rod. The AK-47 seems to have one that runs along the top of the barrel. Is there some mechanism inside? What does it do?
In revolvers, it’s a pushrod that is used to eject the spent cartridges from the chamber (if they don’t fall out easily). In some military rifles, the “rod” you see is actually a convenient place to store the cleaning rod (it has no mechanical function as far as actuating the weapon). In the AK 47, the “rod” is actually a tube above the barrel which guides a small portion of the pressure (from the expansion of the gases behind the bullet) back to an actuating rod, which cycles the next round into the chamber (much as if you had pulled back the slide yourself – same result).
This help?
Ejector rod?
See the first pic. Are you talking about the rod just under the barrel?
with small arms rifles, such as .22s, the second rod is the madazine. with muzzleloaders, it is the ramrod. for revolvers, well, they used to be black powder also, but loaded from the front. you would put the charge and whatnot in, then spin the chamber until its aligned with the bottom rod. the bottom rod was a ramrod also, used for compressing the charge.
In some of the smaller caliber semi-automic rifles (most semiauto .22s, I think), the second rod holds bullets. There’s a spring loaded rod you pull out of the tube, and a bullet shaped hole you drop the bullets through to load it.
or magazine. with semi-auto or pump shotguns, this is also the case
Thanks. After reading this, a lightbulb went off in my head. My uncle showed me his .357 revolver while on a fishing trip, and recognized the pushrod thingy to eject empty shells. Guess I forgot about it 
I knew that shotguns and some rifles have a tube that functions as a magazine. But I didn’t know some rifles used a second bar to store a barrel cleaner (rather clever, by the way)
All modrn assault rifles and light machine guns as a gas tube (I forget the technical term) above or below the barrel; in some it’s smaller than others. The M-16, for instance, has a very narrow tube that’s almost completely encased in the forward grips. You can see one end of it here - it’s the little “bar” under the forward sight, above the barrel.
AKs have the gas cylinder above the barrel and many of them also store a cleaning rod below the barrel.
Regards
Testy
Testy is right, the extra rod underneath the barrel on AKs and SKSs is a cleaning rod.
And just as an oh-by-the-way, you have to flex the hell out of that cleaning rod to get it to come out. I was worried I’d put a permanent bend in the thing.
Testy
