The morning call., 1892-01-31
MAGAZINE RIFLES
CAREFULLY TESTED.
The United States EIdGaT0rilg to Get
the Very Best.
The Army to Be Equipped With It Home and
Foreign Make Treated Alike Conditions
Observed at Springfield

The meeting OF the National Magazine
Board here to-day was for the sole purpose
Of testing the guns of different patterns and
to subsequently advise the War Depart
ment as to the result of the examination,
says the Boston Daily Globe
Colonel r. II. Hall Of the Sixth United
States Infantry will act as Chairman at this
session. His associates on tie board are
Major James w. Riley, Ordnance Depart
ment; Major Henry B. Freeman of the
Sixteenth Infantry; CAPTAIN Stanhope E.
Blount, Recorder of the Ordnance Depart
ment, and Captain George S. Anderson of
the Sixth United States Cavalry. The place
of Major George w. Mckee, who died re-
Gently, is filed by Major James W. Riley,
while Colonel Hall succeeds General Kuntz
since the latter's retirement.
The first gun examined was the Berthier,
made by the Hotchkss Company, whose
principal works are in France, near the city
of Paris.
The gun is of simple construction, par
ticularly the repeating mechanism. When
desired i; can be used as a single-fre breech-
loader. The cartridges are fed by a spring
and dropped one at time into the breech
with perfect ease. Three different kinds of
DtltIitl guns MCA6 al VIC Inspection Oh the
board.
THE PARTICULAR ELEMENT CLAIMED
For the guns is that its mechanism will not
get out Of order, and that it has Tapdity
Of about twenty shots a minute.
This afternoon the board devoted its
time to the magazine gun made by the
Pitcher Arms Company Of Wisconsin The
gun passed through some Of the tests quite
satisfactorily.
When an inventor or his representative
comes before the beard to exhibit a gun, he
is required to show its action and fire a test
of ten rounds. The weapon is then taken
by the board and further trials conducted.
The first of the regular tests is rapidity
with accuracy over a range OF 100 feet. The
condition Of accuracy is only so far intro
duced as TO require the performer to level
the weapon to his shoulder after loading.
The test is in three parts The first test
requires the use of twenty cartridges. The
magazine having been filled with all the
cartridges it would hold. the balance Of the
twenty are fred from the gun as a single
loader Then the magazine IS brought into
action and its cartridges discharged. Both
the time and the number Of hits" are
entered on record.
The second part of the test is the rapidity
of firing fOI two minutes as a single loader
Tie third part is the rapldity of fire; that
is to say, the number of shots for two min
utes as a magazine arm only. The second
Is for rapidity at will Without aim the
arm is lied from the hip at stop butt at
short range.
The state Of the breech mechanism will
be examined at the end of every fifty rounds.
The test Of 100 rounds as 81 gle loader Will
follow. The magazine must be kept loaded
during the firing and examined Al the con-
clusiOn. The effect upon the cartridges Is
thus held in reserve.
The gun Is fixed upon a rest in the eudur-
ance test to relieve the mauipualor of tie
burden. I5e hreeCh action, however, is
operated by the expert, and
PARTICULAR ATTENTION PAID
The ease of movement. AT the end Of every
fifty shots the gun is removed from Is rest
and the barrel cooled 10y running stream
OF water through the bore.
The dust test follows, ard is intended to
subject the piece 10 the same busting IL
would receive if carried by a soldier in
march across the dusty deserts Of Arizona.
A fter this test the gun is carefully wiped
with the bare hand. 1t is also blown into.
as a soldier would, to clear the gun Of
smoke.
The piece is then fred twenty shots.
This test is repeated the magazine being
charged before exposing the gun 10 the
dust. The cartridges and gun are wiped
as before, the latter reloaded and fired
| twenty ROUNDS. MS le CUuSlutItu st.
we're trial by Inventors. Sometimes the
action is completely clOgged. In that event
the arm is dlsmOunted at leisure, although
it only temporarily disables the gun.
Defective cartridges, excessive charges
and ease Of manipulation are the three
tests that Immediately precede the rust test.
This test is intended to produce artihciaIly
the condition to which a gun might be sub
jectcd that had been careiesSly left outside
a soldiers tent during an all-night rain.
The breech mechanism receiver and mag
azlne must be cleaused of grease, and the
chamber of the barrel creased and plugged.
The breech action must also be closed. The
butt of the gun Will then be inserted to the
height of the chamber 10 a solution OF sal
ammouac Tor ten minutes. Exposure for
two days TO the open air is then required,
when the arm Will be taken from It's rack
and fired twenty rounds.
Loading the magazine and holding it in
reserve until the remainder OF the cartridges
have been fired, and using the gun As sin
gle loader then firing those in the magazine,
concludes this test.
The liability 10 accidental explosion Of
cartridges IN tubular magazines Will be
tested by first
CHARGING THE MAGAZINE
| And then giving the weapon a vertical JOLT
| ing motion for two minutes. This must be
repeated with the magazine but half loaded.
| The comparative ease and relative time re-
! QulTcu III ulSuUunliuR anu assembling III
| breech and magazine systems OF the differ
| ent guns will be determined
| The foreign guns that have been and are
| to be tested are the Lee-Speed of England
| and Krag Jorgensen of Denmark, the Mann
| licher of Austria, Kropatchek OF Portu-
! gal, Mauser Of Belgium, model IS of Ger
| many, Murata OF Japan and the Schmidt
| gun of Switzerland
The Lee Speed gun of England was
| adopted experimentaly by that country and
| issued 20 troops. The board tested the pat
| tern known as mark /, and a second model
| known as mark IL is now being prepared by
| the military authorities. The gun is Of
| 0303 caliber, and weighs, without bayOnet,
magazine empty, nine pounds six ounces.
! The barrel has a short wooden hand-guard.
! The bullet has a nickel jacket and weighs
! 2l4 grains. The charge in the cartridges
used by the board was SO grains compressed
! black powder, the muZZle velocity being
| 1882 feet. The magazine is semi-detachable,
Of sheet metal, secured to the guaTd-plate
| by a chain,
| 1t holds eight cartridges and has cutoff.
| The magazine can only be filed with single
cartridges 1t has no jacket. This qua has
| 9S against 60 parts for the Berthier rifle.
hae hnop of oil N