Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-08-30
A NEW NAVY RIFLE.
Though We'll Adapted for Target Prac
tice Il Has Several Faults.

lice II Has Several Faults.
The magazine rife invented by Mr..
James p. Lee, OF this city, capable CT
terrific power and firing the smallest
bullet yet used in This country for mill
tary purposes, is to be supplied to the
navy ana marine corps in a week or
two. The rifles accuracy and power
are satisfactory, and all objections or
iginally found have been corrected, so
that the piece as a target gun is now
practically perfect. The deliveries,
which begin early in August, are the
outcome G, a contract made several
months ago, by which 10000 pieces
were to be supplied TO the navy and
marine corps Before the close OF this
year.
The gun was the selection of a board
Of ordnance officers, who tested every
piece submitted, and finally reported for
the design now being m2nufactured.Th
piece is the ligh,est OF all yet adopted,
and the veioci.ies Obtained have been
far higher than those OF the bes, Eng
iish and French guns while the flatness
of the trajectory has served 10 make
it fine target gun. It's range is three
times that Of the Remington or Win
chester, and its penetrating qualities six
times as great as those Of the best gun
heretofore used in the navy. So far no
lest Eas been made with the new rifle
to determine - &Astructive qualities,
and none probably cas ~ Tic.t. some
prisoner is caught trying to escape
from a navy yard and It becomes neces-
sary to shoot him. The medical men
are not the only people to attempt to
show that a bullet as small as that fired
from the new gun will not stop man
in action. and that. although he may
eventually die OF the wound, the
chances are not nearly so great as if he
had been hit with a 45-cal.bre bullet Of
the old type. Not only is the hole made
by the bullet very small but the terri
BILE ve,ocities generated by the gun send
the ball with such force that its path
through a human being is even and not
marked by ragged cuts. Bones, when
nit. will not be shattered, but pierced as
# bored with 4 steel instrument.
If man is struck in the head with
shot from the new rifle, the effect will
be TO cause an explosion of the head,
and this would be true Of the heart and
lungs. or any part of the human ana
tony where gas or liquid is found. The
English medical officers discovered that
men n the Matabele campaign fire.
quently had been struck several times
in vital spots with new rife bullets Of
much larger caiiber than the American
gun, and then had remained in acton
many hours before succumbing. Had
the balls been fired from any Of the
larger caliber guns, the men would
have dropped on the field instantly
The only advantages, therefore, Of
the new gun seem to be the lghtness OF
the piece, its greater accuracy, range
and facility for loading and firing rap
idly. The only way n which the de-
structive elements Of the small bullets
can be increased is said to be through
soften.ng the points Of the bullet so as
to cause them TO mushroom on impact.
The army is now experimenting with
a new cap for the Krag-Jorgensen rifle,
with a view to learning whether the
effect of the bullet can be increased
through this flattening process on en-
tering a body. The navy. probably,
WI have to change the metal of its bull
lets in order to make the guns more ef-
fective The weight OF this new piece,
with bayonet fixed, will not be more
than eight pounds, and the number Of
rounds Of ammunition each man will
carry IS increased by 80 per cent over
that supplied by the old gun. The bar