The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-30
THE RIFLE OF TODAY.
Deadliness of the Modern Weapon
Compared with the Old-StyIe Guns.


Compared with the Old-StyIe Guns.
Chicago Times-Herald.
The weapons with which the next war
will be fought are as much an improve
leon $ legions were armed as Napoleons
weapons We're over the muskets of the men
who fought at Minden. Indeed, If Napo-
leon were alive to-day it is certain that
there would be little opportunity for the
exercise of his remarkable tactical genius.
man could easily overlook 1t. The battle
fields of the future will cover miles upon
miles of territory, and the general COM
handing will direct the movements of his
many corps from some house family within
hearing distance of the big guns The field
of Waterloo is singularly disappointing in
respect OF size to one who views 1t with
preconoeived modern notions, but no such
complaint will be entered against the next
scene of deaths struggle between the ar
mics of civilized nations More men will be
engaged and their guns will shoot farther.
That makes the difference.
As in the development of modern powders,
so in the development of the modern rifle,
1 the Germans have led. 1t was Professor
HELLER, of Berlin, who first showed that the
As caliber was about one-third too large,
and that a cylinder reduced to a caliber of
80, with a very rapid twist, would give the
best results. This reduction has 1essened
the weight of the bullet by one-half and in
creased its velocity by 30 per cent The We
locity has been further increased by the
to carry with him double the old supply of
ammunition. The substitution of the mate
rial called "cordite" for the compressed
powder which now obtains in the British
service has further increased his offensive
ness, until he is by far the most dangerous
animal that walks
Which the troops of the nations are fur
nished are magazine guns. Their adoption
was delayed by the doctrinaires, who de-
clared that soldier with magazine gun
in the stress of battle and excited to frenzy
by conflict would waste more ammunition
than he was worth. The same argument
advanced against ad0DtIO1 q
breech-loader many years ago. 1t was
proved fallacous in the latter case. The
belief among military men is that it will be
proved fallacious against the ma gazine arm
Officers in future will trust to discipline to
seems the to be e If Ppfp tbe vae RE
the various modern military rifles Each
has some minor point of advantage Each
has some minor defect. The improved arm
Austrians, the Lee-Metford of the British
the Lebel Of the French, the Mauser of the
of the United States have about the same
zone of fire, are practically of the same call
iber and are universally deadly. The diff
ference between the nickel-jacketed bullet
the steel-hardened bullet and the German
silver bullet, by which the soldiers of Will
helm swear, is largely one OF imagination.
They will all kill at tremendous ranges
Perhaps the best general results are given
by the nickeled projectile, whose penetrative
powers are simply phenomenal.
In the long peace that has brooded over
the world the limit of Improvement in mill
tary. small arms would appear to have been
reached. 1t remains now to try them on liv-
ing human bodies instead of upon cadavers,
which cannot shoot back. In scientific par
lance, We have reached an equation in the
proportions of mass in the rifle and the pro-
Jectle in caliber, riding and twist in the
sectional density of the bullet and in the
power Of the explosives. Beyond this any
possible improvement would be ineffective
for the reason that to exceed the present
limits would be to exceed the muscular and
visual power of men
nN
ford plan, has seven grooves on the interior
of the barrel which goes three times around
the barrel in its length of thirty inches.
The rifiing is made thus severe in order to
steady the missile in its long flight. The
weapon is sighted up 70 $500 yards and its
point blank ia nge is minimum of 800 yards.
In action the sights Will not be altered up to
1000 yards The English compressed pow
der gives a inuzzle velocity of / 600 feet per
$3.50 feet per second is obtained At 1000
yards the mean deviation of the bullet from
the Springfield rifle is 2L4 inches The de-
Walton of the high-powder small-caliber
bullet is less than twelve inches. From the
modern arm forty shots a minute may be
fired If the soldier has a spare magazine
ready for adjustment. If man stands near
him with more than one magazine a speed
of sixty shots minute can be made. This
Mauser rifle, to which United States troops
will be opposed in case OF war with Spain
Is easurably superior to the old SPRING
field, superior, in fact, to any gun we have
save the Lee and the krag -Jorgensen. It's
rapidity, long range; accuracy and low ira
spaces u ii5'' to a mile, and 1t is exceedingly
disagreeable even beyond that distance. The
general penetration OF the kel-jacketed
bullet may be stated at nine-tenths of an
inch of steel, three and a half inches of oak
and three inches OF beech SingularIy
enough it has been demonstrated that the
best defense against II Is loose sand. and
attacking parties of the future will throw
up miniature enbankments in front of each
squad. This can be done readily and rapid
let penetrates some fifteen inches into sand
and is then battered N Gut Of all resemblance
lis inabil{Y TO produce sufficient shock sa'p and
there is no doubt that its paraIyzing capac-
ity is much less than that OF the AS caliber
missile. but It may be nadd that any man