The Portland daily press., 1895-09-21

AMMUNITION FOR THIRTY CAL1BE
the action of tho United States govern
ment in discarding the old rifle SO long
used in the army, and adopting an en-
tirely new arm, known as the United
States magazine rife and carbine, in
wolves radical change in tactics, as the
more rapid firing of the magazine gun
would involve a destruction amounting
almost to annihiation of the old forma-
tions were to be maintained, supposing
the enemy to be equally well armed.
The diameter of the bullet is much
smaller and the rapidity of firing far
greater in the new gun than in the old /;
and tactics or movements of troops on the
battlefield are always dependent on the
armament of the period. The Persian
hordes, the Greek phalanxes and the
Roman 1egions, armed with swords,
spears and shields, fought in heavy, lm7
mobile masses many ranks deep, because
the weapon used against them could not
well penetrate beyond the first line OF
soldiers The invention of gun-powder
and the introduction of firearms i'll the
shape of the matchbox were followed by
the fiint-and- steel lock musket, the per-
cussion cap, the smooth bore, the muzzle-
loading rifle, the breech-loading rifle and
finally the magazine rifle of to-day.
And every step in the improvement OF
the arm has been attended with changes
in the tactics, or field formations OF the
armies. AS the weapons became more de-
structiye. troops were handled in less and
less compact masses, until today the line
of battle is little more than succession OF
ski1misb lines.
Just before the war of the rebellion the
smooth-bore musket which had held sway
for several centuries, was replaced ny
the muzzle- loading rifle. Some special
troops were armed with breech-loadlng,
or even with tho magazine gun OF the
Spencer, Henry or Winchester type. But
the great mass was supplied with the SIN
gle-hring that must be loaded at the muz-
gle. After the war the United States
adopted for its army the Springfield
breech- loading rifle, working on the block
principle. ...e :.
Captain John r.. Thompson, chief OF
ordnance for the department. OF the MIS-
souri, has given to the Chicago Tribune
full description of both improved weapons
and the altered tactics which are a
natural resultant.
SIN the Springfield gum" he said, the
weight of the bullet and its caliber were
reduced, and the charge remained the
same, giving the bullet "a higher velocity,
with greater accuracy and penetration.
This excellent gun was replaced in 1892
by the United States magazine rifle, with
which the infantry of the army is now
supplied, and which the cavalry will also
have in the shape of carbines in very
short time.
1.-THE magazine rifle of to-day is essen.
TALLY d-fring gun, giving its posses
sor the advantage of intensity of firing at
the critical moments during battle. A
number of radical changes followed the
introduction of the breech- loading rifle.
All military men recognized that there
would be greatly increased expenditure
of ammunition in its use. Consequently,
to furnish the soldier with more cartridg
es and not yet increase his already heavy
load, the diane ter of the bullet and con
sequently the caliber of the rifle had to be
reduced.
"When the bore of the rife was reduced
the fouling soon became SO great that II
interfered with the accuracy of aim; sc
resort was had to nitrate powder, IL
IF II
chiefly gaseous, with little unconsumeo
residue and little smoke. The powder
pressure in the cha m Der ranges fom Tour
teen to fifteen tons to the square inch.
The muzzle velocity was increased from
l.. 400 to 2, 600 feet per second. The callbel
ranges from 23-100 inch, as in the new
navy rifle, to 3O-1OO inch for the new
army magazine gun.
"To maintain accuracy, the twist OF the
rifle was increased to about one turn IN
eight or ten inches, as compared With one
turn in eighteen to twenty inches in the
rifle Of few years ago. 1t was sooi
found that lead bullets fired with sucf
velocity from these barrels would strll
and override the rif1ing; so that a haroel
surface bullet, retaining the high density
of the lead to meet the air resistance
became necessary. And the modern bull
let consists of a lead slug jacketed with
thin covering of steel, copper, nickel OF
German silver The new powder, IL
greatly reduced changes. and this buiie'
have been combined in the modern bot
tle-shaped metallic cartridge