Rifle

a hand gun having a heavy barrel, the inside of which is channeled by spiral grooves. The rifle is a later invention than the musket. It is credited to Leipsic in 1498. The superiority lies in the spiral grooves. They give a bullet a rotary motion that carries it truer to the mark. The first rifles made in this country were manufactured in Pennsylvania about 1732. The bullet was expected to fit so closely that it had to be driven in upon the charge of powder with great force. Later the bullet was made a little smaller and was wrapped in a greased patch to make it fit closer without the expenditure of so much force upon the ramrod. The Chassepot and Martini were favorite European rifles fifty years ago, but they have been replaced by the Mauser, the Lebel, the Lee-Mitford, and the Krag-Jorgensen. All modern armies are now supplied with rifles. The infantry of the United States have been armed, for instance, with Springfield rifles, the bullets of which weigh 500 grains. These are being replaced, however, by the Krag-Jorgensen with a magazine holding five cartridges. The United States marines carry Lee-Remingtons. The Lee-Remingtons, the Sharps, and the Winchester are well known American rifles.

Telescopic sights have been in use for some time. Smokeless powder is one of the later inventions. Muzzle-loading guns have gone out of use altogether. The modern breechloader which permitted the insertion of a cartridge at the base of the barrel was a great invention, but it has been replaced by the repeater or chambered rifle. It is provided with a long tube or magazine which runs along the under side of the barrel and contains a supply of cartridges. One jerk of a lever throws out the discharged cartridge. Another jerk puts a fresh cartridge in its place, and the gun is ready to be fired. Hunters claim that with this firearm they are able to aim and fire several shots a minute. A recent invention is designed to muffle the sound of explosion. It consists essentially of a valve that permits the escape of the bullet, but which retards the escape of the gases, and thereby reduces the noise to from twenty to forty per cent of its former loudness.