636 



ORDffAUOE. 



some advantages over the ordinary paper or 

 linen cartridge, or over the method of loading 

 with loose powder and ball. It is water-proof, 

 avoids the difficulty of loading in the ordinary 

 way. "Where, in. the excitement of battle, the 

 bullet is often put in before the powder, obvi- 

 ates the necessity of measuring the charge, does 

 away with the ramrod, the priming wire, and 

 the percussion cap, and enables the soldier to 

 deliver his fire with great rapidity, without 

 sacrificing precision or aim. The principal and 

 most serious objections to them are their liabil- 

 ity to premature explosion in the hands of the 

 gunner (which seems to be obviated in some of 

 the rifles using this cartridge), and the danger of 

 their explosion from concussion, as by a serious 

 blow on the cartridge-box of the soldier, or its 

 being struck by a bullet or a fragment of shell. 



The first of the breech-loading rifles which 

 have come into very general use was SHARPS', 

 a very simple but effective weapon, using ordi- 

 narily a patent cartridge with a conical ball, 

 the cartridge enclosed in stout linen, but capa- 

 ble of being used effectually also with loose 

 powder and ball. It may be fitted with Sharps' 

 or Maynard's primer, or with a percussion cap. 

 The rifle is small, light, and has a very long 

 range, and is thus an excellent weapon for cav- 

 alry service, for which purpose it has been 

 largely used. 



The MERRILL rifle, the invention of a Balti- 

 morean, belongs to the same class as Sharps', 

 and like it uses the prepared paper cartridge 

 and conical ball, or the ordinary round ball 

 with loose powder. It is fired with the com- 

 mon percussion-cap. It is said not to be liable 

 to fouling or to the escape of gas at the breach, 

 and to possess a range fully equal to the Sharps'. 

 It is so simple in its construction that muzzle- 

 loading rifles of any pattern can be easily and 

 without weakening transformed into breech- 

 loaders, on its plan, and the Government have 

 caused large numbers of rules to be thus 

 changed with great advantage. Two drawings 

 are subjoined (see previous page), showing the 

 construction of the military rifle and the sport- 

 ing-rifle complete. The cavalry carbine of the 

 Merrill patent weighs but 6 J Ibs. and the infan- 

 try rifle but 9 Ibs. 



ASHCROFT'S rifle, another new weapon be- 

 longing to the same class, is highly commended 

 by Mr. H. W. S. Cleveland, author of " Hints 

 to Eiflemen," and decidedly one of the highest 

 authorities in this country on the subject of 

 rifles for military or sporting use. " The breech 

 block of this rifle is constructed with a cylin- 

 drical gas-check, which enters the breech of 

 the barrel and shuts against a shoulder ; and this 

 gas-check being slightly concave in its external 

 form, the effect of the explosion is to strengthen 

 and thereby to lengthen it, so as to press it 

 against the shoulder, and effectually to prevent 

 the slightest escape of gas. The proof that it 

 does so is afforded by the fact that it has been 

 fired eight hundred times in succession without 

 cleaning, and the working of the parts was as 



easy at the last as at the first, and the gas- 

 check itself remained as bright and unsiJlied 

 as before it was used, which would not have 

 been the case had there been any escape of 

 gas." .... "The whole arrangement of the 

 working parts is admirably simple and effective, 

 and no breech-piece of solid metal could be 

 more safe and unyielding than this when fixed 

 in position ; and by a very simple arrangement, 

 it is impossible to fire the gun till this position 

 is attained." Mr. Cleveland made a thorough 

 experiment of the powers of this rifle, in com- 

 parison with several others, as to the penetra- 

 tion of the shot at thirty yards. The target 

 was made of inch pine boards, free from knots 

 and of even grain, and it exceeded all others 

 except the Greene rifle, of which we shall speak 

 presently, which was a much longer weapon, 

 and used a heavier bullet and a much larger 

 charge of powder. As compared with the 

 Sharps' rifle of the same length and using the 

 same cartridge, its average penetration was 

 found to be one inch greater. 



GREENE'S rifle, patented by Lieut. Col. J. 

 Durell Greene, United States Army, in 1857, 

 and now manufactured at Worcester, Mass., is 

 a weapon of great merit. Though a breech- 

 loader, its construction is entirely different 

 from any other rifle in the market. It has 

 been introduced into the French and Russian 

 service, and is regarded with great favor in 

 both. This is the only rifle manufactured in 

 this country on the Lancaster system of rifling, 

 that is, with an elliptic instead of a grooved 

 bore, which imparts the rotary motion by giv- 

 ing the longest diameter of the ellipse a turn 

 of three-fourths in the length of the barrel. 

 The bullet is round, but assumes the elliptic 

 shape on entering the barrel, though the varia- 

 tion from a sphere is but slight. The peculiar- 

 ities in the construction of the gun are as fol- 

 lows : a cylinder of iron containing a breech- 

 plug, which slides backward and forward within 

 it, is inserted at the breech of the barrel, and 

 moved forward by a projecting knob, which 

 moves in a slot on the top of the barrel till it 

 closes the breech, when it is turned to the 

 right and secured in place by shoulders. The 

 knob is held by a catch, which may be loos- 

 ened by pressing a pin at the breech of the bar- 

 rel. The hammer is on the under side, in front 

 of the guard, and the nipple is so arranged that 

 the fire is first communicated at the forward 

 end of the cartridge, thus insuring the ignition 

 of all of the powder. The cartridge has the 

 bullet in its base, with a greased wad between 

 it and the powder, which, with the bullet, 

 packs the joint perfectly at every discharge, 

 and prevents the slightest escape of gas. Af- 

 ter each discharge this bullet is pushed forward 

 by the breech plug to the end of the chamber, 

 the cylinder is then drawn back, and the car- 

 tridge inserted in the slot which is thus opened. 

 The cylinder is then pushed forward, pressing 

 the cartridge before it, and the knob being 

 turned to the side and the tipple capped, the 



