The introduction of smokeless or nitro pow der has marked a new era in the field of fire arms. Its characteristic features are absence of smoke and fouling, reduced recoil, reduc tion in bulk and the attainment of high veloci ties with relatively low chamber pressures.
- In military weapons smokeless powder was at once conceded to possess obvious advantages. During the Spanish-American War smokeless ammunition was made in large quantities for the .45-calibre Springfield rifle. The Ordnance Board after careful investigation adopted 15 Sept. 1892 the Krag-Jorgensen .30-calibre rifle. This arm is of the bolt-operated type, weighs nine and three-fourths pounds without the bay onet and has a magazine holding five cartridges. The cartridge contains a bullet of 220 grains, consisting of a lead core and a steel jacket, the charge of smokeless powder giving a muzzle velocity of 2,000 feet per second as compared with 1,300 feet for the .45-calibre Springfield. A marked reduction of recoil, a flat curve of trajectory and economy in the weight of am munition, as well as a great gain in rapidity of fire are notable features. A 10-inch twist is required to rotate properly the long bullet.
In 1903 the Ordnance Board adopted a new weapon known as the .30-calibre Springfield. The breech mechanism resembles in many re spects a form of the Mauser-bolt action, which has given excellent satisfaction. The magazine is of the box type and is situated under the receiver. The cartridges are loaded from a clip, the magazine being provided with a cut off so that the weapon may be used as a single loader if desired. Twenty shots have been fired in government tests in 28A seconds. The cart ridge has a cannelure cut around the head to engage in the extractor in place of the flange on the Krag-Jorgensen ammunition, allowing the cartridges to lie compactly in the magazine. The 150-grain jacketed bullet is used, the powder charge being increased in order to give a muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second. The rifle weighs, without bayonet, 8.69 pounds and is 3.60 feet long. The bayonet adds one pound in weight and 1.33 feet in length. In 1917 a rifle of similar dimensions, taking the same cartridge, but of a British type was adopted for use in the Great War.
The telescope sight is receiving attention. for the equipment of military sharpshooters. The hyposcope, a detachable instrument con sisting of a series of mirrors in a tube ex tending below the line of sight, allowing aim to be taken without the body of the soldier being exposed, has recently been placed before the Ordnance Board for adoption.
In hunting rifles the jacketed bullet and smokeless powder have found instant favor. For this purpose the lead core of the bullet is exposed at the point and upon striking game it expands or mushrooms, making a most deadly wound. Though the .30-40 government cartridge with a soft nosed bullet is largely used a number of special cartridges have been designed. The .405 Winchester adapted to their repeating rifles contains a 300-grain bullet, the smokeless powder charge developing a muzzle velocity of 2,204 feet per second and a muzzle energy of 3,235 foot pounds.
The application of smokeless powder to re volver ammunition has resulted in increased efficiency, as an unlimited number of shots may be fired with no perceptible fouling of the bar rel or cylinder and a degree of accuracy main tained which was unattainable in the days of black powder.
Shotgun cartridges are almost exclusively loaded with this propellant and American ma chine-made guns are now being produced in weights of from six to seven pounds without the recoil becoming excessive or general effec tiveness being sacrificed. The imported twist barrels have given way to special steel barrels of light weight and great tensile strength.
Automatic firearms have within the past few years attracted much attention. The term automatic literally means an arm that con tinues its acts of loading and firing after the first shot until the ammunition is exhausted. The arm that after firing the first shot per forms the work of ejecting the empty shell, recharges the chamber and leaves the arm ready for the next shot by merely pressing the trigger, is a semi-automatic firearm, but the term automatic has been generally applied to this weapon. There are two systems in vogue at present, that by which a portion of the gas from the explosion is utilized to operate the breech mechanism; the other, in which the bar rel recedes by the action of the recoil and accomplishes the same result. The latter sys tem has been successfully applied to American repeating pistols which are a marked improve ment over the revolver, as in the latter there is an inevitable escape of the explosive gases between the cylinder and the barrel. Metal jacketed bullets and smokeless powder are used on these repeating pistols. Small-bore rifles designed on the recoil-operated system are a popular weapon and a repeating semi-automatic shotgun is now before the public. See MACHINE GUN.
There are many excellent types of firearms in use that seem well adapted for all time, but progress is constantly being made. The au tomatic and semi-automatic weapon will be an important factor in the warfare and sport of the future. See ARMS AND ARMOR; ARTILLERY; ORDNANCE; Gux; MUSKET, etc.
Barber, 'The Crack Shot' (New York 1873); Chapman, 'Improved Amer ican Rifle> (New York 1848); Cleveland, 'Hints to Riflemen) (New York 1864); Free mantle, 'The Book of the Rifle' (London 1901) ; Gerrare, 'A Bibliography of Guns and Shooting) (London 1896) ; Gould, 'The Mod ern American Pistol and Revolver) (Boston 1888) ; Gould, 'Modern American Rifles) (Bos ton 1892); Gould, 'Military Rifle Shooting' (Lowell 1902) ; Greener, 'The Gun) (London 1835) ; Greener, 'Gunnery in 1858' (London 1858) ; Greener, 'The Gun and Its Develop ment) (London 1896) ; Greener, 'Sharpshoot ing for Sport and (London 1900) ; Hud son, 'Modern Rifle Shooting from the Ameri can Standpoint' (New York 1903); Kephart, 'Early American Rifles in Shooting and Fish ing) (New York —); Leech, 'Irish Riflemen in America' (London 1875) ; Marks, 'The Evolu tion of Modern Small Arms and Ammunition' (London 1898) ; Ovemundsen and Robins, 'Rifles and Ammunition) (London 1915) ; Ord nance Department, United States Army Reports, Washington; Teasdale-Bucknell, 'Experts on Guns and Shooting' (London 1900); Tippins, 'Modern Rifle Shooting in Peace, War and Sport) (London 1900) ; United States Cartridge Company, 'Catalogue of Collection of Fire Arms) (Lowell 1904) ; Van Dyke, 'The Still Hunter) (New York 1904) ; Walsh, 'The Mod ern Sportsman's Gun and Rifle' (London 1884); Weston, 'The Rifle Club and Range' (New York 1879); Wilder, 'Rifles and Rifle (Boston 1892); 'Guns, Ammunition. and Tackle' (New York 1904).