The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-05-29
RAPID=FIRE PISTOLS.
One Hundred and Sixteen Shots Per
Minute Discharged by Luger-Other
Weapons Tested by Ordnance Officers.

The evolution of the pistol carried by
Uncle Sans troops and artillery men
from the clumsy fiint-lock, sngle-barrelled
muzzleloading weapon of the Revolution
to the present automatic, rapid-tirinG
types, forms an interesting study. Re
Gently the Ordnance Bureau of the Wal
Department issued for trial 1000 of the
deadly Luger pistols to as many Regular
cavalrymen and members of light bat
teries, and reports of the effectiveness OF
this weapon will soon be made.
The wonderful Luger pistol is a new
invention that discharges bullets with re-
markable velocity at the astonishing rate
a second. The Luger pistol is not n revol'
yer, but works automatically, the
recoil of the discharge being utilized to
perform the functions of relOading. 1t
weighs less than two pounds. Tests al
ready made in the army have demon
strated its accuracy, penetration, velocity
of projectile and speed of fire.
Twenty-four bulls-eyes out of 80 shots
| We're made by Il soldier who was unable
to make more than bulls-eyes out of 2S
shots with other pistols. This accuracy
| is due in a large measure to the almost
imperceptible recoil or kick" which in
most revOlverS causes the bullet to fly
high. This slight recoil is the motive pow
err which operates the automatic mechan-
ism of the wonderful weapon.
The cartridges are fed from a magazine
running through the handle of the pistol.
| Any number of magazines may be used,
and one, when discharged, can be instant
ly released by pressure on a button near
| the trigger guard. when n new magazine
carrying eight cartridges can be inserted
instantaneously, and the Luger is again
ready to be fired. The accidental dis
charge of the pistol is prevented by safe
ty devices.
The muzzle velocity of this remarkable
| weapon is 200 feet a second. Its maxi
mum range is about 1900 yards. This
gives such a fiat trajectory for the first
few hundred yards that no allowance for
drop is necessary. All that is necessary
when shooting at this latter distance is to
aim directly at the target. The bullet
which energies from the fve-and- a-half-
inch barrel travels as true as rifle shot.
The 30-caliber bullet of the Luger, pro-
PEELED by charge of smokeless powder,
particularly if the bullet be soft-nosed
one, is more than equal in smashing effect
on a body to the slower travelling 40
caliber revolver bullet. The great velocity
of the Luger prOjectile. which develops a
total energy at striking, causes the bullet
| to mushroom and tear a large hole in the
body of the man hit. Projectiles in steel
jackets are used when penetration is de-
sired.
The Ordnance Department of the Army
has also recently conducted tests with
other automatic pistols besides the Luger.
These are the MauSer self-lOading pistol,
caliber 1.63 millimeters: the Mannlicher
automatic pistol, caliber &c mm., and the
Colt automatic, caliber .3S.
The Mauser pistol was first taken up
for examination and test by the Board
of Ordnance Officers, composed of Maj.
John e. Greer, Capt. John T. Thompson
and Lieut.. Odus c. Horney. This pistol,
it is stated in their report, belongs to that
class of arms in which the force of the
powder gases is utilized to unlock the
bolt, extract and eject the empty cart
ridge case, cock the piece. feed another
cartridge into the chamber and to lock the
bolt ready for firing.
These operations are performed auto.
matically upon firing the pistol, but the
shot can be fired. It may therefore be
described as semi-automatic, to distinguish
it from the automatic arms which con>
tinue to fire so long as the trigger is press
ed or until the magazine is exhausted.
The component parts of the Mausef
pistol can be divided into three groups
the barrel, receiver. bolt and bOlt-lock: the
frame; the lock mechanism. The maga-
zine holds 10 cartridges and is filled from
a clip holding the same number. CAn-
other size magazine is being manufactur.
ed which holds 20 cartridges)
A wooden holder is provided in which
to carry the pistol, and the holder has a
rib on its forward end by which it can be
attached to the butt of the pistol so as
to give shoulder support in firing, thus
converting the pistol into what the makers
II -
the pistol complete with case, is three
pounds, six-anda-half ounces. Caliber.
1853, equivalent to 0.300S inch. Weight Of
bullet. s. grains: weight Of charge, seven
and three-quarter grains; weight Of cart
ridge complete, 1923 grains. Length Of
barrel, five and half inches. Velocity at
80 feet from muzzle, ,342 feet per second.
During the first tests made by the Army
Board for rapidity and accuracy, at a
range of % yards, a target two by six feet
| was used, to represent the general dimen-
| sions of man. Thirty rounds were fired,
using the arm as a carbine. Time, one
minute and 20 seconds; hits. q. Five
| hundred shots were then fired as an en-
durancc test Other tests were made and
the Mannlicher automatic pistol, caliber
7.6 mm., was then taken up.
This pistol differs from the Mauser and
Colt in that the operations of loading and
ejecting the empty cartridge case are per-
formed by backward and forward move
ment of the barrel, while the former are
recoil-operated arms. 1t consists of a
frame which contains the lock mechan-
ism and the magazine, a sliding barrel,
and a cover or casing in which the bar
rel slides. The magazine, which holds
five cartridges, is of the fxed-box type
and is within the handle or stock To fill
the magazine the barrel must be held in
its forward position with one hand, while
the cartridges are inserted singly with the
other. When the magazine is full, the
top cartridge is held in such a position
that the barrel, when allowed to go back
TO its firing position, slips over it, and the
pistol is loaded ready for firing. The lock
operates in a manner similar to the lock
of an ordinary double-action revolver
When the pistol is fired, the friction of the
bullet as it passes through the bore carries
| the barrel forward against q spiral spring,
where it is held by a stop, which con
tinues to act until the trigger is released.
The empty cartridge case is held to the
which engage the rim Of the cartridge
case. AS the barrel approaches its ex-
IRENE forward position, the extractor
| throws out the empty shell and allows an.
other cartridge to come up from the maya.
zine. When the trigger is released the
barrel spring forces the barrel back to its
firing position over fresh cartridge, and
the pistol is again ready for firing.
The weight Of the Mannlicher pistol
| cnmutGfp is two uoun1S twn nuucoc