Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1855-01-31
WHAT IS A MINIE RIFLEl

| ~dAI ID a
Every account received from the war in tho
Criemea is loud in praise of the .'Minie Rifle"
| These fire arms in the hands of good marks
men, deal certain destruction at an immense
distance, and the wholesale slaughter of the
] Russian gunners at the battles of Sevastopol,
| has won for this weapon of death, the soubri-
| quet of skiing of Fire Arms" So dreadedis
this fatal ball that Russian gunner goes to his
station at an embrasure as to certain death.
The barrel of a rifle has, running the length
of its inner surface, spiral grooves or channels
hence the name of rife, which means relied
oil grooved gun. The object of rifed bar
rel is to give greater precision to the ball, by
communicating to it rotary motion. This
motion it receives on its passage out of the
gun, provided the ball is so crowded into the
barrel as to fill up partially or entirely tho
grooves and the more perfectly the ball fits
into the barrel, the trued its course, and the
less wndage there is: that is, the less space
there is between the bali and barrel for the
strength of the powder to escape. II is estima-
ted that when the windagc is only 1-20th Of
the calibre of the gun, one-thrd Of the powder
escapes, and of course the strength is lost.
The great object therefore to be obtained, Is
a perfect fit to the barrel by the ball, thus to
give the rotary motion, and to save the powder.
French gunsmith invented rifle which
had its breech pin project wedge shaped about
two inches into the barrel. The ball, conf
cal shaped one, was then dropped into the
barrel, and a few heavy blows by the raam-
mer, drove the wedge or pin into the the ball
so as to fill the grooves in the barrel.
The mimic ball, famous, is an i'm
provement upon all balls, inasmuch as it
makes the powder slug or spread the ball, In
stead of the rammer doing that work.
the ball is oblong with conical point. In
its base it has a conical hollow running halfor
two-thirds the length Of the ball. a cup made
of sheet iron is placed in the orilce OF this hol
low, which at the instant of firing is driyen,by
| the powder with great force into the ball, thus
spreading il open, so as in its course out. to.
perfectly slug or fill the grooved barrel. This
accomplishes the whole object; it saves time
| in ramming, it destroys wndage, thus econo-
| missing in powder, and makes the ball perfect
| " fit the barrel SO as to give the ball a com.
pletc rotary motion, and certainty of direction.
| from French officer named Minie-is mimic
ball, not mine rife. The conical shape Of
the bullet gives it greater weight of metal
than round one, affords less resistance to the
air, and greatly increases the distance it can
be thrown. This shaped ball, however, has
been used for q long time by sportsnen.
i Paris correspondent of the y. I. Tribune
some months since, was witness to expert
mcnts made by Major Mimic himself with his
ball, and saw that officer plant three balls in
succession in target the size of mans hat
al distance of threc-fourths Of mile. And
this officer said he could dc it all day long and
teach any other man to do so. It is not to be
wondered st that the Russians have horror of
the French hasseu-s and their mimic ball.
The present popularity of the rife owes its
origin to the skill of American sharp shooters,
bred and trained in our new settlements, and
who IN our Indian and other wars have shown
the efficiency of the rife ball in picking off
officers, gunners and prominent objects; but
its perfection, we imagine, has been accom-
plishcd in the hands CT the French.