The morning times., 1896-08-23
A NEW NAVY RIFLE.
Though Well Adapted for Target
Practice 1t Has Several Faults.
HnItfuIH Times


The magazine rifle invented by Mr.. James
p. Lee OF this city, capable of terrific
power and firing the smallest bullet yet
used in this country for military purposes,
is To be supplied to the navy and marine
corps in a week or two. The rifles ac-
curacy and power are satisfactory, and all
objections originally found have been cor
rected, SO that the piece as a target gun
is now practically perfect. The deliver
les. which begin early in August, are the
outcome of a contract made several months
ago, by which 10000 pieces were to be
supplied TO the navy and marine corps be-
fore the close of this year.
The gun was the selection of q board of
ordnance officers, who tested every piece
submitted, and finally reported for the
design now being manufactured. The
piece Is the lightest of all yet adopted, and
the yciocities obtained have been far
higher than those Of the best English and
French guns, While the flatncss of the
trajectory has served to make IL a fine
target gun.r Its range,is three times that
OF the Remington or Winchester, and its
penetrating qualities six times as great
as those OF the. best gun heretofore used
in the navy. So far no test has been made
with the new rifle to determine its destruc-
tive qualities. an dnone probably can bc un.
til some prisoner is caught trying to escape
from a navy yard aud ii becomes neces-
sary to shoot him. The medical men are
not the only people to attempt to show that
n bullet as small as that red from the new
gun will not stop Il man in action, and that,
although he may eventually die of the
wound 10 cha noes are not up1rly So rraut
as if he had been hit with 40 -caliber bull
let of the old type. Not only is the hole
made by the bullet very small, but the ter
rible velocities generated by the gun send
the bah with such force that its path
through a human being is even and not
marked by ragged cuts. Bones, when hit,
will not be shattered, but pierced as if
bored with a steel instrument.
If a 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
anatomy where gas or. liquid is found.
The English medical officers discovered
that men in the Matabele campaign IRE
quentiy had been struck several times
in vital spots with new rifle bullets Of
tnan Tile
gun, and then had remained in action
many hours before succumblng. Had the
balls been fired from any of the larger
caliber guns. the men would have dropped
Oh the field instantly.
The only advantages, therefore, Of the
new gun Seem to be the Iightness of the
piece, its greater accuracy, range and
facility for loading and firing rapidly.
The only way in which the destructive
elements of the small bullets can ne in
creased. is said to be through softening
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 view to learning whether the
effect OF the bullet can be increased
through this flattening process on entering
body. The navy, probably, will have to
change the metal Of its bullets in order to
make the guns more effective The weight
of this new piece, with bayonet fixed, will Z
not he more than eight pounds, and the
number OF rounds of ammunition each man
will carry is increased by 90 per cent over
that supplied by the old gun. The barrel
is short and of nickel and steel combined
No gun in the armies of Europe is superior
to the navy gun for accuracy and pene-
trating qualities.