A New Rifle for the British Army.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 134, 26 December 1885, Page 4

A New Rifle for the British Army.

The results of the labours of the committee appointed to provide a new and improved rifle for the army, which have just .been published show, says the London ' 'Standard, " that the future weapon of the Britifeh Army will, as regards most considerations, be "far in advance of the service arm of any other nation. In the new weapon the Martini breech action has been retained, the alteration being in the barrel and the weight of the projectile, the combination being called the Martini-Eofield. Taking the Martini-Henry as a .standard of comparison, the diameter of the. bore has been reduced from *45 inch to '40, .the weight of the new bullet being 384 grains, as compared with the 430 grain bullet of the old rifle. The powder charge, however, of 85 grains remains the same, with the important result that the muzzle velocity of the bullet is increased from 1,315 feet, per second to 1,570, thus lowering.the. trajectory to such an extent that whilst, the Martini-Henry bullet in travelling 500 yards rises more thon eight feet and a half above the line of sight, the improved projectile would scarcely go over the head of an infantryman if fired from the ground level. This is an important consideration, as it minimises any errors in elevations which may rise either from excitement or miscalculation. Tbe system of grooving adopted is the ratchet. The number of rooves being 9, as against the seven of'tne 4 Martini- Henry, although the latter is the largest number employed in any military rifle in the world, whilst the twist of the / bullet has been increased from one turn in/^ 22 inches to one turn in 15, the latter Jbejpg in excess pi anything which hasyej^oeen used for service purposes. , In adrfltiQuto the important reduction, in tha^neight o! the trajectory, the higher jpirflooity, of the bullet and the improyed ijming have shown remarkably good tareec results' the mean deviation, of, the bullet, .being only 3 feet and' 9o tA fe^<rat.sQ0 r and 1.,C 00 yards, -respectively ,^ris\ against '55 feet. and 1J;851 J ;85 feet forir^fne. Martini- Fenry. Another importajpt feature is that, the recoil of the new^eapori is considerably less than that present service f arm/ which has Moused so < much, 'adverse '..comment. Experiments are, also being, made: to provide , the he w, weapon with, an attainable magazine^ so: that .the .soldier 'will, be, able to sdeiiyer; a > rapid-fire; of 1, several without 'reloading incases of emergenoy. ,"

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