THE RUBINI RIFLE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4548, 25 May 1889, Page 3

THE RUBINI RIFLE.

« The new Rubini rifle, lately adopted by the English army, may be considered almost as great an advance on the other rifles of Ibe world as the first ride was ahead of the - smooth bores which it scat to oblivion. Its features are m all respects s |wonderful im- \ provement. \n respect of accuracy, range,, , and penetration it has prnduped startling results, and the terribly destructive effects of ' its bullets gives colour to the opinion of those , who think that, the mad-killing power of , modern weapons will before long prohibit all war. At the recent trials near - Aldershot there wore up to 43 per cent. ' of hits, at 2000 yards, on targets hidden by a heavy mut. The bullets penetrated i-inch ' wooden planks and flattened on the iron behind. The Bubini bullet is li inch long ( and a little Jess than three-tenths diameter, , whi^he Epfleld-tfartfbi builet VIJ m'ch j long and four-tenths m diameter, the weights being 217 groins and 884 grains respectively. , There is a copper casing round the Bubini ( bullet, which, on striking a bone, flies off and , tears the parts along the track of the projec- ( tile. Experiments made on the bodies of j horses killed for the purpose of testing the power of the bullet m stopping a cavalry ] cbargo have shown a peculiarly destructive , action. Instead of perforating the flesh , with a small hole or splint oring the bonei, the bullot turns the muecles into pulp and the bones into dust for several inches around its path. It fatally demoralises all tissue, and tlfcre is very little cbanco of a man hit by it eyer recovering. This terrible projectile will • probably be copied into the. armaments of : foreign nations, and it wijl then concern us \ inuph more seriously m eolation to its effect on tljo mounted troops, which $ill jn \i\e future probably form a large part of our dofencp. The effects of tho Bubini bullet hare been made the subject of vpterinary Study, and it appears thi}t neither man nor I horjo cap sfani} sgalnej, \i, ' ' '