284 MY SOMALI BOOK 



weight, and energy. As actual striking energy must 

 vary with the distance of the target, I have taken the 

 energy at the muzzle for convenience sake. For 

 practical purposes striking energy may be taken as 

 the measure of a bullet's momentum. The fact that 

 it diminishes more rapidly in a slow heavy bullet than 

 in one of the opposite type is, up to one hundred yards 

 range, of little importance for purposes of comparison. 



It must be remembered that under existing con- 

 ditions the size of the bore affords of itself little indica- 

 tion of a rifle's power. Of two cordite rifles the one 

 with the smaller bore may take the more powerful 

 cartridge, both in respect of size of bullet and velocity. 

 The rifle is made for the cartridge, not the cartridge 

 for the rifle. 1 have therefore made the table sufficiently 

 comprehensive to give an idea of the variety that 

 exists, but it is by no means a complete list. 



I have not included any of the Winchesters or 

 other American rifles. And for convenience' sake I 

 have confined the term " Express " to the black 

 powder rifles to which it was originally applied, or to 

 the same rifles when shooting light charges of cordite — 

 not to the high velocity weapons which are sometimes 

 called Nitro-Express rifles. 



Class I. — Expbess Rifles : Black Powder (oe Reduced Charge 



Cordite). 



