Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-06-10
THE MAUSER AND THE GRAS.
Something About the Rifles tsed by
the Turks and the Greeks.

the Turks and the Greeks.
The following account is given by the
Pall-Man Gazette OF the small arms en-
Moved by the hostile armies in Thessaiy:
In the year 1857 the Porte gave an order
for 100000 Mauser rifles Of the new model
issued that same year with a bore OF 81.
This is a bolt gun. with steel barrel, con-
tanning four circular grooves; the tWist'
one turn i'm % inches-rlght -handed tWlst.
TO the barrel is screwed the BODY or shoe
i'm which the bolt moves, cut down IN
front on the right side for the purpose
of facilitating the loading and extraction,
and 10 receive the lever when turned
down to the right in the final motion of
closing the breech. The trigger arrange
ment is very similar 10 that OF the Oh
Prussian needle gun. The motions In
loading are: o. open the breech by
striking up the handle and drawing back
the bolt. (2) Insert the cartridge. 90
Close the breech by pushing forward the
! bolt and turning the handle quarter
circle to the right. For some reason or
other the delivery of these rifles was
much delayed. and two years afterward,
when the new Magazine Mauser mod.
| 1880. with the smaller bore of 81 had
made its appearance. an attemp, was
the new rifle substituted for the old. The
| German firm. however. insisted upon
sticking 10 the original bargain. and
| though thousands of the older weapons
| eminent Immediately placed an order for
| some 100000 of the new pattern. The
| magazine of the improved rifle Is very
| similar in shape and size 10 that OF the
Lee Metford: IL contains seven cartridges
and is fixed underneath the breech, just
| i'm front of. or. rather adjoining, the
| trigger guard. The magazine Is filled
| from a metal clip Containing the seven
cartridges: but this cartrdge-holder does
not itself pass into the receptacle or
| magazine, but, being held over II, the
| cartridges are pushed out OF 1t by the
thumb, and the clip itself fails or. An
| other important point about this rifle was
| that the barrel was originally encased III
| a Jacket or light steel cylinder, with Just
a slight air-space left between the barrel
| proper and the steel jacket. Hence the
rifle. If struck by a bullet or blow. was
| far less liable to injury, while there was
| the very important advantage OF the
outer coating taking some time 10 neat,
even after a spell of rapid firing. Inc
| Turks. however. have altered all this;
! and, after many experiments, nave sue
| ceeded i'm doing away with the sham par
| rel both by strengthening the rliling-
| making il all one-and by adopting a
new fixing TO the stock. Again. the rifiing
| is no longer conical but cylindrical IT IS
| not exactly known how many magazine
| rifles have been issued, but the latest
! returns show that very nearly 10000 nave
been passed through the government III .
The following are the full details con-
nected with the weapon, compared Win
'n Ma 1isecHbr .sol; weight, pounds
| II ounces; sighted to yards, 10; rou s.ds
| i'm magazine Z; muZZle velocity, l,eoO;
cartridges on body, 3d.
| Lee Metford-Calibre. 1903; weight, >
hounds S ounces; sighted to yards, 300;
| hounds i'm magazine, s; muzzle velocity
! 1900; cartridges on body, 10
| The great beauty about the Turkish rine
| is that IL is light and well balanced, but
| -. OFT
these advantages by liking TO III loils'
| clumsy murderous = looking Japanese
/ sword bayonet. When the magazine rlne
| was introduced into Europe ii Will be
| remembered that a new shortened form
| of bayonet everywhere accompanied H.
| The Turkish soldier never took kindly to
! the latter, for he much prefers the oid
| weapon with which he ana such deduly
/ work i'm the counter attacks at Plevna.
! However in order to arrive AT unity OF
| calibre. the military authorities nave
| given orders for the 10000 1871 Mausers 10
| he converted to that OF bore .5vl. IL Is
| oSti,nated that this will cost about Us.
| per rifle. and the conversion mas ALREADY
| been begun. -, go.
| 5lOOOO rifles of the Martini Henry anu
| HI9rtini-Peabody patterns The Martini
| Henry is. OF course too well known 10
| need any description, while the Mar
! tini-Peabody. though manufactured III
America, only differs from it in being
! heavier and having smaller cnahDer
to suit the solid-drawn cartridge case.
| used with this arm. .
| During the last few years II has con-
tinuaIIy been reported that Greece IN
! tended TO moderniZe her small arms, Dut
| war finds her regular army stu equipped
with the Gras rife, which In France sue
! ceeded the discarded chassepot as long
| ago as 1874. The Gras rifle needs niue
description. 1t is siugle-loader; calipre,
.433; bolt action; barrel cast steel; Tour
| prooves of equal width with the lanus ,
| 81
| inches Thus, from the opposite TWISTS
i'm the rifles of the two combatahts'
Turkish bullets will defect TO the right
| Hellenic to the left. The bolt CONSISTS tA-
! ternally of three principal pieces, the
| functions of which are precisely the
same as I'm the Mauser The rine IS
sighted up to 800 yards put py us ..
! the bar and slide elevation can be given
for range of 1859 yards. The cartridges
| compared with those OF more modeih
| rifles. are both heavy and clumsy; tne
infantry soldier can only carry oz VI H 1a
| hall pouches, though he has room ior
another IS in his knapsaeks stu TINS -
very different 10 having ~ neat-drawn
cases under his thumb Ike his adversary
torial army appears TO have only got the
| old chassepot 10 rely upon; the latter be-
ing those captured from France IN 1870,
which the Germans shortly afterward 500
| to the Greeks. The following table,
therefore. will prove once and for al
how UNNECESSARILY superior should be
the Turkish musketry fre over that OF
the Greek: ,.. -
Nauser Magazine--Weight pounds y
ounces: sighted to yards, 2,lZ3; muzzle
velocity. $50; calibre, .3Ol; cartridges
Gras Singled oader-Weight, pounds
ounces; sighted to yards, l,SoO; muzzie We
locity. .iS9; calibre, .i3S; cartridges car
ried. 30. ",
In conclusion, II may be safely assumed
that there are quite sufficient Mauser
Stockholders for the first ban OF the
Turkish reserves, and even II the Martini
Henry should at length be called upon
there can be no doubt that the latter Il
a far superior weapon TO the chassepot.
Sent Abroad.