The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-10
Progress Made In the Development
or Small Arms In Recent
Years.
Four Glasses, Divided According
to tho Position Of the
Magazine.
The Deadly Mnnnliehar, Used BY the Con
gressionalists IN tho Late Wa
in Chill.

magazine guns. IA6 Unlt6u Sbhtos ~ 6t!la
content to use an obsolete single loader.
The prejudice against the use OF improved
weapons has existed ever since men began
usine implements Of defense and ofense.
The English bowmen struggled o~bstinately
against being forced to carry brutal mus
kets; the French soldiers declined to use
breech-loaders in the Napoleonic wars, n
In the war with Mexico the Americans
chung to their old-fashioned flint locks, and
the same resistance has been made to the
utilizing OF magazine meohanisms on the
rifle.
But in the recent unpleasontness down in
Chilli the wonderful effectiveness OF mhga-
zine rifles was completely demonstrated
The congresaionalists, armed with the Aus
trian Mannlicher, mowed down Balmace-
da's troops before the latter could get near
enough to dc any effective shootingo on their
own account. Tn rapidity with which the
Mannlicher can be discharged and reloaded
made the fire Of the rebels deadly in the ex-
treme.
A magazine gun is one having a single
firing chamber, into which, from an at
tached magazine, several cartridges are
SUCCESSFULLY loaded, and from which, after
firing, the empty cartridge cases are ex-
tracted by the action of the breech mechan-
ism.
Magazine rifles may be divided into four
Glasses. saws the San Francisco Examiner.
according to the position of the magazine
the under barrel tubular, butt-stock
tubular, un~der-breech box and over-breech
box.
The tubular is the earlier, and the box
the later development in the manner OF
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The great advantage in having the maya
zine directly under the breech Is that when
a cartridge is fred the balance of the
weapon is not disturbed. In rifles where
the magazine is under the barrel, as the
bullets are emptied the tendency of the
muzzle ia to fly up, thus spelling the aim.
Besides the magazine is awkward to re-
charge, and altogether the weapon is de-
cidedly clumsy. Still il has been the ia
vored form. 1t was adopted twenty years
ago by Switzerland and by France, Turkey,
Austria, Italy, Norway and several other
countries for their navies or cavalry.
The butt-stock tubular has never been
popular since the days of the old Spen-
cor rifle, first used during the rebellion.
The Hotchkiss rifle has a magazine of that
sort.
In tho box magazines the cartridges are
free from the dangerous shocks to which
they are liable in the springfield tubulars.
Another advantage is that the cartridges
only have to travel the distance of their
diameter to reach the firing chamber, in
Tho box system is becoming the most pop
ular, rs is evidenced from its adoption by
Austria, Germany, England and other
countries.
The general interest taken by European
countries in magazine arms, and the efforts
to procure a really good weapon, dates
from the adoption by the German. army
four or five years ago of the original Maui
ser rifle. Then France had to arm her SOL
diers with a gun just as good, and the
famous Lebel gun was devised. Both were
under barrel tubular weapons. but tho
Lebel was better than the Mauser, because
its inventors had reduced the caliber and
devoted a good deal of attention
to the cartridge. Prof. HELLER had
just previous to the adoption of
the Iebel rifle made some ex-
periments that established the superiority
Of weapons of small caliber. By shooting
at animals HELLER showed that wounds
paused by bullets of small caliber wore
equally as effective in disabling, men as
those Of larger diameter. The small caliber
let's make a clean hole, while others make q
ragged splintered wound, so that, even If
vital spots are not struck the wound re-
mains serious for years. 1t is moro advan-
tageous to wound than to kill. A dead man
requires burial only; a wounded man needs
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al expense to. the state and can render no
service for a long time.
After France and Germany had adopted
magazine guns an Austrian civil engineer
invented the weapon that benrs his name.
The Mannlicher was a great advance over
all other arms, because it WAS the first
weapon to be made with a box magazine
and on account of the facilities in loading.
The magazine will hold five cartridges.
which are contained in what is known as a
''clip,' or magazine from below, and is re-
tanned by two bent rocking levers, which
enter from the rear and below, to operate
as a carrier for the cartridges and success
fully feed them into the receiver space to
be discharged. The breech bolt, moving
backward and forward, operates the levers
and also extracts the empty shells, which il
pitches to one side.
Tho tin magazine case, or clip, weighs
about the same as q bullet, and costs not
quite two cents. When all the bullets II
contains are fired the clip is thrown away
md a fresh one inserted. All the ammuni-
tion is carried packed in clips, and two
clips are wrapped together in paper to avoid
injury during transportation.
The weapon itself weighs nine pounds
eight md a half ounces, and has a caliber
of O.3l5 inch.
England has adopted small bore-0.3O
inch caliber-moditied Leo magazine rifle
to take the place of the dearly loved Mar
tint Henry guns. with their brutal recoil.
The smaller the caliber of a rifle the flat
ter will be the trajectory; that is, the bnllet
will travel on q more strai0ht line. This
increases this range space" 10 illustrate
take the Mauser-Heb cartridges. II botl
guns ure properly sighted and properly
aimed at the belt-plate of u man supposed
to be 600 meters away the Mauser bullet
would 90 over his head or fall short If ht
were % meters nearer or further away
thai the supposed range. The HELLER bull.
let would hit him if he were within A.
meters of the supposed distance in the line
of fire. #
1t was soon found that the rate of speed
given by the amall-cnlihered guns was toe
high for the lead bullets. They would not
keep the riHing, and would lead the BORE
when the twist was made as sharp as wal
necessary, 40 it became incumbent to in
olose them in envelopes OF some harder ma
terial. In England and France ferro.
nickel and nickel are used. In Switzerlanc
and Denmark copper, and in Austria anG
Germany steel is employed. Inc last
named material seems to be the best, but i
must be covered with an outside coating t.
prevent its ruHting.
Inventors have found IL difficult to pro
cure a satisfactory powder for modern
small bore cartridges. II is hard to Obtain
a powder that will give the bullet the re
quired velocity without making the pressur,
in the chamber too great. Ruben in Swift
zerland got very fair results with com.
pressed powder, and England and Austrit
are now using It.. The Chilean rebels also
amrloyel IL. Franca mazda uas NJ Rr,n oars