Huot Automatic Rifle
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 635 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.90 kg
- Introduced
- 1916
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Huot Automatic Rifle is a Canadian light machine gun developed during the First World War by converting the surplus Ross straight-pull bolt-action rifle into a gas-operated automatic weapon. Designed by Joseph Alphonse Huot, it mounted a gas piston along the left side of the barrel that tapped gas near the muzzle to cycle the existing Ross straight-pull action, and fed from a 25-round detachable drum magazine in .303 British. Tested at Hythe and Enfield with generally favourable results, it never entered service as development was halted by the November 1918 Armistice.
The Huot turned the deeply unpopular Ross rifle, blamed for jamming in the mud of Flanders, into a credible light machine gun for a fraction of the cost of a Lewis Gun. Despite passing British trials at Hythe and Enfield, the Armistice killed it before mass production could begin.
Only about four or five examples were built. The conversion was relatively cheap because it reused thousands of surplus Ross rifles that had been withdrawn from front-line service due to fouling and mud reliability problems.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Ross Rifle Company
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- Canada
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1916 to 1918
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 635 mm
- Overall length
- 1195 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.90 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 25
- Magazine
- Drum
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 744 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3120 J
- Effective range
- 550 m
- Rate of fire
- 475 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Gas piston
Straight pull bolt
Detachable drum magazine
Ross rifle conversion
Barrel shroud
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 261 machine guns | 5.90 kg | 10.50 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1195 mm | 1156 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 635 mm | 605 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 222 machine guns | 25 | 50 | Holds fewer rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Huot Automatic Rifle
How much does the Huot Automatic Rifle weigh?
The Huot Automatic Rifle weighs 5.90 kg (13.01 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Huot Automatic Rifle?
The Huot Automatic Rifle is chambered in .303 British.
How many rounds does the Huot Automatic Rifle hold?
The Huot Automatic Rifle holds 25 rounds, fed from a drum magazine.
How long is the Huot Automatic Rifle?
The Huot Automatic Rifle is 1195 mm (47.0 in) long overall, with a 635 mm (25.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Huot Automatic Rifle?
The Huot Automatic Rifle is made by Ross Rifle Company (Canada). It was designed by Joseph Alphonse Huot.
When was the Huot Automatic Rifle introduced?
The Huot Automatic Rifle was introduced in 1916 and discontinued in 1918.
How does the Huot Automatic Rifle operate?
The Huot Automatic Rifle uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Canadian Expeditionary Force
- Canada
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/huot-automatic-rifle' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "huot-automatic-rifle", "name": "Huot Automatic Rifle", "manufacturer": { "id": "ross-rifle-company", "name": "Ross Rifle Company", "countryCode": "CA", "foundedYear": 1903, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "7ee174db1d372612ee62cadaf424559870aad5b8c351508b71d9c65332d5655b" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "CA", "year_introduced": 1916, "barrel_length_mm": 635, "weight_empty_g": 5900, "action_type": "gas_operated"}