GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



38/ 



in the 30 caliber smokeless powder 

 shells, owing to which some of the fulmi- 

 nate of mercury does not entirely decom- 

 pose and it affects the metal out of which 

 the shells are made, and renders it brittle. 

 We have never heard of any difficulty in 

 reloading" our Nos. 1 and 2 smokeless pow- 

 ders, by reason of the brittleness of the 

 shells. The primers that are made for black 

 powder or smokeless powder are all filled 

 with fulminate of mercury, but the primers 

 used for even low power smokeless powders 

 contain a much larger charge of fulminate 

 of mercury than do the primers used for 

 black powders. 



"Our impression is also that the primers 

 used in igniting our smokeless powders Nos. 

 I and 2 contain less fulminate of mercury 

 than do the primers used in igniting the 30 

 caliber smokeless, and the facts stated 

 would explain why we have not heard any- 

 thing of the brittleness of the shells used 

 with our smokeless powders No. 1 and 

 No. 2." 



Another powder company writes : 



"We are testing all the time at our works 

 and have been accustomed to use tlie same 

 shells over and over again, and in these 

 years of testing have never found that our 

 powders show the slightest chemical injury 

 to the shell, nor in any way affect them to 

 their disadvantage." 



Further investigation relative to the cause 

 of the brittleness of the metal in shells that 

 have been fired after being loaded with high 

 power 30 caliber smokeless powder, seems 

 to verify the opinions of the powder mak- 

 ers, for in a later report of the Chief of 

 Ordnance to the Secretary of War, for the 

 year ending June 30, 1897, on page 26, will 

 be found the following: 



"The principal cause of brittleness in the 

 present shell which is made of brass (70 

 copper and 30 zinc) has been traced to the 

 action of the mercury in the primer compo- 

 sition, on the metal of the case, especially on 

 the zinc, and at the present stage of the in- 

 vestigation it is expected that a serviceable 

 reloading cartridge will be produced by re- 

 ducing the amount of mercury fulminate in 

 the primer, in conjunction possibly with the 

 use of an alloy of copper for the metal case 

 shell containing a reduced percentage of 

 zinc." 



All who have loaded and reloaded, over 

 and again, the Frankford 30-40 Krag shells, 

 using the H 48 primer, can testify as to 

 the present product being a full realization 

 of the "expected serviceable reloading cart- 

 ridge" that was desired. 



As the last official statement relative to 

 same, the following is quoted from a letter 

 from Frankford Arsenal under date of Sep- 

 tember 27, 1904, signed, F. M. Heath, Lt. 

 Col., Ordnance Department, U.S.A., Com- 

 manding: 



"Your understanding of the ability of the 

 cartridge case to endure repeated firing is 

 correct. This is one of the tests to which 

 the metal is subjected at this arsenal before 

 acceptance." 



These quotations from the Ordnance Re- 

 ports show that the Government officers 

 have investigated and discovered the cause 

 of the trouble and removed it and are now- 

 producing shells and primers that are of a 

 superior quality, the use of which is a con- 

 tinual saving to the United States Govern- 

 ment, and the product of Frankford Arsenal 

 is being sought after in preference to that 

 of the private manufacturers. The follow- 

 ing quotation relative to the superiority of 

 these shells is from an article in the Army 

 & Navy Register of September 10, written 

 by W. G. Hudson, M.D., captain and as- 

 sistant surgeon of the 9th Regiment, N. Y. 

 N. G.: 



"We must heartily commend the produ- 

 cers of the Frankford 30 caliber shells and 

 the H 48 primers, for they are so far un- 

 equalled, and the statement on the boxes of 

 private manufacturers of cartridges, 'These 

 shells can not be reloaded/ should be re- 

 garded as a confession of inferiority." 



The opinion of the high power smokeless 

 powder manufacturer relative to the cause 

 of the brittleness of the shell being demon- 

 strated as true by the officials at Frankford 

 Arsenal, another opinion relative to further 

 deleterious' affect of the primer on the rifle 

 barrel may be interesting at this time. In 

 a book for military riflemen will be found 

 the following: 



"The W.A. powder residue itself would 

 probably never have to be cleaned out from 

 the gun were it not for the material used 

 in the primer. W.A. residue is practically 

 harmless, but the. products of the primer 

 mixture are extremely corrosive, especially 

 on certain kinds of steel. Therefore, if you 

 want your barrel to last even through one 

 season, you must take care of it." 



As to whether high pow r er ammunition 

 can be made by the shooters themselves, and 

 whether such ammunition is good or not, 

 the superior shooting done by numerous 

 marksmen at the late meetings at Sea Girt 

 and Creedmoor is ample testimony. The 2 

 following instances selected from among 

 many others will suffice to illustrate. Dr. 

 George E. Cook," of the District of Colum- 

 bia, who is a member of the Manhattan 

 Rifle and Revolver Association of New 

 York City, at Sea Girt won the Wimbledon 

 Cup Match, 20 shots at 1,000 j^ards, the 

 most difficult match of the year. He also 

 won the Leach Cup Match, 7 shots at each 

 range, 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. He was 

 first in the long range Aggregate Match, 

 was second in the Seabury Match and sec- 

 ond in the Spencer Match, all this year. In 

 1902 he won the President's Match, 20c, 



