The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-12-15

own IN the belief of manufacturers is eVl-
dence1 nv the number OF automatic pistols
,.ow being placed on the market In the re
cent tests. held by the Army Board. ana oy
the United States Ordnance Bureau, loui
pistols were submitted for examination
these being the Mannlicher. Borchardt'
Colt and Luger.
But three OF these weapons. the Bor-
chaIdt. Mannlicher and Colt. were sub
mitted to the Army Board. which recom-
menGed the adoption of the Colt automatic
pistol. Owing to a misunderstanding OF the
requirements in the test. the Colt people
failed to submit a weapon to the ordinance
board for their approval. the result being
the selection Of the Luger automatic pistol
for trial by that body. h pistol had not
been previously tested by the Army Board
and litigation was entered into by one OK
the manufacturers in the test. who claimed
that his weapon had not been tested ~
both boards.
Test Of tho Weapon.
Tho weapon now being tested is OF 30
caliber, has a magazine in the stock which
holds eight cartridges, is automatic in ac-
ton. the explosion Of the first cartridge
sjecting the empty shell and placing q load
ed shell in the chamber. n can be fired
more than 100 times a minute when tested
for speed Only. The arm can be diSmount-
ed without tools. and h simplicity Of its
mechanism is said to be a strong point in
its favor.
In all the pistols submitted for testing
the explosion of the cartridge elects the
fired shell and prepares the weapon for
firing again. The speed Of discharge is reg
ulated only by the number Of times that
the trigger Is pulled. and the time in which
freshly charged magazines can be inserted
to tak the place of the empty magazines.
In spite Of the disputes about the merits
Of the weapons. the prevailing opinion
seems to be that b automatic pistol will
supersede the revolver in the next few
years. Even for target use. where the re-
volver has always been strong in the esti.
reduced charges. its accuracy at short
range. Lack Of any escape Of gas from
the cylinder at the moment Of discharge Is
a strong point in its favor. and it is gem
orally regarded as the coming weapon.
Local Interest In Shootiss.
More local interest Is taken in revolver
shooting this season than ever before in
this city, the work OF the police in practice
for competition at Chicago having aroused
at the Armory has resulted In the develop
ment Of some good marksmen. and It Is be
lieved that a flrst-class team can be sent
to Chicago to represent this city.
Officers Longwtrth. Guthrel n Shipp
have shown to excellent 80 far.
target work. Officer William E. Guthrel1
is champion of the Third Police District,
INT last Monday made 10 out Of . possible
rs at the Armory. He lives at No. 1S4z
Oregon avenue.
Next "wednesday a match between two
local clubs will be shot at Schaafs gallery.
Alfred Gfeller, Moses Summerleld n
Frank Fromm will represent the Excelaior
Club. while Onicer William Longvirth and
Messrs. J. Barker and Van Klfck viii rep
resent the Riversides. The match VIII be
shot on the Expert target 1t forty feet,
each man to fire twenty-five shots.
Moses Summerfield has been showing up
well tn practice. OF late, and last Wednes-
Of the Excelsior Club ri No. 10 Olive
Etreet. The match was shot At seventy-ove
too6