

This modern American rifle was produced by Griffin & Howe—Quality 
and individual attention to every detail make it an arm of distinction. 
dimension, and shape of barrel was 
necessary for the highest ballistic 
efficiency, but these things were so 
standardized in our rifles and in the 
machinery for their production that no 
change or selection was possible. 
RACTICALLY no attention could 
be paid to balance, a very im- 
portant matter when it comes to quick 
and accurate shooting. We had a few 
sights from which a selection might be 
made, but if we wanted something en- 
tirely different there was no one who 
could or would make it. Many of these 
matters pertain just as forcibly to 
British gunmakers as to American. 
Several years ago this demand 
reached a stage where it was so in 
evidence as to compel the organization 
of two companies specially to cater to 
it, to build made-to-order rifles of the 
very highest grade of material and 
workmanship obtainable anywhere, of 
strictly modern design, each one built 
to individual requirements, a custom- 
built arm fitted to the individual and 
his requirements and conditions. 
As might be expected, there has been 
found, generally speaking, to be pone 
best type in design. Thus among the 
really expert rifle-bearing sportsmen 
these demands and ideas have gradu- 
ally moulded themselves in certain very 
definite directions, always in conformity 
with’ the findings of our most skilled 
and up-to-date ballistic engineers. 
Certain types, designs and methods 
have been found to be superior to 
others, and so there has resulted a 
crystalization into a type of rifle very 
distinctly American, and very superior 
to anything ever produced before any- 
where, a superiority which extends not 
only to ballistic efficiency but to sport- 
ing efficiency as well. For want of 
a better name we have come to 
call this type the “Modern American 
Rifle.” 
HAVE before me two of these 
Modern American Rifles, one made 
by the Hoffman Arms Company and the 
other by Griffin & Howe, with which I 
have just completed a very thorough 
range test and examination. Let us 
look over these beautiful weapons from 
muzzle to butt and see wherein they 
excel what we have been used to in 
previous domestic and foreign manu- 
facture, and why they are superior. 
Starting at the muzzle, the first 
thing which attracts our attention is 
the front sight and base. The front 
sight blade carries a gold bead with 
perpendicular surface toward the eye 
so that it reflects light with even 
illumination over the whole surface. 
Behind this bead is a very large white 
enamel bead turned down in the base, 
which can be raised for night shooting. 
The base is secured to the barrel by 
an encircling band—no slots—and this 
band at its rear has a long, matted, 
inclined ramp, which, in the act of 
aiming, has the same effect as a matted 
rib on a _ shotgun, leading the eye 
quickly towards the front sight. 
AEN there is a globe, hooded front 
sight protector which can be 
slipped on over the base to protect the 
sight in rough going, or when in a 
saddle holster, or used as a shade in 
target shooting. 
The barrel is round, without any 
slots or screw holes whatever, and is 
made of a high grade of nickel steel 
which is quite rust resisting. It has 
about three times the resistance to rust 
that the ordinary barrel steel has, and 
also an extremely high elastic limit and 
resistance to erosion. The barrel is 
rather thick in diameter at the breech 
and for about an inch in front of the 
breech covering the area of the cham- 
ber, thus properly supporting the high 
breech pressure. Then it tapers with 
the short cone which experience has 
shown to give the most even and com- 
pensating vibration. The remainder of 
the barrel has a gradual taper to the 
muzzle. 
Looking at the bore we find, first a 
chamber which is most accurately and 
smoothly reamed to take the cartridge. 
This chamber is not cut with the large 
allowances for speedy production or to 
relieve possible high breech pressure. 
Such a tight and perfect chamber is 
only possible where the makers of the 
rifle exercise some control over the 
manufacture of the cartridge that is to 
be used, which has been assured in this 
case. 
rats particular rifle is designed for 
a certain make of cartridge and not 
designed to use a number of cartridges 
made with the variations determined 
by six or seven ammunition companies. 
The bullet seat at the front of the 
chamber is very carefully reamed to fit 
the ogive or profile of the bullet exactly 
(that is, the portion of the bullet ex- 
tending outside the case into which the 
rifling will cut), the tolerance being 
less than .0002 inch. 
of Be arrangement of cartridge, 
chamber, and bullet seat is such 
that when the cartridge is placed in 
the chamber the bullet seat takes a hold 
of the bullet and straightens it up so 
that its axis is in exact line with the 
axis of the bore, and thus when fired 
the bullet moves straight forward in 
perfect alignment with the bore and 
receives practically no deformation in 
so doing. With all our older rifles, 
and with most foreign rifles, the cham- 
ber is quite large to allow for a number 
of contingencies which seldom occur. 
The cartridge lies at the bottom of this 
large chamber, and the bullet, before 
discharge, is cocked up at more or less 
of an angle with the axis of the bore. 
As a result the bullet is more or less 
deformed upon entering the bore which 
precludes the finest accuracy, and the 
bore itself is gradually eroded at the 
bullet seat. 
OW we come to the breech action 
which in this case is of the Mauser 
type. There is no better action than 
the Mauser when properly made. It 
is the most fool-proof and the most 
reliable. Its primary and secondary 
cams give it more power to insert, 
extract and eject a dirty, sticky or 
oversized cartridge than any other 
breech action. A pressure or pull of 
twenty-five pounds on the bolt handle 
results in a translation of one hundred 
and seventy-five pounds on the head of 
the cartridge. This is of exceeding 
importance, for a rifle to be used in 
emergencies where the life of the 
sportsman is sometimes at stake should 
never fail to eject the fired case and 
insert the new cartridge. The breech 
bolt is supported by locking lug's at its 
head. In many domestic rifle actions 
the lug or bolt is at the rear of a long 
breech block, and this is now known 
to be detrimental to accuracy and 
durability, as well as being a _ bad 
engineering principle. 
HE steel of the breech action 
has an exceedingly high tensile 
strength and is heat treated in addi- 
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