CHAPTER II. 



AEMS, UNIFORMS, AND EaUIPMENT. 



Section 1. The rifle. 



The rifle now used by the Army of the United States is the 

 United States magazine rifle, model of 1903, caliber .30. 



It is 43.212 inches long and weighs 8.69 pounds. 



The bayonet weighs 1 pound and the blade is 16 inches long. 



The rifle is sighted for ranges up to 2,850 yards. 



The maximum range, wlien elevated at an angle of 45 degrees, 

 is 4,891 yards (389 yards less than 3 miles). 



The smooth bore of the rifle is 0.30 inch in diameter. It is 

 tht-n rifled 0.004 inch deep, making the diameter from the 

 bottom of one groove to the bottom of the opposite groove 0.308 

 inch. The rifling makes one complete turn in each 10 inches 

 of the barrel. 



The accompanying plate shows the names of the principal 

 parts of the rifle. 



The only parts of a rifle that an enlisted man is permitted to 

 take apart are the bolt mechanism and the magazine meclia- 

 nism. Learn liow to do this from your squad leader, for you 

 must know how in order to keep your rifle clean. Never re- 

 move the hand guard or the trigger guard, nor take the sights 

 apart unless you liave special permission from a commissioned 

 officer. 



The cartridge used for the rifle is called the .30-caliber model 

 1000 cartridge. There are four types of cartridges. 



The ball cartridge consists of the i)rass case or shell, tlie 

 primer, the charge of smokeless powder, and the bullet. The 

 bullet has a sharp point, is composed of a lead core and a jacket 

 of cupro nickel, and v/eighs 150 grains. The bullet of this 

 cartridge, when fired from the rifle, starts with an initial 

 velocity at the muzzle of 2,700 feet per second. 



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