Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1890-09-18
THE MAGAZINE RIFLE.
A New Small Arm Imminent for the Use
Of Our Troops.

The European systsms are 0ooi-Wfea the
Springfield il Discarded What Rife Will
Then Take Its p.acs!-1t Will be . Small
Bore.
The United States is on its way to
the adoption OF a magazine rife. the
recent decision to alter the calibre OF
the Springfield rifle being the first step
| in that direction. We are the last ma
J ton to give up the one single-loader.
In fact we have not yet given it up. as
the present change goes no further
than the adapting of our venerable
arm to the powder and cartridge OF the
present day. 1t may be taken for
granted, however, that a small bore
Springfield throwing steel-coated
bullet from a smokeless powder car
fridge will be and is intended to be-
only an arm of transition. We must
ultimately adopt small arm similar
to those now being prepared for and
served out to the European armies.
Except in Russia, where for some
non. apparent and probably political
reason the Berdan rifle has been
regarded as sufficient and where
the conservative objections in favor OF
the old single-loader have been allow
ed full force, there is no longer the
slightest doubt in Europe as to the
superiority OF the magazine rifle. All
that the friends of the Springfield rifle
have urged in its behalf has already
been threshed over before the military
committees and commissions OF the
great powers. especially OF England,
and the unanswerable argument still
stands that the advantage on the side
of the new weapon is that it enables
sudden shower of bullets to be poured
in at the moment when intensity OF
fire will determine the victory. In
short, the common csnsent OF the war
making nations is that the small arm
must be reduced in calibre and equip
ped with magazine. The reduction
of calibre is late discovery. The
development OF the magazine has been
going on ever since the establish menl
O tho breech- loading principle.
The nearly universal change
calibre is in great part due to the ex-
periments of Hebler the German ar
tillerist whose famous pamphlet of 1886
was a convincing argument in favor Of
the small libre arm. He claimed for
it the advantages of lighter ammuni-
ton, latter trajectory and greater
dangerous space, less recOil and less
deviation by wind, greater penetration
and greater accuracy. and more HUI
, name wound. With the bringing OF
the smokeless powders to practical eff
cheney, the service cartridge OF Europe
,, has become a remarkable engine oil
destruction. The Austrian soldier car
ries 95 rounds OF ammunition where
, one OF ours has only 60. and If he aims
at an enemy 500 yards away. unles:
+ the enemy stands perfectly still. the
Austrian has a better chance of hitting
the man by a drop over several yards
in the bullets flight. The range OF thu
old and now weapons is out OF all pro
portion, the latest German rife. having
u range OF 5000 yards and being actu
ally sighted up to 1000. The Lebe
rife has penetrated fifteen inches o
oak at 22O yards. The new German
rifle has penetrated eighteen inches 0
dry deal ut 40. Though the bullet
are smaller. the great muzzle velocit.
impaired by the new powders enable
them to strike an even harder blow
than the older and heavier bullets
effectually stopping both infantry ant
cavalry, and this is so over all tn
ranges up TO the very longest, wher
in some cases retardatiOn of figh
. will be the effect Of volley from tn
new rifles, when it is considered tina
: their point blank range runs from 20
- to 2SO yards. that one bullet will pene
trate several men, and that there wi
No be no smoke to hide an advancin
r. enemy. When aimed low the mag'
q zine rifles ought to be rs effective {
p close quarters as the machine gun
lie In the future even stout trees will
NO protection. and since the ne
0, German rife will at a quarter OF
% mile penetrate loose sand to depth I
y twenty inches, and at half mile
fourteen inches, the breast and cart
;, work regulations will have to
u greatly changed. Indeed. since Pr
lessor HELLER first began his expe
=. iments the most extraordinary result
n. have been attained from the adoptic
ne OF his system and from the emplo
t. ment of powders based upon 81
cotton and nitrates. But Hebler's co
hs tention that the wounds caused
n the small and conical bullets We
50 more humane has not been borne OF
I" The experience of the English in Il
Transvaal war, in which the Doe