The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-08-22
REGULAR ARMY SHOOT OFF
The Rear Sight Of the New Rife
Is Defective.
For Two Years the Soldier Boys
Have Been Trying to Hit tho
Target Without Success
.--No Wind Guage.

Chicago, Aug. 17.-Fort Sheridan will SEQ
no army rifle competition this summer.
The shoot Of the department Of the Mis-.
souri,, which, like the greater army event.
usually takes place yearly, has also been
declared off.
The krag-Jorgensen rifle is at fault. 1t
has been discovered, after two years of
| trial, that the rear sight of this weapon
has been improperl. adjusted on all rifles
| Of the Infantry and the arbines of the cav
airy. AS a result, all those officers and en-
listed men who have been Looking forward
to a months outing before this Fort Sher.-
dan butts, will be soreiy disappointed.
The trouble with the sight is such that II
a good shot aims accurately at the right
hand of a lay figure he stands a good
chance of having his bullet nip n p.sce out
Of the left ear of the dummy. In other
words, II one of the army sharpshooters
who could hold the Old Springfield true to
the bul's-eye forty-nine times out of fifty,
now draws a bead on the target center.
and holds his weapon as though it We're i'll
a wise, he might be lucky IL he scores a
three somewhere in the upper right
land corner.
The rear sight has no wind gauge, and
unless there is II dead calm. every shot
that is fired from this army magazine gun
Is simply so much guess work.
AS a probable result of this wrong adj
iustment of one part Of the repeating rifle
the government will be put to the expense
of having come 1900 eapon sent back to
the arsenals to have new sights made and
attached. II the line officers have their
way not only VIII the sights be made &C.
curate. but a WING gauge. like that GA tho
old single fire gun, will be provided.
With the present weapon 1t Is declared
to be an actual fact that, when there lie Q
breeze blowing the man before the butts
does not see through the sights the object
at which he Is firing. Such crack shots as
Lieutenant Foster OF the infantry. Lieu
tenant Heard of the cavalry, and Ser
geant O'Rourke. the best rifle shot of them
all. say that when shooting becomes mere
ly a matter Of chance the lucky recruit Is
on a level with the man who has worn
sharpshooters' badges for ten years.
1t was the ordnance board which was re-
sponsible for the adoption Of the Krag-Jor-
gensen, with the a~ppendage of q rear sight
which could not be moved to the right or to
the left to allow for draughts OF air. AS
soon as the weapons were turned over to
the l.ne-the cavalry and the nfantry-the
line officers complained that the staff board
had given them a Weapon, excellent in ull
aspects. save that one could not hit any
thing with it. 1t was admitted by every
NM go NAN - AbAS 1890 go AAAS ~
improved upon by anything at present
known, save in this one matter of the rear
sight.
The cavalry carb:ne has the same fault
that attaches to the Long Tom Of the In
fantry, and the changes which 1t will be
necessary to make must apply to both
weapons alike.
Officers of the line at the time of the finaI
adoption of the rife called attention to the
need Of a wind gauge. The answer Of tho
ordnance board was that in battle the SOL
dier fired at a line of men which stretched
to the right and left before him and, as
general results only were necessary. q
wind gauge would be of no use. Nearly all
the fighting of the future 1t is asserted. in
reply, viii be in open order n accuracy
of sighting will be one of the essentials to
success. 1t is possible. with the sight In its
present condition, that a sk!rmisher firing
at an individual Of the enemy might hit
another far to his right or left, but he
would not do 1t often enough to realize the
losses IL the men on the other side had a
sight attachment to counteract the effect
OF the wind.
Just why 1t was that the defect of the
rifles sight which causes 1t to carry to the.
right and above the mark when fired point
blank and In a calm. was not discovered
when the tests were made, 1t Is hard now
to determine.
THE rifle is really in an experimental
STAGE" said Lieutenant Hale, but that
the rear sight is faulty has been deter
mined beyond doubt. Whatever may be
SAID about the usefulness of q wind gauge
in actual warfare the fact remains that,
when a soldier wants to hit one specific
object, he must. II there is a wind blowing.
aim at something else. This Is hardly sat.
isfactory either from the standpoint of
sport or Of utility"