Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-12-11
MARVELLOUS WEAPON.
ARMY AND NAVY TO HAVE A GUN
THAT FIRES ITSELF.
Rifle Bullets at the
for 1000 Yards-Gun weighs 40
Pounds and Is Fired From u
Tripod Provided with q Pivot.


Tripod Provided With q Pivot.
New York Journal.
The Navy Department at Washing
ton has just ordered so of the most
remarkable guns in the world. Each
of them is able to discharge 400 rifle
bullets minute and continues at
that rate until the marksman wants
to stop. More than that, it fires itself,
only requiring to be aimed. 1t is the
Colt Automatic gun.
This wonderful gun weighs only 40
pounds. 1t is a magazine rifle, with
one barrel, the caliber of which is the
same as that of the improved rifle
newly adopted by the navy, a little
less than a quarter of an inch. This
means that the bullet, which is of
lead, with steel jacket, is much less
in diameter than an ordinary lead
pencil. The bullet is about an inch
long, almost cyclindrical in shape,
tapering somewhat and rounded at
the front end. The gun discharges
seven of these projectiles each second,
and they leave the muzzle of the
weapon with velocity of nearly half
mile a second
The rapidity of discharge is so tre-
mendOus that there seems to be con-
tinuous stream of bullets flying from
the muzzle of the gun. So great is
their velocity, however, that there is
actually an interval of 800 feet be-
tween each two.
Cartridges are fed to the weapon au-
tomatically by feed belts which are
coiled in boxes and readily attachable
to the breech. The boxes hold from
100 to 500 cartridges. All the marks
man has to do is to pull the trigger
once and the gun goes on firing otits
own accord as long as the cartridges
are supplied. In short, the instru-
ment is repeating rifle, with an in
exhaustible magazine and rapidity
of fire that is almost inconceivable.
1t uses the same bullets as the new
navy rifle, and they are discharged
with the same velocity, but the dis
charge is automatic, the firing mech
anism being operated by powder gas.
The weapon may be carried COM
fortably in "boot" at the side OF q
troopers horse. Ordinarily on land iG
is designed to be mounted for action
upon a light tripod. 1t is provided
with pivot, set into socket on the
tripod or into similar socket on the
rail of vessel. All the ships of the
navy will soon be provided with these
guns.
One of these weapons at a distance
of a mile might NOW down an entire
regiment within two minutes, 80 that
hardly man would be left unwound-
ed. The Colt gun is sighted ordinar-
lily for 1900 yards, which is little
over mile, but it is effective at twice
that distance. However, it is not
practicable to fire at individuals be-
yond 1000 yOrds.
The marksman uses both his hands
in aiming the gun, whether it is set
on tripod or on the rail of a vessel.
It responds SO readily to adjustment
that he is able to write his name with
bullets upon good sized target and
to do it with considerable rapidity.
If the weapon is mounted ON tri-
pod, he seats himself on saddle that
looks like a bicycle saddle attached to
the leg of the tripod, which projects
toward the rear. The saddle is SO ad-
iusted that his eye is brought directly
in line with the sight of the weapon.
the trigger once, he simply
holds it back as long as he desires the
the gun to keep on firing, varying the
aim just as q person directing garden
hose would do.
The United States army is also 60
ing to have guns of the Colt type.
The war department has ordered
trial of them.
Guns of this pattern are compara-
lively cheap. They can be made in
quantities for selling price of about
1900. The cartridges cost only $25
per ,OOO-24 cents each.