SPEED IN FIRING WITH GARRISON GUNS. 
107 
and bear in mind that the cleverest inventions are the most simple. 
(3) There are many more difficulties than meet the eye in ensuring 
that during the continuance of firing no change shall occur in the 
strength or weight of the powder contained in the cartridges used. 
Cordite may be left out of the question at present. Yet the fact that 
every precaution taken to ensure accuracy and speed in firing, such as 
well sited and suitable emplacements, good guns and mountings, perfect 
sights, expensive and accurate range-giving machines, and well-trained 
men, are rendered almost valueless if cartridges of varying ballistic 
properties are used, should point to the urgent need of greater attention 
being directed to this subject. Organization of ammunition supply 
is not perfect until every magazine from which a gun or group of guns 
is supplied contains but one ammunition group of cartridges ; and an 
ammunition group, to be of any value as such, must be formed of 
cartridges of closely similar ballistic properties. Cutting the Gordian 
Knot by merely grouping cartridges to suit dates of filling is of no 
practical value whatever. Such cartridges are found to occasionally 
vary the point of impact of successive rounds by hundreds of yards. 
It is of course most desirable to use up older cartridges at practice, and 
when these are broken up, carefully re-mixed and refilled for the 
purpose, they frequently shoot remarkably well. As to this there is no 
difficulty if sufficient lattitude is given locally and a drying and filling 
room exists, as it should in every fortress ; for odd lots can then be 
assembled, broken up, re-mixed and re-made for practice without 
reference to headquarters. The present system of merely using what 
is believed to be the oldest powder results, not only in bad shooting, 
but a continuous increase in the number of ammunition groups, and in 
each cartridge store containing cartridges of varying ballistic qualities, 
with an ever-augmenting difficulty in attaining speed in hitting. 
Though this might be looked on more as a question of pure accuracy of 
work, yet there is not a gunner who has had to direct fire that does not 
know the loss of time that ensues when his best calculations are hope¬ 
lessly upset by a series of abnormal rounds. In some cases, in spite of 
careful sorting, ammunition groups are such that the guns they serve 
could probably not be ranged satisfactorily at all ; while if the powder 
were really sorted out into homogeneous ammunition groups, these 
would be so numerous that the guns would require ranging many times 
during an action, entailing a great waste of speed and efficiency of fire. 
To avoid this serious loss a number of small ammunition groups (over 
and above the amount required for practice), sufficient to completely 
fill the magazines of a group of guns, should from time to time be 
broken up, mixed, and re-made locally. 
As a rule cartridges made entirely of the same original lot appear to 
shoot very much alike, irrespective of their dates of filling or of the 
magazines in which they have been kept; and as far as can be judged, 
without a more systematic test than mere observation of practice, there 
is no drawback to placing such cartridges in one ammunition group. 
As regards slow supply of ammunition :—With guns in high-sited 
batteries it is generally a mistake to keep the shell underground, and 
even in lower-sited positions it is only occasionally necessary. It is 
with the shell supply that, owing to their weight, delay generally occurs. 
A comparatively light cover is all they need if they are packed so as 
not to touch each other ; and much economy would be gained by storing 
15 
