The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-11-11
American Armes de Precision-RfAe Cam
non. Mimic Rifles, and Other Modern

TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
ARTILLERY School,
FORT MONROE, Va, Oct. 2 1852 !
To-day srolled into the angle OF the fort used as gun
yard ond containing the ordnance workshops. In one
corner among old ron pieces Of broken guns SCRAPS
found heap Of queer looking slues, which discovered
be the specimens of procccs which have been picked
up the beach after having been fired from the riaed
now under trial here. They much battered,
many Of them with the coas OF lead which started
them in the world ragged and torn and other marks Of
the ihard road they've travelled" upon them In ap
pcarance they all resemble ordinary champagne bot
tie pointed sharpened the mouth cylindrical In the
body and with the cup concavily at the bottom.
Before attempting to describe them-which wish
to do for the benefit Of your readers-I had better
give idea OF the principles upon which they are
based explain the object which they propose attain
modes of attaining it, The rifle cannon, the Mimic
gum and the other precision Of the day. all depend
upon the champagne bottle shape Of their prooces
sugs than upon any popularity Of the rifles guns
their results The advantages of this peculiar shape
first to get the slug out Of the gun by tight squeeze,
as to let gas escape around the slug and thus
preserve the force Of all the vder and secondly to get
the slug through the air afterwards with little resist
possible and in as straight line. To attain the
first object squeezing through the gun barrel various
plans adopted TO stretch expand portions Of the
ng BY the ac nS 81 e or s ana 50 , make
grooves Another way TO attain the tight ut Is to insert
the slug by large back door aud force through the
small BORE SO that the soft metal must take the grooves,
as in the Armstrong and other breech loading rifles
The ring is simply cutting the thread or grooves Of
the inside Of the gum and by making the slug
through the gum this rotary motion continued through
out its flight The slug is kept by it straight on It's course
point foremost, and free from "wabbling,p all of
which is likely to result to the long and pointed
projectile slug than TO any other shape yet tried
Advantage is taken Of the slugs continuing point foremost
throughout its 1ght-for such Is the case as well when it
rises, from the momentt leaves the muzze, as when It
falls the ground at the end Of its flight; the point is
ever foremost Advantage taken Of this ex
ploson at the moment OF striking to the SHE'LL by simply
attaching percussion cap to the part which is sure to
strike FIRST and which touches nothing in the gun to pro-
duce conclusion.
Mimic proiecties slugs fired from rifles the grooves
OF which twist the right found long ranges al
ways strike to the right Of the point aimed at II the
Of the rifle twist TO the left the slug strikes to the
e 81 ne pOns y. r bv 81 a as
1t were falling upon cushion of air as moves forward;
and it rolls upon its own axes at the same time must
roll upon its cushion Of air towards the side TO which is
made to rotate by the rifles or grooves.
Your shooting readers verify this fact Of drift
aS oSs, on s hs Ws say half ms d
tant AS the revolver has a twist to the left,
the slug viii be found to strike lss to tue LEFT
right the slug will be found to strike to the right So
much for the theory Of sugs and il your readers have
followed me carefully as have the slug, they will be
able TO 60 back with TO tho pile OF old iron in the
ordnance yard and examine some Of the ragged
slugs thereof Remember they all cylinders, with
rounded or coaical points, rather ALL either solid
hollow champagne bottles sharp at the top or mouth
In testing these projecles the rst one tried with salts
has expanding but is made to 1T by coating of
soft metal swedged into bands and to correspond
to those Of the rifle from which 1t Is fred the
metal coating upon the enaclty OF which much depends,
made Of lead, mixed with small quantity Of copper In
IRON the lead here is not with the point
of the she'll upon into which point the cap placed
that when the shell strikes the lead point crushed the
iron plug in Is driven upon the cap as to explode the
SHE'LL The practice with this slug has been so far, very
precise, both with the small and large calbre.
The next in the order Of trial was simple slug of cast
iron, sugar loaf point and soft metal cup at the
base; It was fired from wrought iron eepounder,
roughly ried at this arsenal and gave remarkably &C.
curae practice. It is, for guns Of small cabre,
cess; whether the soft metal at the base will stand the
proof when applied to large cabres remains to be tried
Here may be well to remark that the principal diff
Guilty In applying the MIME proectile 70 large cannon 49,
that the same soft msal which will follow around the
but small charge Of powder behind it, is very apt to
tear straight out for the muzze when large charge is
grooves driven directly through without following
them Of the lead soft metal is peeled OIL This Is
| technically termed s'stripping."
TO explain this tendency to strip in eaden sugs fred
from rifles suppose had small lead an iron
should pull pull Straight OUT il It fitted the socket
would be apt to tear all the thread cad oil ii, It's
MIME sket rife slug stands the twist half of
the small arm when the small charge of powder is be-
hind it, when the same lead is subjected TO propeiling
charge fifty hundred times great the lead not
having increased strength proportion to the force be-
hind IT, gives way and strips; and that is what meant
when remarked concerning the coating of Sawyer's
projece, that much depends upon the tenacy Of this
slug last described Of Captain S, although has
succeeded so well in field gun Ohe slug weighed niue
pounds not stand the test Of heavier charges This
test for heavy charges is not matter of such importance
many imagine, for was proven in the campaigns Of
Napoleon III that light artillery guns, precision
of great range could be used promptly and with
against the old heavy and clumsy guns of the Austrans
In long intervals Of peace large guns and heavy proec
thing handy sought for and the huge artillery is left
a monument to show how much time, powder, iron
and patience there are to spare in times OF peace.
The two described not all which have ben tried here
DR.. Reeds proeclc slug composed entirely of iron,
with sugar loaf point and cup at the bottom as in Capt
s*s has stood the test Of large and small cabres very
WE'LL it besides possesses the merit of simplicity and
cheapness The rim Of the iron cup Is found to take the
grooves very WE'LL and Ia not SO liable strip the eal
cup Another, Sigourneys patent, is still cheaper, and
consists OF slug all cast iron and from the descriptions
resembles the French proiectie, about which much
has been written is all Of cast iron, has the pointed
top as in the first described but from the bottom Of the
slug to the base Of the loaf that is along the sides
oil the cylinder couple of langes, or wings, which
fit corresponding grooves in the gun 1t is Liable the
objection that the cast iron nges break and the deep
modification of this proecte--say wrought laugcs
and hoops the slug to be fred from nicely steel
or brass cannonInay prove unoblsstonabis
iar, Is, think, Dmmcks; it has no fangcs upon il,
but Is an expanding slug, same shape as the
second slug have described, bat composed OF iron,
with the cylindrical cup at The bottom coated with
Rabbits metal the only popularity it has Is projection
or bulge in the centre Of the cup at the bottom with
view TO direct the flames gas towards the rim of the
cup i was fired with great accuracy, especially the
| siugs OF large caibre
The above the most successful Of all the proectlcs
tried Others and some quite novel ones, expert
mcnted whh-Wheats gun, for instance, wherein, in
stead Of one chamber ard charge, there
thrcc which in at the sides after the slug has been
started by tho main charge behind IT, These charges
are 70 catch the aGe and give the slug extra kicks
| 70 urge II in its forward course.
Another is TO have egg shaped sugs, with belts of rub
Der around their waists to make them take the grooves
Slll another plan is to have separate cup OF soft metal
the slug having bcyelci and rdged bottom Is expected
TO tit and sic loosely in this when loaded but the III
become tight and fixed when the charge drives the
cup upon the slug so as to make II take the grooves.
These two last mentioned slugs with gcvera others,
yet untfied and some OF them may prove best OF any.
Besides the rled cannon, which make some noise,
queter and very useful Improvement Is being tested hero
now In gun carriages for heavy The old clumsy
wood carriages will doubtless all both in the army and
navy be superseded BIZ the wrought iron carriage which