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Somewhere upthread somebody posted a standing record from the 19teens, where a shooter with an Enfield put something like 38 rounds into a 12 inch target at 200 yards in a minute. I’ve always heard the Enfield had the fastest bolt action ever.

During WWI the Brits used the Mad Minute during which they were supposed to fire 15 aimed rounds and hit a target 300 yards away.

You can watch a modern recreation of it on Youtube.

The Brits used those old Enfields to great effect through 2 World Wars. Trained British riflemen could fire the Enfields so quickly that enemy troops were often convinced they were facing machine guns instead of bolt action rifles.

I’ve always heard the Enfield had the fastest bolt action ever.

Since I haven't as of yet actually fired every single bolt action ever made I can't really comment. I know the Swiss K-31 Carbine has a straight pull bolt which may make it just a touch quicker. But that rifle has a magazine capacity of only 6 rounds.

Not that that niggling little detail would matter to a Swiss rifleman. No self respecting Swiss shooter could look at him or her self in the mirror if it took more than a single round to bring down their target.

Have you ever fired one? It’s the way the mechanism compresses the spring when you push the bolt FORWARD. Most bolt actions compress the spring as you unlock the bolt. Also, the locking lugs seem to be very slippery somehow. Lifting the bolt to unlock and then locking the bolt are very effortless movements...unlike the german mauser. It’s kind of a kookie looking thing, but it is fun to see how fast you can cycle it. If you havn’t tried one out, you should. It’s a unique mechanism. IIRC, if you open the bolt without pulling the trigger, in otherwords, eject an unfired round while the spring is still compressed...the spring decompresses as it “springs” the bolt to the rear. It’s unusual.

I would expect a very high quality mauser style bolt rifle with a shorter action, say for a 223, would be as fast as the old enfield.

I don’t know if these guns are true “bolt actions”, but there are some modern rifles made with a radial pattern locking bolt, like on the M16. These kind don’t have a knob that moves in the traditional “L” shaped path to open and close. Just pull it straight back. These might be a bit quicker. But not as gratifying to operate.