LEE STRAIGHT PULL RIFLE.
The superiority of this rifle rests on the fact that the operation of opening and closing is by a "staight pull," instead of the customary "up turn" and "pull back." The facc that this gun is a rapid fire repeating; rifle should be borne in mind. It is always ready for rapid fire, as the time consumed in opening; the breech and inserting. a clip is very short, when five shots are instantly ready for delivery. These five shots may be delivered without taking the gun from the shoulder, and it may also be loaded in this position, as it need not be brought down to insert a clip unless desired. This gun may be used as a single loader, and at the same titne retain zt mag-azitie charged with five cartridges, it merely. being iteces sary to place a stxtri cartridge under the extractor ; on closing the bolt the cartridge will be pushed into the chamber ; this mode of firing may be continued as long as desired, and yet the gun will be ready for any, emergency with its magazine charged. Another important point in favor of this rille is its adaptability as a single loader. It may be operated with single cartridges with g,reat speed, as no special care is necessary in inserting them in the gun—thcy may be placed either directly in the chamber, in front of the extractor, or under it—and this can be done without taking- the gun from the shoulder. In this gun, the recoil from the discharge has the effect of locking the breech mechanism. The bolt has on its under side a recoil shoulder, which, when the bolt is closed, lies against a corresponding shoulder in the receiver. This recoil shoulder, being below the line of recoil, causes the thrust of the discharge to be slightly downward, tending to more securely lock the bolt, and yet offering no resistance to the opening of the breech by the operator. The gun is furnished with a brush cleaner, carried in a recess in the butt closed by a sliding cover.
The gun is manipulated as follows: The trigger having been pulled, grasp the cam-lever handle, and pull the bolt smartly to the rear. Grasp a clip or pack, containing five cartridges, between the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand, and, pushing the extractor to the left with the lowest cartridge, insert the pack in the magazine, either side tip, keeping the clip close to tile face of the bolt. With the thumb on the pack near the head of the top cartridge, push it down
until the cartridges are released from the clip, which will drop out through the bottom of the magazine in the course of firing ; the cartridges are then raised by the follower until the top one touches the under side of the extractor, and the upper portion of its head is in front of the bolt. Close the gun by pushing the bolt forward smartly, thus entering a cartridge into the chamber. The gun is now ready to be discharged, and the bolt can not be drawn back unless the bolt release is pushed down, or until the trigger is pulled, which of course discharges the gun. If it is not desired to fire the gun at once, the firing--pin may be rendered inoperative by pulling up the firing-pin-lock, on the left of the receiver, until it clicks. The firing--pin-lock must be pulled up with some force, in order to over come the tension of the mainspring. Pushing the firing,,-pin lock down releases the firing-pin striker, and, if the trig-ger is pulled, the gun will be discharged. After firing, draw the bolt back smartly, the empty cartridge case being extracted and ejected to the right. On again closing the bolt, another cartridge is pushed into the chamber. If it is desired to use ammunition \\idiom clips, the magazine may be charged with single cartridges, which should be inserted under the extractor, with their heads at the rear of the magazine and in front of the clip-release-ways. In cleaning the gun, enter the weight of the cleaner into the muzzle and let it run through the barrel. Draw the brush through the bore and chamber. If the hore appears dirty after two or three trials. insert a small piece of soft cloth, saturated with oil, in the loop of the cleaner, and again draw it through the barrel. To clean the chamber, put a small piece of cloth in the loop of the cleaner, and thrust it into the chamber from the rear. The brush end of the cleaner is made sufficiently long for this purpose.