The American rifle : a treatise, a text book, and a book of practical instruction in the use of the rifle

Front matter

ra hH

■n

H

Introduction

This work represents the study and labor of the twenty-five best years of my life. I have written it because I believe that there is great need for such a book, a book which will help to make us again what we were a century ago before commercialism and life in cities robbed our young men of most of their primitive virtues — a Nation of Riflemen. A nation skilled in the use of the rifle need never fear for their liberties, nor for those hidden dangers which accompany an effete civilization. Ever since the days when our frontiersmen won their way, and settled our country with rifle and axe the former has been the symbol of real manhood, and so it must always be. Rifle shooting for sport or war has always been associated with the red blooded men, and rifle competitions have never had the faintest trace of professionalism attached.

In many years of careful work and study I have gained a knowledge of our national arm which it does not seem right that I should keep to myself, especially at a time when my country needs a most thorough dissemination of knowledge on the subject. I have had to write the book before I wanted to, and under great pressure, at the start of my country's participation in the Great War. By profession a soldier I must needs hurry it to completion before it is perhaps too late. I therefore ask for it consideration by the reader.

This is not a military book. It is rather a book for the great mass of American manhood in whom the love for adventure, the primitive desire for treading the waste places, and the love of country have not been entirely sapped. But the soldier will find in it much dealing with the principal weapon of the Infantrymen which has not heretofore been available.

The book is mine in the main. The experiments detailed were mostly conducted by myself unaided, although I have incorporated the results of a number of experiments and much research work undertaken by Dr. Franklin W. Mann, as set forth in his book " The Bullet's Flight." I alone am responsible for the opinions expressed herein, and I believe that I have told the truth.

viii INTRODUCTION

I desire to acknowledge the assistance that I have received from the following of my friends:

Franklin W. Mann. Walter G. Hudson. Paul B. Jenkins. Robert A. Kane. Kellog K. V. Casey. T. G. Samworth.

Harry M. Pope. Adolph O. Neidner. J. R. Mattern.

Many times this little coterie of riflemen have assisted me, encouraged me, and helped to put me on the right track.

I have tried to arrange the sequence of the chapters in such a manner that a careful reading of the book in the order presented will permit of a full understanding of the text, often a difficult matter in a technical work. Some of the matter presented herewith has appeared under my signature in various magazines devoted to rifles and rifle shooting, but the larger part of it is new matter, not found elsewhere. At the same time it has been necessary to include much matter which is common knowledge among experienced riflemen and ballisticians, and great precautions have been taken to see that this matter has been presented truthfully, and without exaggeration. I have received considerable assistance from the various arms and ammunition companies in the mechanical preparation of the work, but no monetary consideration whatever, and the reader can regard the work as absolutely free from commercialism.

TOWNSEND WHELEN.

Headquarters, 79th Division.

Office of the Ordnance Officer,

Camp Meade, Md.

Part I Historical, Introductory, Construction And Ballistics

CHAPTER PAGE

I The History of tiik Rifle in America 3

II The A. B. C. of Rifle Ballistics 15

III The Nomenclature and Classification of American

IV The American Rifles 23

V Barrels 129

VI Stocks, Forearms, Balance, and Weight 136

VII The Sights 146

VIII Sight Adjustment 170

IX Telescope Sights 179

X Bullets 197

XI Cartridges 208

XII Modern Rifle Powders 284

XIII Reloading Ammunition . 338

XIV Trajectory 360

XV Killing Power 364

XVI Elevation 374

XVII Accuracy 382

XVIII Accuracy Life and Mobilubricant 403

XIX Zero Elevation, Barrel Flip, and Resting the Rifle . 411

XX The Pope Muzzle Loading System 418

XXI Target Measurement 428

XXII Adjustments and Repairs 432

Part II Practical Rifle Shooting

XXIII The A. B. C. of Marksmanship 455

XXIV Aiming 45§

XXV Holding and the Firing Positions 466

ix x CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

XXVI Trigger Pull 4S6

XXVII Calling the Shot 490

XXVIII Sight Adjustment 492

XXIX Position and Aiming Drills 501

XXX Gallery Shooting 505

XXXI Equipment for Outdoor Raxge Shooting . . . .514

XXXII Elevation 520

XXXIII Zero 526

XXXIV Windage and Winds 52S

XXXV The Score Book 536

XXXVI Military Rifle Shooting 543

XXXVII Team Shooting . . . -. 552

XXXVIII Rest Shooting and Testing 559

XXXIX Range Practice for the Sportsman 574

XL Shooting at Moving Objects 584

XL! The Rifle in the Wilderness . 588

XLII The Cleaning and Care of the Rifle . . . ".. . 598

XLIII Rifle-Range Construction 614

XLIV The National Rifle Association of America . . . 625

Index 633

PART I

HISTORICAL, INTRODUCTORY, CONSTRUC- TION, AND BALLISTICS

Chapter I The History Of The Rifle In America

THE date of the invention of the rifle is not known with any certainty. Modern rifles and ammunition are the outcome of centuries of evolution. There are extant some early German crossbows, the missiles from which were delivered through guiding tubes having spiral slots or grooves cut upon their interior surfaces. It is usually claimed by writers on this subject that a date between 1470 and 1500 marks the introduction of rifling into the bore of shoulder arms in order to make the bullet fly true to a greater distance than was possible with the smooth bore. Gaspard Kollner of Vienna became celebrated for rifled guns as early as 1500.

The rifle was introduced into America by the Germans from the Rhine countries, and the Palatine Swiss, who began settling in Pennsylvania in 1683. Some of these settlers were artisans and gunmakers. The rifles which they first introduced were short, heavy, and had a bore of about an inch. The recoil was terrific, and they were very slow to load. The bare lead ball was driven down the bore by the blows of a mallet, and an iron ramrod. After the first shot the bore became so fouled that it often required fifteen minutes to load again. The settlers soon found that the shooting conditions in their new land were far different from those pertaining in Europe. In Europe the rifle had been used only for war, and for sport in settled communities where no particular hardship resulted from a lost or bad shot. But in America the first settlers lived in an immense wilderness, and had to depend upon their weapons for much of their food, and often for their lives. Their weapon had to be accurate, and it was very desirable, owing to the difficulties of supply, that it should not waste any of the powder charge ; hence a long barrel was necessary. Ammunition sufficient for long periods often had to be carried on the person, and this led to the small-bore weapon.

Speed of fire was often essential, and some settler evolved the greased patch. Also, in order to make the report of the rifle as light as possible in order that it might not reach the ears of distant Indians, a heavy barrel was found very desirable. Gradually, as the gunsmiths and pioneers consulted together and experimented, these changes were brought about, and the first type of American rifle was evolved. This first American rifle reached its development about 1739. It was a flint-lock, long, slender, and very heavy. Its round lead bullet was

Fig. 1 Early American flint lock rifles.

Upper. One of the earliest American rifles. Made by Matthew Roesser, Lancaster, Pa., 1739. Half octagon barrel, weight 8 pounds, caliber .40.

Lozver. Rifle made by James Woods about 1810. Caliber .45, weight 9 pounds. Rifle is still in perfect condition, and gives accurate targets. Used by the present owner for hunting in 1917.

from half an ounce to a full ounce in weight. On the right side, of the stock of the rifle was a little brass patch box, in which there was kept a number of circular patches of greased linen or leather. The powder was kept in a powder horn, usually a steer horn hollowed out thin, and often elaborately and artistically engraved and carved. The powder was poured from this horn, sometimes into a measure, and sometimes into the palm of the hand, and the amount gauged. It was then emptied into the muzzle of the rifle, and a greased patch centered over the muzzle. A bullet was placed over this patch and shoved into the bore with the thumb, the rifle being held perpendicularly

THE HISTORY OF THE RIFLE IN AMERICA 5

all the while, the butt resting on the ground. Then the light hickory ramrod was drawn from the thimbles under the barrel, the concave head was placed on the bullet, and the lubricated ball slid down the bore until it rested on the powder charge. Then the ramrod was flung or " wanged " down the bore a couple of times, thus flattening the ball somewhat, and upsetting it so that it filled the bore to the bottom of the rifling, thus shutting off the escape of gas around it. The ramrod was returned to its thimbles, a few grains of powder carefully placed in the pan of the lock, and the rifle was ready to fire. A skillful rifleman could perform this operation of loading in about 30 seconds. It is told of some of the early pioneers that they were so skillful that they were able to load their rifles on a run. While the rifle is not an American invention, as many have supposed, yet it is believed that the Pennsylvania Dutch should be given the credit of first developing it into an efficient weapon for sport and war.

It is interesting to note just what these old rifles were capable of. One of these rifles made by Rosser of Lancaster, Pa., in 1739 and at present in the possession of Mr. John Dillon of Philadelphia, was tested by the Remi.ngton-U. M. C. Co. at their factory several years ago with the following results :

Rosser flint lock rifle, made in Lancaster, Pa., 1739. Round ball, .32 inch diameter, weight 49 grains, powder charge 22 grains of black powder.

Average velocity over 53 feet 1.305 feet per second

Muzzle energy 239 ft. lbs.

Energy at 100 yards 79 ft. lbs.

Energy at 200 yards 41 ft. lbs.

These rifles were not reliable at ranges over 150 yards, and were seldom used over 100 yards. Their best range was about 60 yards, and in their time a majority of rifle matches seem to have been held at that range. At that range a good shot with a good rifle could keep all his shots inside a circle about an inch and a half in diameter. In other words, they were about as accurate as our ordinary rifles of today, up to 100 yards, but are far surpassed by our best rifles, while as to power we can .best class them as being about on a par with our .25 Stevens rim-fire cartridge at short ranges.

For a long time the Pennsylvania Germans were the only riflemakers in America. History points to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as being the birth-place of the rifle on these shores. The frontiersmen of Maryland, Virginia, and New York soon caught on to the superior qualities of the new weapon, and were not slow to adopt it. In 1750 it was in very general use all along the Allegheny border. In our wars we first heard of its use in the attack on the French stronghold of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, which was at that time the key to the French possessions in America. The Pennsylvania^ riflemen advanced against the fortress in trenches by sapping, and when near to the walls the precision of their rifles made it impossible

Fig. 2 Early American percussion lock rifles.

Upper. Originally a flint lock made about 1780, and later converted into a percussion lock. Forty caliber, weight 8V2 pounds. Probably made in Reading, Pa. Lower. A more modern American rifle made by James Goulcher, Philadelphia, Pa., about 1865. Caliber .43, weight 11 pounds.

for the Frenchmen to serve their cannon. The rifle was practically unknown in New England until the frontiersmen of Pennsylvania and Virginia arrived at the siege of Boston in the Revolution. The first troops levied by the Continental Congress were six companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland, and two from Virginia, which joined the main army at Cambridge in August, 1776. These companies consisted of three officers and seventy-seven enlisted men each, and were recruited entirely from frontiersmen. They were armed with rifles, which each man provided himself, and were clad

THE HISTORY OF THE RIFLE IN AMERICA 7

in buckskin. At the very start they distinguished themselves on the march to Cambridge by covering this distance, 550 miles, in 22 days without the loss of a single man. During the Revolution, the Congress entered into contract with several riflemakers in the South to furnish a small number of these arms for our troops, but as a rule the rifles in use in the Revolution were the private property of the men carrying them. It was not until 1819 that the United States took up the manufacture of a rifle for the army. It is thought, but not known positively, that some of these rifles were made at the Springfield Armory. This model 1819 rifle was a flint lock, muzzle loader of .54 caliber, shooting a round ball, 32 to the pound, and a charge of 100 grains of black powder. Its weight was 9.203 pounds, and its length without bayonet was 51.31 inches. — - — '

Shortly after the close of the Revolution, a Scottish clergyman named Alexander J. Forsyth invented the percussion-cap system of igniting the powder charge. This noteworthy improvement took quite a while to reach our shores, and it was in fact not until 1842 that the percussion lock and cap came into general use in this country, although quite a number of privately made arms were constructed with this lock several years before this date. The English army adopted percussion ignition for their Brunswick rifle in 1835. About this time the exploration and settling of the West started, and gradually there were developed two distinctly American types of muzzle-loading, percussion-cap rifles. One of these was the well-known Kentucky rifle, an extremely long rifle of small bore. The Eastern rifleman demanded a small-bore arm in order that he might be able to carry a large supply of ammunition on his journeys, which were usually made on foot, carrying everything on the back. Thus the Kentucky rifle was sometimes known as a " pea rifle," because it fired a ball about the size of a pea, about .32 to .38 caliber. Usually these rifles when new were about .32 caliber, but as the bore became worn and rusty the owner would take it to the maker and have it rebored, and a new bullet mould made, and so the older the rifle the larger the bore. The barrel varied in length from about 36 inches to 48 inches, and was very heavy, making the total weight of the rifle from 12 to 15 pounds. It had a small stock, rifle butt-plate, and double set triggers. The forestock usually extended up to the muzzle, and contained the ramrod. The butt-plate, patch box, and trimmings were usually of brass, and often elaborately engraved.

But this rifle did not suit the Western hunter, trapper, and explorer.

The bore was not sufficiently large for effective work on the larger Western game, such as elk, buffalo,, and grizzly bear. It lacked killing power and it also lacked range. Moreover, the long barrel was very unwieldy on horseback. Economy in the weight of ammunition was not such a factor, as the Westerner usually had pack ponies for his transportation. So there was gradually evolved a Western type of rifle, reaching its perfection in the rifles made by the Hawken Brothers of St. Louis just before the Civil War. These weapons were of larger caliber, from .40 to .60 inch, and in later years fired a conical instead of a round ball. The barrel was much shorter, usually about 30 inches. The stock was much heavier, to stand the rougher service, and the forearm often extended only half-way up the barrel. The other features of the Kentucky rifle were however retained.

Improvements in rifles came rapidly during the first half of the nineteenth century, practically all being directed towards a breech system of loading. In fact in 1808, only a year after the invention of the percussion cap, patent rights were granted to a French gunmaker for a paper cartridge to the base of which a paper fulminate cap was attached. The cartridge was inserted from the breech, and the firing of the charge was brought about by piercing the cap with a needle which was impelled forward by a spring. Most of the early attempts Lo produce a breech-loading gun, however, resulted in developing a great and grave distrust for any and all systems of loading from the breech end, and it was not until our Civil War was w r ell under way that we witnessed the production of a really effective and safe breech loader. The first breech-loading rifle to be adopted by the army of any nation was the well-known " Needle gun," which was invented about 1839 by Dreyse, a German, and was at first intended as a sporting arm. The first model suffered badly from some of the same defects that had caused all its predecessors to be rejected, namely the escape of gas and flame at the breech end, but the Prussians became interested in it in 1842, and after many experiments and improvements adopted it in 1848. Meanwhile our own inventors had been active, and about 1855 saw the invention and development of the first Sharps breech-loading rifle. This arm had a vertically sliding breech block, somewhat like that on the present Winchester single-shot rifle. The cartridge was made of a paper cylinder, carrying the conical bullet at the forward end and the powder charge in rear. The breech block was dropped down and the cartridge inserted from the rear. When the breech block was pulled up into place again it shaved the paper off

THE HISTORY OF THE RIFLE IN AMERICA 9

the rear end of the cartridge, thus exposing the powder to the face of the breech block. The breech block carried a nipple and a flash hole through it. After the breech was closed, a percussion cap was placed on the nipple and the rifle was ready to tire. This Sharps rifle was issued to a few British regiments for experimental purposes in 1857, and shortly after the start of our Civil War its issue in carbine form was begun to the Union Cavalry. It also became very popular as a sporting arm, particularly in the West. The paper cartridge, however, was quickly supplanted by the brass shell, to which the Sharps and many other rifles were quickly adapted. During the Civil War repeating rifles also began to be in evidence, one of the first of these being the Spencer, which was patented in i860. This rifle had a lever formed of the trigger guard like the Sharps, but the breech block rotated downward and back on a hinge. The magazine was in the butt stock. A number of these were used in the Civil War, and also sent into the West at the close of the w r ar. The Spencer was quickly followed in 1866 by the Henry rifle, which is the predecessor of our present Winchester repeater. The success of the Henry rifle was very rapid, and it quickly drove most of the other rifles off the market, many of the old Spencer rifles getting into the hands of the plains Indians. One rifle to retain its popularity for a long time, however, was the old Sharps single shot, now adapted to a metallic cartridge and considerably improved. One reason for this was the powerful cartridge which it carried, all the first of the repeating rifles being made for short cartridges of small power, and not well adapted to the larger Western game or for long range. The Sharps was the rifle that killed off the buffalo ; one model of the Sharps in fact being called the " buffalo gun." This was .45 or .50 caliber, with a very heavy octagon barrel, and outside hammer. The first of the Sharps rifles had outside hammers very similar to the old muzzle-loading hammer, but towards the end of its career the Sharps Rifle Company made a single-shot, hammerless rifle, the firing pin and mainspring being contained in the sliding breech-block. This excellent rifle found its way into the hands of a few Westerners, and also became a popular, long-range, target weapon. It carried probably the most powerful black-powder cartridge ever designed in America, a .45 caliber, the long, straight, brass shell containing as much as 120 grains of black powder, and the paper-patched bullet weighing 550 grains.

The Henry repeating rifle, which was so popular in those days (1870), used a .44 caliber, rim-fire cartridge, containing 28 grains

^8 v

Fig. 3 Arms of our late frontier. In order from top to bottom : Sharp's buffalo rifle, caliber .45-120-550. Weight 17 pounds. Sharp's rifle, Creedmoor Model for long range target shooting. Sharp's-Borchart hammerless rifle, semi-military model. Spencer rifle, caliber- .56-44 rim fire. .

Henry repeating rifle, caliber .44 rim fire, from which the Winchester rifle

was developed. - . .... ,

Winchester carbine, Model 1866, caliber .44 rim fire. The first Winchester

rifle made.

Spencer carbine, caliber .56 rim fire.

THE HISTORY OF THE RIFLE IN AMERICA n

of powder and 200 grains of lead. In 1866 the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was organized, this company purchasing the Henry Arms Company and the Spencer Rifle Company, and continuing the manufacture of the Henry rifle until quite recent times. In 1873 the Winchester Company placed on the market the Winchester Model 1873 rifle, probably the most famous rifle produced in America, and the rifle which has made the name " Winchester " famous throughout the world. This rifle was very similar to the Henry rifle, in fact it was made under the Henry patent, but it was very much better made, so much so that it was a thoroughly reliable arm. Until its advent repeaters were not considered weapons that could be relied upon under all circumstances, and many hunters, trappers, and explorers still stuck to their old single shots. But the Winchester Model 1873 practically drove all the single shots to the wall. It was first adapted to the cartridge known as the .44 W. C. F., or .44-40; a center-fire cartridge containing 40 grains of black powder, and a flat-nosed, conical bullet of 200 grains. While this cartridge was quite a little more powerful than any charge which had hitherto been adapted to a repeating rifle, it was not considered powerful enough by sportsmen for Western game, and this le.d to the manufacture of the Winchester Model 1876, or " Centennial Model," adapted to much more powerful cartridges, namely the .45-75-350 W. C. F. ; .45-60-300 W. C. F. ; and .40-60-210 W. C. F. About the same time the Model 1873 was adapted to three other cartridges; the .38-40-180; the .32-20-115, and the .22 long rim fire. The Centennial model had practically the same breech action as the Model 1873.

We must now turn to the development of the military rifle immediately following the Civil War. The first breech-loading rifle manufactured at the Springfield Armory was that known as the Model 1866. This had the famous old " Springfield " action with hinged breech-block. It used a .50-caliber, center-fire, brass cartridge, containing 70 grains of black powder and a 450-grain, grooved, lubricated, conical bullet. In 1873 this rifle was improved a little, and the caliber reduced to .45-70-405. Later the weight of the bullet was increased to 500 grains ; the .405 grain bullet, however, being retained for use in the carbine of this model. In all, ten models of the single-shot Springfield rifle have been manufactured at the Springfield Armory, each being a slight improvement over its immediate predecessor. The last one was the Model 1888, containing the rod bayonet. The .45-caliber Springfield was a most reliable and effective weapon. Its breech action could be operated so quickly that, until the advent of smokeless powder, our army saw no need of adopting a repeating rifle. With the .500-grain bullet this rifle was quite accurate up to 800 yards, but the angle of fall at 1000 yards was too great for good target work at that range. My first experience at military target shooting was with this arm, and my old score books show scores up to 48 at 500 yards and 43 at 600 yards.

Almost all important improvements and inventions in firearms have been made primarily for military purposes, and have then been adapted to sporting arms. Having developed the repeating rifle, army officers found that the rapidity of fire of which these rifles were capable could not be fully used on the battlefield owing to the great cloud of smoke which soon arose, obscuring the hostile target. Hence there came a demand for a powder which would burn without so much smoke. Another reason for desiring such a powder was that with black powder a force at once disclosed its exact location as soon as it opened fire. The development of smokeless powder, like the development of the rifle, is more in the nature of a gradual evolution and improvement than the invention of a single man. Serious experiment with smokeless powders dates from 1846, when Schonbein reported that he had discovered a cotton powder which he thought might be used for guns, which would burn without smoke and which left very little residue behind it. A year later Dr. Hartig discovered that it was possible to dissolve guncotton in acetic ether, and it would then, without altering its chemical state, become a clear stiff" jelly when the excess of ether had evaporated. If the ether was allowed to evaporate slowly and entirely, a white residue remained behind which had the same property as the original guncotton, but exploded much more slowly than guncotton. Here, then, we have the first indication that the rate of combustion of guncotton could be controlled. In 1864, Captain Schultz, a German, invented a smokeless powder, which was originally made from disks of wood, boiled in soda and steamed for many hours, and then nitrated. This was the original Schultz shotgun powder, which, in an improved form, is still on the market, but is not suitable for use in rifles. The first man to make a smokeless nitro powder suitable for use in rifles was Frederick Volkmann, who patented a powder in 1871 which he called " Collodin," which would stand immersion in water, and with which the speed of combustion could be controlled by the degree to which the solution of the grains in ether alcohol was allowed to proceed. About this time it became apparent also that a flat tra-

THE HISTORY OF THE RIFLE IN AMERICA 13

jectory was very desirable from a military point of view, and that this could be obtained only from a very small bore, long bullet, and large charge of powder. The initiative in this respect came from Switzerland. Major Rubin of the Swiss Ordnance Department in 1883 invented the rifle which bears his name and also designed the cartridge adapted to it. This cartridge had a bullet measuring only .295 inch, and a very large charge of powder. In the meantime a British committee had been appointed to select a new rifle for the army. They went very carefully into the matter and adopted a cartridge of .303 caliber, having a bullet with a cupro-nickel jacket and a lead core. The powder charge was a compressed cylinder of black powder weighing 70 grains. The velocity of the cartridge was a little over 1800 feet per second, or about 400 feet more than it had been possible to obtain from the large caliber rifles. The cartridge was not a success as the development was really in advance of the black powder used. However, even before it could be condemned a remedy was found in the new smokeless powder. The black powder in this small bore gave so much fouling that accuracy was practically impossible, but the smokeless powder gave almost no fouling and permitted the velocity to be increased to a little over 2000 feet per second. All the other European nations quickly saw the advantage of this new arm and were not slow to change their armament. The United States was among the last to do so. In 1892 the Ordnance Department adopted a foreign rifle, the Krag-Jorgensen, for the regular army, and the manufacture of it was commenced at the Springfield Armory. It used a cartridge having a bullet measuring .308 inch and weighing 220 grains. The bullet was jacketed with cupro-nickel, and had a lead core. The powder charge was about 40 grains of a smokeless powder, giving a velocity of about 2000 feet per second. The issue of this rifle was restricted entirely to the regular army. In 1898 a number of minor improvements were made, and the Krag- Jorgensen rifles seen at the present day are almost all of them what is officially called the United States magazine rifle, Model 1898.