Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-03-18
new GUN FOR OUR ARMY
Springfield Rifle Viii .Supplant
the Krag.Jorgensen.
AMERICAN WEAPON DEEMED BEST

On Account Of It's Greatly Increased
Mussle Velocity . New Bullet OF
Cupro Nickel Has Been Invented
For It-Dangerous Piece For Direct
Fire At Three Thousand Yards.
No longer are the American soldiers
to carry rifles designed by foreigners,
says the st. Louis Post-Dispatch. The
edict has gone forth from the war de-
partment at Washington that the Krag.
Jorgensen rifle is to be discarded, and
the Springfield rifle of the make of
1901 is to take it's place.
The new rife is said to exceed all
others in range, energy and penetrat-
Ing power, and at high angle firing it's
bullets will be effective, it Is estimated,
at $500 yards.
The famous Mauser rife Of the Beers
is credited with having killed British
soldiers at 300 yards. Lieutenant
Colonel Connynham of the Gordon
highlanders was killed at $500 yards.
and there are many we'll known cases
Of English officers and men falling at
from 5000 to 5000 yards.
The new American rifle is the prod
uct Of the skill and ingenuity of the
government officers at the Springfield
arsenal. 1t may be said to be a devel-
oped Krag-Jorgensen, inasmuch as
many Of the essential features of the
Krag weapon are retained, while i'm
portant improvements have been add
ed. The muzzle velocity of the bullet
has been increased from 1000 to 1890
feet second. This is enormous veloc-
ity for ball from 80 caliber gun.
The old breechloading Springfield
yields muzzle velocity of about 1880
feet second. The Mauser on a caliber
of seven millimeters, or less than 80
inch, affords a velocity Of about 1920
foot seconds. The new American gun
has heavier ball than the Mauser,
moving at greater muzzle speed, and
the result is naturally greater striking
energy for the United States bullet.
Even If the Mauser ball possessed ini-
tial velocity equal to the American the
latter, owing to the greater weight,
would as the distance increased great
~ preponderate in smashing and pene-
trating power.
The side box of the Krag will be
abandoned. General Crozier, chief of
ordnance, attributes all the cratic
shooting Of the present gun to this at
tachment. The piece is not evenly bal
anced, and General Crozier thinks that
the muzzle is DETECTED to the left at the
instant of firing by reason of the side
box. In guns with right handed riding
the drift or DETECTION of the bullet |
should be to the right, but in the case
of the Krag-Jorgensen a drift to the !
right is not noticeable until 1000 yards |
have been traversed, by which time the |
effect Of the muzzle DETECTION has been |
overcome.
In the new gun the feed will be from
a magazine, centrally located, and the
five cartridges will be charged in one
motion. Not only will the piece be
perfectly balanced, but the loading will
be much more rapid than is now the
case.
Cartridges with cannelured heads
will be used. Instead Of rim at the
base Of the cartridge case a narrow
trough or gutter is cut around the en-
tire circumference. The prongs of the
extractors sink into the trough and Sc
cure firm grip for the pulling out Of
the shell. The doing away with the
base rim permits of a closer packing Of
cartridges, since with the cannelured
head the shells lie snugly together
along their entire length.
Lead and anthony have constituted
he principal mixture for bullets Of
present day rifles. AS velocities in.
creased nickel jackets were placed over
he bullets, since it was found that the
loft lead would fly to pieces under the
erriflc number Of revolutions impaired
Nickel has served satisfactorily up to
1000 foot seconds velocity, but at high I
+ velocities decided tendencies to strip ,
If are manifested. This fact has led to I
he adoption of a still tougher and ,
more cohesive jacket made of cupro I
ickel. At the same time cupro nickel ,
> sufficiently soft to permit of taking I
he rifiing and thereby imparting the .
ecessary rotary motion to the pro- .
ectile
A muzzle velocity of $500 foot Sec
nds would be accorded the new Amer
IAN rifle, it is said, but for the fact !
hat the corresponding pressures in the
I'm are deemed somewhat high. To Sc <
ure go feet second at the muzze
ne chamber pressures approximate
5000 pounds to the square inch. 1t
,as deemed wise not to let the pres \
Ire run above $4,000 pounds, and on
his pressure it was found possible to
.cure 1890 foot seconds. The increase !
YER the velocities Of the present gun is 3
10 feet a second &
From 900 feet a second of the civil 3
ar period to the $500 foot seconds g
today is the advance of forty years. =