DEAD WEIGHT 287 



twenty-four or even twenty-two Inches only, 

 but that the sights would be so near together 

 that an orthoptic behind the hammers would 

 be necessary. Another correspondent sent 

 a table of velocities of different lenijth 

 barrels, from which I extract the following, 

 roughly converting centimetres In the length 

 of barrel Into Inches, and metres In the 

 muzzle velocity Into feet : — 



/ Centimetres 80 jo 60 50 

 Length of Barrel < , , , , 



( Inches 31 27.5 23.6 19.6 



(Approximate — slightly under) 



Muzzle Velocity in Feet 2145 2105 2046 1996 



(Approximate — slightly over) 



The first thing I noticed about this table 

 was that the velocities throughout were very 

 high — In fact, about those of the United 

 States army weapon — and certainly obtained 

 with a nitro-compound powder. A table of 

 velocities in these lengths of barrel In an 



