Tilting bolt vs. Rotating bolt?

[northern skies]

My mind wandered while I was swimming today, and I wondered about the choice of either system as a design criteria.

So, does one have particular advantages over another?

ie. inherent robustness and resistance to wear? Reliablility in operation? better performance under varying extreme temperatures? Practical accuracy? Cycle time? Ease of manufacture?

All I could think about was that the headspace in a tilting bolt might change if the bolt elongates under heat because of being lugged at the rear, and that it may also be less secure at the forward end allowing for play. But I can also see how those could easily be overcome in design. What is your take on this?

 

[RUPZUK]

SKS tilts.
AR rotates.
SKS=cheap to make, reliable but not that acurate.
AR=more expensive to make, reliability depends on cleanliness, highly acurate.
And to borrow a tag line, "only acurate guns are interesting"
My 2 cents anyway...

 

[UCSPanther]

Most of the older rifles tend to use tilting bolts. Here are some examples:

Tilting:

SKS
VZ 58
SVT 40
FN 49
Ljungmann and Hakim
Kar 43
Rashid
FN FAL
STG 44
VZ 52 rifle

Rotating:

AK 47
Ar 15
M1 Garand
M1 carbine
M14
Mini 14
Remington 740
BAR hunting rifle
SIG 550
SIG 540
PE 90

This may be my reasoning for why rotating bolts are more common:

I think rotating bolts may be more used because they are easier to manufacture and are more stronger, sort of the same argument for the Mauser-style bolt system. I figure tilting bolts probably require more machining and are not as sturdy as the rotary bolts.

 

[northern skies]

SKS tilts.
AR rotates.
SKS=cheap to make, reliable but not that acurate.
AR=more expensive to make, reliability depends on cleanliness, highly acurate.
And to borrow a tag line, "only acurate guns are interesting"
My 2 cents anyway...

I believe that has to do with tolerances rather than design... other than the AR getting all hot and fouled from the lack of a gas piston!

 

[10x]

SKS tilts.
AR rotates.
SKS=cheap to make, reliable but not that acurate.
AR=more expensive to make, reliability depends on cleanliness, highly acurate.
And to borrow a tag line, "only acurate guns are interesting"
My 2 cents anyway...

What is really interesting is how many cheap SKS rifles are far more accurate than they should be with milsurp ammo without any work at all.
I have had a couple that could give 1.5 inch or smaller groups with milsurp.