The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-09-10
TIE ARMY.s NEm WEAPON.
IA Magazine Rifle That Can Fire Thir-
 ty-fve Shots a Minute.

A Magazine Rifle That Can Fire Thir. ty-fiye Shots a Minute.
 It is a fact, although not generally known, that the ordinance experts oi the United States Army. after months of work, have at last succeeded in con- structing magazine rife, which is be- heyed to be superior to any in use in foreign armies at the present time. Ev. cry government arsenal in the United States with the necessary facilities is i working night and day just now turn ing out the new arm, and forty thou- sand of them have already been com pleted. None will be issued to regular troops. however, until a hundred thou sand guns-the number requisite tG supply the maximum strength of the army on q war fC3ting-haVebeen com pleted. At the present rate of progress this date will probably be December | when their issuance will be immediately begun. The old rifle. such as has been in use since the Spanish h-American War will be returned to the arsenals and
 
 ganizations now armed with the an- cient Springfield rife. which is regarded as obsolete as the old f1intlock or per- cussion cap gun,
 During the Spanish-American War, as is well known, many of the regular troops and all of the militia were still armed with the old Springfield, firing black powder and carrying a 45-caliber ball that made a great deal of noise cid little damage and was absolutely inefeetiYe at lcng range. The disad- vantages under which he United States troops labored as a result of their obsolete small arms are too well known to the public to bear repetition but 1t is interesting to note that the Spanish-American War, If it did no- thing else, awcke the army authorities to the necessity for keeping abreast oi the times in ordinance construction Tic United States magazine rifle which was being introduced in the army when the war began was considered good weapon, but the advance made in the last few years as a result of careful study and exhaustive experiments may be understood when it is known that tle rifle new in use and the arm which is to be introduced next December have no two points in common.
 The most noticeable difference be tween the old and the new arm is in tn, barrel of the. latter arm which is en- tirely covered with wood. This inno. vaticn was the result of practical sug. gestions made to the ordinance officers by enlised men of the army. Following the campaigns in Cuba and in the Phil. ippines many complaints were made bS officers in the field, who said that aftel a period of rapid discharges the rifle barrels became So hot that it was some, times necessary tc cease firing for 3 time to permit them to cool. In many ! cases men in the heat of the battle hat the skin burned from their hands bs the hot barrels. The wood covered bar, rel is the result of these suggestions \ the steel being entirely covered to with in two inches of the muzzle of the gun I Tn almost every other particular, from stock to forward sight there is an i'm. iportant difference between the old ant ithe new gun, and in other features (which are not apparent to the ordinary observer, but which have the greatesi weight with ordnance experts, the new arm is far superior to the old. The bort of the new rife is smaller, the calibre being about 80 inch, while the initia ivelocity and penetrating power are botl greater. The new gun is also severa inches shorter than the old arm, abau the length of the old Springfield car < bine. with which the United States cav airy were armed after the Civil War Indeed. if it were not for the wooder covered barrel and the peculiar loading and ejecting mechanism the gun would be almost a counterpart of that famous cavalry weapon.
 I The United States Magazine Rifle Model of 1903, as the new arm is tech. nically known, will it is believed, prov exceptionally popular. In addition tt { the covered barrel feature, the ejectins l lever, which on the rifle now in use pro fleets at right angles and has been tn, cause of more profanity on the part ot Ethe enlisted man than any other DOT Ition of his entire equipment, projeet downward at a small angle in the new larm and is somewhat shorter. Th, magazine has a capacity of five car ltri-dges and can be filled with ease ant lquickness. The gun, fully assembled weighs trifie over eight pounds, and according to the ordnance experts, i Exceptionally we'll balanced, makln: lease of discharge and accuracy of ain , feature of importance.
 q Some idea of the efficiency of the nev Earn can be gained when it is knowl that twenty-three aimed shots hay, been fired in one minute with the riff lWhen used as single loader, and twen lty-fiye shots in the same time with magazine fire. When fired as singl loader from the hip, without aim, twen Ity-seven shots have been discharged il lone minute, and with the use of tn magazine thirty-f1ve shots have beel Hired in one minute. With an ordinar, lservice charge the powder pressure il lfhe riflp pba t11hnr is q boiJt Aa mn ,,a,sY, 5