TECHNOLOGY

More than 60 years ago Franchi began manufacturing the long-recoil 48 AL, hailed as an innovation in shotgun technology, and the ultimate refinement of long-recoil autoloaders. The next development was in the direction of gas-operated semi-autos, and the current modernization trend includes the incorporation of the Inertia Driven® system to drive the latest generation of Franchi semi-automatic shotguns. The Franchi semi-autos remain the choice of many discerning wingshooters for their lightning-fast handling qualities and superior “feel.”

Franchi shotguns are quality firearms that meet today’s demanding standards without compromising the original ideas and concepts that make Franchi firearms unique. Combining cutting‑edge modern manufacturing methods and technology with Old-World gun craftsmanship, has enabled Franchi to create sets of shotguns that are amazingly simple, yet absolutely reliable. With modern metallurgy and technology and their distinct lightweight styling, Franchi’s 48 AL, Instinct over & unders and the Inertia Driven® Affinity are testament to that fact.

Inertia Driven®

The Inertia Driven® System powers the world’s fastest, simplest, and most reliable semi-auto shotguns.

The law of inertia has been harnessed in the Inertia Driven® System, making Franchi semi-auto shotguns the fastest, simplest, and most reliable.

Newton’s first law of physics is consistent and unchanging. And we put it to work for you in the best operating system ever devised.

Reliable – The Inertia Driven® System never needs adjusting. It will cycle anything from light field loads to 3-1/2” magnums with consistent reliability year after year.

Simple – The system has only three primary parts: the bolt body, the inertia spring, and the rotating bolt head.

Fast – With very few parts, the Inertia Driven® System is fast.

Clean – Gas, smoke, and burnt powder stay in the barrel where they belong, instead of being channeled into the gun’s mechanism, as they are in gas systems.

Strong – Strong steel locking lugs on the rotating bolt head of the Inertia Driven® System lock steel to steel inside the gun barrel. The lugs lock even more tightly during firing.

Low-Maintenance – Gun cleaning takes a fraction of the time, since the system is cleaner.

Lightweight – The Inertia Driven® System is incredibly lightweight. Shotguns with the system can be some of the lightest ever produced.

Perfect Balance – With no springs, action bar linkage, or heavy gas cylinders under the fore-end, Inertia Driven® shotguns balance like a fine game gun should.

HOW THE INERTIA DRIVEN®
SYSTEM HARNESSES THE LAW OF INERTIA

Inertia Driven® System Step 1

Step 1 Chambering

As the bolt assembly moves into battery, the locking head pin moves along a curved track in the bolt body. It rotates the steel bolt head into engagement with the steel barrel extension. The cartridge drop lever is down. The red dot indicates that the gun is cocked.

Inertia Driven® System Step 2

Step 2 Firing

When the trigger is pulled, every part of the shotgun except the bolt body moves rearward. The curved track in the bolt body is moving forward relative to the rest of the gun. The curved track presses against the locking head pin. This pressure turns the bolt head even more tightly into the barrel extension. At the same time, the inertia spring is compressed between bolt head and body. The cartridge drop lever moves up, allowing a shell to move from the magazine to the carrier.

Inertia Driven® System Step 3

Step 3 Recoil

Near the end of the recoil cycle, chamber pressure drops to a safe level. The gun’s rearward motion slows. The heavy inertia spring then thrusts the bolt assembly rearward. That action unlocks the rotating bolt head, extracting the spent shell from the chamber and pulling it against the ejector.

Inertia Driven® System Step 4

Step 4 Ejection

As the empty shell exits the receiver, the energy of the moving bolt assembly re-cocks the hammer and compresses the recoil spring in the butt stock. The recoil spring then thrusts the bolt assembly forward. This action lifts the oncoming shell into position and chambers a fresh cartridge. Within a fraction of a second, the gun is ready to fire again.

"With a Franchi you’re not just in the field, you’re part of it—feel alive."