RIFLES, REPEATING. 



715 



was made to introduce them into the United 

 States Army during the civil war. In the latter 

 part of that war the Spencer was issued to a 

 few organizations, mostly cavalry. In this rifle 



ORIGINAL SPENCER REPEATING-R1FLE. 



the cartridges were contained in a tube, which 

 was inserted in the butt, extending from the 

 heel-plate to the rear of the barrel. Although 

 the gun was clumsy and difficult to load, it was 



WOODEN 



SLIDE-. 



NEW MODEL SPENCER REPEATING SHOT-GUN. 



found to increase very greatly the efficiency of 

 the troops that were armed with it. During 

 the Turco-Russian War, the Turks armed some 

 of their troops, usually the cavalry, with Win- 

 chesters. They were also 

 used by the infantry at 

 Plevna with great effect 

 in repelling the Russian 

 attacks. The Swiss were 

 the first European nation 

 to adopt a repeater for 

 their troops. Germany, 

 within the past year, sud- 

 denly equipped its army 

 with the repeating Mauser, 

 and since then there has 

 been a race between the 

 different nations as to 

 which shall first provide a 

 magazine - gun for their 

 troops. The different rifles 

 may be divided as follow : 



1. Those in which the cartridges are con- 

 tained in a tube under the barrel, as in the 

 Winchester (Am.), Bullard (Am.), Henry 

 (Am.), Ward Biviton (Am.), Spencer (new 

 model, Am.), Colt (new model, Am.), Mauser 



(Ger.), Lobel (Fr.), Jarmen (Swd.), Vetterli 

 (Swiss), and Kropatschech (Fr. and Port.). 

 The objection to this style of gun is, that its 

 balance alters as the magazine is emptied. 



2. Where they are contained in the .stock, 

 as in the Spencer (old style), Meigs (all Am.), 

 Evans (Am. and Russian), Hotchkiss, Chaffee- 

 Reece, and others. 



3. Where they are contained in a chamber 

 behind the barrel, as in the Schulboff (Rus- 

 sian), where they revolve around a central pin 

 as in a revolver (which is complicated). 



4. Where they are contained in a magazine 

 (fixed or detachable) attached to the rear of the 

 barrel, as in the Lee (Am.), Elliott (Am.), 

 Mnnnlicher (Aus.), Vitali (It.), Burton (Am.), 

 Lee Burton (Am.), Owen Jones (Eng.), which 

 seems to be generally preferred tor military 

 purposes. 



The new Spencer(shot-gnn and rifle) and Colt 

 are operated by the pulling back and pushing 

 forward of a knob under the center of the bar- 

 rel, which isheld in the left hand when the piece 

 is being aimed. Like the 

 Winchester, they can be 

 fired without taking them 

 from the shoulder. Most 

 of the others (especially 

 the European) are bolt 

 guns i. e., instead of a 

 lever, the rifle is operated 

 by a bolt, which is actuated 

 by a short handle. When 

 this handle is turned to 

 the left and drawn back, 

 the old cartridge is ejected, 

 the gun cocked, and a new 

 cartridge thrown opposite 

 the cartridge - chamber. 

 When it is pushed forward and turned down, 

 the cartridge is forced into the chamber, and 

 the breech is closed and locked. In the Mann- 

 licher (Aus.) the bolt is drawn straight back- 



LEE MAGAZINE GUN. 



ward, so that the gun need not be taken from 

 the shoulder. The more modern repeaters 

 have a device by which the magazine may be 

 closed and the rifle used as a single loader. 

 In the Lee (Am.), Vitali (It), and others, 



