The San Francisco call., 1896-12-20
NEW ARMY RIFLES.
Experiments Being Made With a Mus
rooming Bullet.

Experiments Being Made With Mush-
rOoming Bullet.
Attention is drawn by General Flagler,
q. S, A., chief of ordnance in his annual
report, to the questions that have arisen
regarding the stopping power" of the
small-cal iber bullet used in the new army
rifle. The iorce of the bullet, is admitted
TO be rritic and the accuracy of the new
gun admirable, but the size of the bullet
is claimed to be too small to do as danger
Gus work as the old 45-caliber bullet. The
velocities obtained by the new army and
navy pieces with the smokeless powder
now used are so high that when bullet
hits man it makes a clean. round hole
and does slight injury in many instances
unless some vital part is struck. Bones
are pierced as though drilled by a gimlet
whereas severe fractures would follow
from bullet OF the old caliber.
The medical men having demonstrated
that small bullet, no matter with what
velocity driven, would not be so effective
as one larger, the army experts have re-
Gently turned their attention to devising
some means by which the bullet will cut a
more ragged wound and thus cause more
serious injury. General Flagler has been
considering proposition to ad opt a soft
8
spread out wnen it struck an animal lie
object and thus inflict more dangerous
wound than the arder bullet of the sa me
caIiber and weight. Recently expert
ments have been conducted with this
bullet at the Franklord Arsenal, but the
results were not as satisfactory as ex-
pected, and unless some improvements
are made in the bullet the army will re-
tain the resent hard one for its rife.
Tne experiments proved that the mush-
rooming effect of the soft-nose bullet is
offset by the so-called explosive effect of
the hard pointed bullet at short ranges.
The soft-nose bullet was inferior in accu-
racy and especially inferior in its ability
to penetrate hard substances used for de-
fensive purposes, making it useless to
reach troops. under cover that would :
dislodged by the present bullet. As re-
suit of the experiments the War Depart
ment will probably retain the present
hard bullet and depend upon its putting
men out of action ii it does not kill them
outright.
About 1900 magazine rifles have been
made for the army and 5000 carbines for
the cavalry, exclusive of 404 cadet rifles
The daily output of the Springfield
armory is now 120 r.fes or carbines. and
ment in the proportion or five carbines to
one rifle the shops will be run on carbines
alone during two months in each fiscal
year. The shops, however, are capable
of an output of 200 rifles to-day, and in all
emergency from 800 to $50 rifles could be
delivered to the army every day in Il
week. The army having recently been
completely furnished. both cavalry ane
infantry, with new small arm, reserve
supply Of guns is now being made. The
navy is receiving its allotment OF The new
rife at the rat. of 100 dav, the first de-
liveries being sent to the new cruiser
Brooklyn and the monitor Puritan, which
goes in commission this month al
Brooklyn.
General Flagler calls attention to the
value of the Crozier s10-iEch wire gun.
which has been completed and tested
lately. This gun was turned over to the