Which step follows the firing of the weapon?

The step that follows the firing of the weapon is extraction. Once a round is fired, the spent casing needs to be removed from the chamber to prepare for the next round. During the extraction process, the extractor, a component of the firearm, grips the rim of the spent cartridge case and pulls it out of the chamber. This action is crucial to ensure that the firearm can load a new round into the chamber for subsequent firing.

Chambering refers to loading a new round into the chamber, which occurs after the extraction and ejection of the spent casing. Feeding is the process of moving a round from the magazine into the chamber, which also happens after extraction when a new round is being loaded. Locking pertains to the mechanism that secures the slide and barrel into battery during the firing cycle but does not follow the act of firing itself. Thus, extraction is the correct answer as it directly follows the firing of the weapon.