The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-17

on the performance at Indian Head of
a novel American rapid firearm-the
Browning automatic gun. The report
gives the following summary of some
of the experiments:
One hundred rounds fired deliberately,
no Interruptions. One hundred rounds
fired rapidly. no Interruptions. Twenty
rounds were then discharged in four
| seconds, 40 rounds in seven seconds,
so rounds in IA seconds, and 100 rounds
in % seconds The gun worked salts
factoriiy throughout, the automatic
gear operating smoothly and with pre-
cision, except twice. when there were
brief stops in the firing. Then follow
ed the discharge of 200 rounds in "a
seconds, and 400 rounds in one minute
and 40 seconds. In the latter test there
were few Interruptions. but none of
such consequence as materially to de-
crease the rain of lead In each case
of a checkage it was only necessary to
pull the trigger with the finger to
again start the automatic action. Elk
periments were made with dummy
cartridges mixed with service shells,
with the muzzle of the gun at extreme
elevation and extreme depression, with
the barrel changing continually in train
and elevation. With but trif1ing delays
the mechanism worked evenly and
speedily. With the barrel revolving.
200 rounds were fired in AZ seconds. The
concluding experiments were conduct
ed to test the endurance of the gun
and to determine how many shots
could be fired in eight seconds. Again
defective ammunition prevented the
development of the best results. Still
1,053 cartridges were exploded, one be-
ing a misfire.
Two ranges were fired over. 500 and
1000 yards respectively. The tempera-
ture developed in the gun was high,
but no serious accidents occurred.
Accompanying the trial boards re-
port is description of the Browning
gun, which shows it to consist of
single barrel of 236 caliber attached to
a breech casing, in which the mechan-
ism for charging, firing and ejecting
is contained. The gun is usually
mounted on support, to which it is
attached by a horizontal pivot that
may be readily elevated or depressed.
The support is provided with a vertical
pivot, which fits in the socket of a
light gun carriage or of tripod, or in
the sockets provided on the rail for
mastheads of vessels. in which the gun
can be turned in any direction. The
cartridges are automatically fed to the
gun by means of belts, which are coiled
in boxes readily attached to the breech
casing, and, moving with the latter,
the supply of ammunition is not dis
trihuted by the vertical or horizontal
movements of the gun. The boxes
contain 100, $50 and 500 cartridges each
The dimensions and weight of the gun
are such that it may be transported
and shifted with the greatest ease. The
gun weighs 40 pounds, the tripod and
mount 20 pounds. The automatic
action of the gun is effected by means
of the pressure Of the powder gases in
the barrel after the projectile has re-
ceived its maximum velocity, and,
therefore, without decreasing the range
or penetration of the latter.
Mr. Browning was born in Ogden,
Utah, January %, 1855, being one of a
family of ten sons. His father was en-
gagged in the manufacture and repair of
fire arms before coming to this terri
tory, so John seems to have inherited
his love for and knowledge of the gun.
He always liked a gun and even as a
boy spent much time and thought in
trying to improve the eastern models
that came into his hands. He early
started out to repair guns and thus
gained that familiarity with their
mechanism which has fitted him for
his subsequent triumphs. He states
that no man gets an idea at first that
amounts to much. and that it is only
by the most persistent efforts that an !
invention is perfected. He had many |
ideas which he was compelled to
abandon because they were impractical
BILE His successful inventions have |
been numerous yet his failures before /
achieving the end sought for have /
been almost innumerable. He AYERS
that his measures of success is due to /
his tireless perseverance.
His first patent was a single-shot !
breech loading rifle, being an improve I
ment over models then in use because (
of it's greater simplicity, rapidity Of
action and its more graceful appear /
ance and because it was the first sue I
cessful application of the princi-
pie of cooking the gun to |
a single shooter The patent was