THE NEW MAGAZINE RIFLE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4894, 25 September 1901, Page 4

THE NEW MAGAZINE RIFLE.

The^*; Lee-Eufield mag^in* rifle, with wtfch the^yoluntelbri? are bjing armed, is a very fine weapon, but will require a large amount of care and attention, to keep it in first-claes order. The • shooting ' men qf Volunteer corps are usually careful: of their wpapona, and will take' a delight in the new rifle, but the careless men — unfortunately they are to be found in all companies — will have to mend their "ways : entirely, otherwise the rifles" will be.rmneß in- » very abort time. Cordite cartridges are used for the Lee Enfield rifle, and the nitric acid contained in the cordite, if the; barrel of the rifle is not promptly cleaned after usage, very quickly eats into the metal and destroys the rifling. A special kind of oil and a pullthrough (which are kept in the stock of the weapon) are supplied with each rifle, and the cleaning must be done before the men leave the range. Tbe duty will now develop upon the noncoms, of carefully inspecting rifles before the men leave the range. Whereever tbe circumstances of the corps will permit, tbe rifles should be kept in a rack at tbe drillshed, and only taken out for special purposes, to be returned immediately after ujHrig*and handed overHo*'tb6 storekeeper, whose duty it would be to keep (be rifles in proper order and condition. Tbe weight of tbe rifle is 9lb, but those who have used the weapon' say that the extra weight is not noticed when shooting, owing to the rifle being so well balanced. The velocity of the bullet is so great that the trajectory is flat up to 500 yds. It is 01'gbted on tbe leaf up to 1800 yds * and by taking a sight over & line on the edge of tbe upturned leaf the sighting is' up to 2,oooyds. The Volunteer who handles tbe new rifle for tbe first time will at once notice the fact that the 'barleycorn,' or sighting edge, on the block of tbe foresight, is not in tbe centre of the block, bat is placed well to tb& left. In firing with cordite the discharge causes a distinct ' jump' to the right and a scientific placing of the sight has overcome the tendency to shoot to tbe right which created some consternation during tbe early trials of ' the rifle. There is not much recoil left when shooting at short distances, but at the very long ranges (rarely | used) the recoil is considerable. ' In I addition to tbe ordinary foresight and \ back sight there is another sighting arrangement which will be a novelty to our Volunteers. On. one side of the rifle, near tbe breech, is a little dial plate on which is a movable band, or pointer. This is used for adjusting the sights from I,GOO up to 2,800 ! yards, distances that- will never be required in a climate 5 such as ours, though the clearer' atmosphere of South 'Africa'they-frequently fire at very long' ranges.' By^ turning the dial band to the required figures, and taking aim" through** small aperture (much the same as the Leyman sight on a sporting rifle), the necessary sight is obtained^ for " long-distance shooting. The action of th^rffle is the boh action, and thus differs from the Martini, which is block action. The action is, in fact, practically the same a» the Mauser, but the new rifle has great advantages over the Mauser in the matter of the magazine. The Mauser holds five cartridge^, and when tbey are fired the rifle has to be reloaded. The Lee-Enfield has a magazine carrying ten cartridges and also what is called a ' cut-off.' Thus the nfle can be used as a single loader for as long as the soldier desires, and the ten rounds in the magazine can be kept intact until a desperate crisis arrives and the order is given for 1 rapid firing,' The magazine can scarcely be losr, for it is attached to the rifle by a strong brass link. If it were Wt, howerer| or shot away, tbe rifle would still be good as a single loader. The bolts can be withdrawn and thrown away so as to make tbe rifle useless should it fall into the bands of the enemy ; in this respect it is similar to the Mauser. There is a ' safety-catch,' the rising of which is equivalent to ' half-cocking.' When this is raised it becomes impossible to discharge the rifle.

The above is a description of, the main features of the rifle, though somewhat' incomplete. "A full description would Beceßßibabo the use of a technical term which would not be understood by those who had not seen the rifle. The weapon is undoubtedly, a first class one. It is more complicated than the Martini rifle, aud Volunteers will have to take great care of it aud give it intelligent study* to fully understand its quality and become thoroughly ' at home ' with )t. Once having mastered it tbey will recognise that they faav© been supplied with an np*to> date weapon with which very accurate shooting can be made. — ' Canterbury Times.'