The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-08-01
The Needle Gnn.

The needle gun is breech. loading rifle,
Of very simple construction. 1t mas Its
name from the fact that the powder is ignited
net BY hammer striking Gap. but by
needle psrforating the cartridge and eapiod-
ing the Illuminating material BY fricsion..
At tho breech Of the gun there is handle In
the form of knob. BY moving ttas handle
to one side, which is done by.a very simple |
and rapid motion, the breech is opened the
| cartridge is then slipped into the aperture
and the handle is returned to it's originai
| position, closing the breech. By the same
motion the needle is pressed back 80 % W
| be detained by q spiral spring. when tue
| trigger is pulled the needle darts forward
into the breeoh through small hole AZ 'ns
lower end of the barrel, and perforates suo
| ignites the Illuminating material in the car
fridge, thus exploding the powier. Inc
manual operations by which all this 10 ac-
complished are exceedingly simple and can
be performed with great rapidity. so that the
needle gun can easily be loaded and DIS
charged three or four times while common
muzzie-loading rifle 10 fred once. Inc
needle gun is verv light aud handy, can DC
relied upon at long range. and carries the
bullet with great accuracy.
The load is contained in Q single cartridge,
consisting Of ball resembling the Mlnie
ball, the printing and charge OF powder,
serted in its proper place in the gun there Is
left behind it an airchamber through which,
when the trigger is down, the needle darts
through the powder into the priming. ny
this arrangement the ignition OF the powder
takes place from in front instead of from be-
hind, and, in the air-chamber, instead OF IN
. cold cartridge as in every other gun. Inc
chemical composition of the primlng, when,
1 in connection with the air-chameer, causes
Il y. Of
, der employed than 10 obtained by any other
! gun, is the secret which is supposed to De
, known only to the Prussia government The
: effect of igniting the powder in the air-ebam-
q Der is, that the gun combines the explosive
= power of gunpowdsr with the expansive
= power of the intensely heated air. While IN
| the ordinary rifle the explosive force OF the
powder ends with the explosion, in this the
explosion is prolonged and intensified By the
J., air, so that the pressure on the ball increases
# by an ever cumulasing explosion until !,
q reaches the muzzle of the gun. 1t is claimed
D, that while the ordinary rifle, by making
Q the muzzle somewhat smaller than the
t. breech, retards the force of the ball for the
sake CT accuracy, the needle gun, by the ex'
4 pansive and cumulative force OF its explosion,
d increases IN power by reason of the formation
. of the barrel.
4 The needle gun was first introduced in the
" Prussisn army nearly ~ years ago IL W.
D. remember correctly, some battalions OF tn
Of guards had il already in lS4S. in the mrs
il Schlsswig- Holsteiu war. In lSi9, when th
to king of Prussia sent his troops into the var
p ious parts of Germany to suppress insurrec
ID ,ionary movements it was In the hands OF sev
r. eral regiments of the line In the second Schles
=, wig Holstein war iu 1868, it tested on .
j. larger scale. and now in the great battle
IL in Bohemia it has gone through Its hnai con
A. clusiv We ordeal
IN The needle gun is probably not the he's
Or breech-loading frearm in existence. One Q
ut it's disadvantages consists in the needle some
times becoming bent or otherwise injured
10 but the Prussisn soldier carries several re
20 serve needles in his pouch. and is CAREFUL
~ drilled In all the ms nipulations necessary TO
O. taking out the old needle and replacing
,e with a new one. an operation easily accom-
to plished as the whole machinery of the loo
ne is of O very simple construction.