TELESCOPE RIFLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1169, 30 September 1865, Page 5

TELESCOPE RIFLES.

(From the .Daily Telegraph )

.From the very earliest time?, when the general conduct of warfare was made to, assume an organised aspect, and the attack , as well as the defence of fortified towns acknowledged the advantages of the methodical proceedings called sieges _nd defence?, down to the present era—long ranges—we cay long in a comparative tense —as well as accuracy, never ceased to be considered important auxiliaries to the action of battering-rams and catapults, or siege guns and mortars. There are too many instances in which snull groups can be assailed in the vat ions circumstance-* of war, either in the course of the reconnaissances that precede engauement?, or the duties inherent^to camp lif., to the gtneral direction of siege operations, to the forced pas-jage of rivers, &_., to neglect, or to justify the neglect ot, all such arrangements as can ensure the attainment ol exceptional results, under conditions of an wnusual nature. Tne most dangerous combinations may be so upset by the loss of a man; the most promising attack and disheartening defence may respectively be so well baffled and reanimated by a successful means of retarding tbe gradual progress ol the trenches ; the construction of pontoon bridges may be so usefully and ttiumphantly impeded by Jong range peuetration, if means can be found capable of doing execution at cannon range;, and yet with less exposure, though with great ease, than the case would he by planting guns in battery—that it would be folly to neglect encouraging the production of weapons capable of surpassing the ordinary average and conditions of de.tructivetiess. There are, aud must ever be, a variety of cases in which the ranges of small arms will be insufficient, and the use of artillery impnsside through the nature of the ground, independently of other considerations. Then it is that the utility of an intermediate class of projectile arms will be fi.lt necefsary ; and consequrn ly it i. in view of these cases that encouragement should be given for the creation ot such a category as can participate in the character of tt>e small a*ms classes, and yet equal in range, and if possible in penetration, the best performances of light lifl.-d artillery. At the cose of the filteenth century the use of rifled firearms hid become so general, that at the nati-mal target practice carried on in Leipsic in the year 1498 almost all the competitors were provided with grooved barrel-**. In les* than twenty years from this last-mentioned date the twisted groove was introduced by Kuster, of Nuremberg. The rifle thus b< came an ess .ntialty German weapon ; yet when it pass-id into use for military purposes its powers were reserved exclusively tor the defence of fortifi.d towns. A hundred and fifty years later some of the German princes organised ■ odies of riflemen, and about the Fame time various regiments of Fieuch cavalry were furnish.d with rifled carbines. The whole question of these new firearms remained again stationary, that is, until the days of the French Revolution, when large bodies ot riflemen were put on a war footing, and provided with the beet kind of rifles that could be devis.d. When the conquest of Algeria was commenci d by the French army, the peculiar nature of the country, as well as of the warfare that had to be conducted, suggested the intervention and introduction of the fruit'de rampnrt, which was a heavy br< acti-loading rifle, firing a spherical bull, the diameter of which was equal to 088 inches and its weight over two ounce?. The calibre of the rifle was somewhat less than that of the ball, which, fired with a charge equal to about five drachms of powder, was forced into the groove.**, and thereby slightly elongate 1. The rifle weighed very nearly 18lbs. It was erapl lyed as a sort of supplementary artillery, was provided with a support or fork to be stuck iv the ground, and did tolerable service at 650 yards, which was the maximum adjustment of its sights. In less than ten years this weapon was so improved with regard to greater lightness, that its weight was brought down to 121b.-*, without any sacrifice of either power or range. Despite its advantages, this weapon enjoyed but little favor, on account of the violence of the reeoi', and the facility with which the breech-loading arrangements were put out of order by the fine dust ofthe African soil. The Arabs, nevertheless, were taught through the execution of these long-range mu.skets to keep at a respectful distauce from the invader's camps. When the carabine it tigc and the Minie rifles came into use, the cumbrous rampart mu-ket was cast aside, its lange being considerably excelled by that of the former; yet there was no reason why it should not have been improved upon, so a* to keep ahead of the new rifle a3 it had surpassed the old smooth-bores of fhe infantry. That some such i.nprovemeut would have been found necessary we cannot for a moment doubt, had the Emperor Napoleon continued his operations iv Venetia. As it was, such a necessity had no time to make itself felt amongst European armies, and so the Confederates have reaped the credit of bringing this class of arms once more into use, since it ii. in tbeir ranks, and under ths pressure of circumstances which needed the utmost possible help that science and ingenuity could suggest that they have been revived. But they have not been retained in their former state; on the contrary, all the additions and changes have been made that the progress of the last few years c mid suggest, and thus it has been possible to harass camps, annoy batteries, pick off officers, and explode caissons at no less a range than 2000 yards. The Council of the National R'fle Association, having been informed of these facts some time last year, coon appreciated the importance of promoting the study and manufacture of weapon? fit for the work alleged to be done by tho->e resorted to amongst the Confederates. Consequently, acting in accordance with this patriotic feeling, they decided to offer a prize to be competed for at 2000 yards' distance, limiting the weight of the rifles to 15lbs. The rifles were to have telescopes attached to i them, and were to fire percussi.m shells as well as bullets. If the Council do thereby succeed in calling* into existence this special sort tof fire-arms, and, moreover, in awakening a taste for competitions and practice with these ponderous ban els, they certainly will have added one more claim to the many they already possess on the satisfaction of the country. The competition for the prize thai offered came off yesterday *t the Gmveiend

! ranges. The day was remarkably clear, but the mirage in tbe earlier p*rt of the forenoon was very considerable, whHe the wind gradually increased in intensity, soon made its influence percepiible on the regularity and accuracy of practice- * At 2000 yards distance a target measuring twentyfour feet in length by twelve feet iti hefght had been raised, the bull's-eye bemg sufS2.ently large to be easily discernable even . that distance. Only two competitors, -jr"eutenant-Co!oneI HaU'ord and Mr Metj°rd, and only one rifle, invented by the 'att mentioned gentlemau, entered the lists. Five trial shots were allowed, while 25 were assigned to the competition itself, each party going throu.h his rounds uninterruptedly, beginning by Mr Metford, the loading of the rifle being performed by the other competitor. Unfortunately, there was no great concourse of spectators. Lady Eicho, however, graced the assemblage with ber presence. J

Out of the twenty-five competitive rounds Mr Metford made 8 hits, giving 22 marks; curiously enough, the result oi Lieutenant-Colonel Hallord's firing was exactly the same, viz., 8 hits and 22 marks. Ultimately the prize was carriid off by Colonel lialford. The hits were most of them at a good height for execution ; while the shots that went over, and those that did the same after ricochet, would iv all probability have been fair hits had the target been 24 feet high. Had the target been reduced to the height of a man on horseback, the execution would t-till have bt en extremely satisfactory. Mr Rteby. who was on the ground with one ot his rifle-**, had a few trial shots at 2000 _ ards, with a very imperfect light. Nevertheless, the line of lire was very goud, the shots, most time., going over the target. It appeared evident that a rifle on Mr Kigby's system, if carried up to 12ib. iv weight and fired with 4 drachms, would be capable of making admirable practice, con.idet iog the distauce and the consequent increase of error. The rifle fired with by Mr Metford weighed 161b*?., including the tt-lei-cope, which measures 18 inches in length, has an objective gla-s half an in h in dMineter, with cross wires, and is fi. inly affixed to the left . side of the barrel. Aim is taken through the telescope with lxm.rkable ease. The barrel is 40 inches long, o*s inch calibre ; it fires 5 drachms of po*der, and propels the ball, which is I*B in h long, with an initial velucity equal to 1470 feet per second. The recoil certainly looked severe, particularly as the gun was fired without rest; but the loading was mi ea>y that the rounds were fired at a rate of le** than three minutes each. As a first experiment, without fixed rest, the results that have attended it may fairly be considered highly satis'actory. They indicate however, the nice-s-ity of breach-loading, and show the possibility of attaining equally good results under easier aud mote acceptable conditions a" to wei.ht.