engages the nose of the trigger sear when the weapon is loaded. (a groove in the tongue, called the “ half-bent ” (Z), serves as a halfcock arrangement, and could be used as a safety-catch if the proper safety-catch were damaged). The trigger sear (K) is a bell-crank lever, the upper long arm of which is put in and out of contact with the “ full-bent, ” and the lower or short arm is connected to the trigger. The ma azine holds ten cartridges, which rest on a platform, underneath which is the magazine spring that pushes the platform and cartridges up. A “ cut-off, ” is fitted in the “ long " and in some marks of the “ short ” rifle. This is a sort of lid to the magazine, enabling the magazine to be kept full while the rifle is being used as a single loader. But the present musketry regulations forbid single-loading, and the cut-off is now only closed for special purposes, such as unloading a single cartridge (miss-fire, &c.) without unloading the magazine. The magazine is loaded by right of the body and the extractor attached to it flings out the fired cartridge-case. A-nother cartridge then comes up from the magazine and lies in front of the bolt-head ready to be pushed home. At this moment (the beginning of loading) the stud on the cocking piece has fallen into one of the grooves on the bolt, and as the bolt is pushed forward the tongue or full-bent comes against the nose of the trigger sear and is held there, while the rest of the bolt mechanism goes on. Thus between the moving bolt and the fixed cocking- iece the striker spring is further compressed, and when the sloping faces of the bolt lugs and ribs engage the resisting portions of the body a last forward push is given to the bolt and the spring is completely compressed, readly to propel the striker forward when the full-bent is released from the nose of the sear. Figs. 5-8 of the older pattern rifle show the working of the breech mechanism. Instead of the older single pull-of°f of the, trigger the “short” rifle, like many Continental weapons, has a' double pull-off. B 0
1 vp M %=f' Y . . .
iiil'Stfi§ g§§ °¥i'ii'i. i§ "i.ff§ 0§ '§ $§ '1b¥it§ hi§ L“§ h§ i'f .§ ?§ 'f§ “t§ .f, B ;;T;érn'1élE€éa;;i;170;;t;hr|He 'has also a somewhat different f Lg /"T: iQ§ i*"' :Q The sights of British service rifles up to 1903 were of ) K a veryl sim-ple type, the fore-sight a “ barleycorn ” of 5- ” /* ¢-;>yL ', f, | 'B triangu ar shape, and the back-sight a plain leaf with slid/ 6 ing bar into which a V was cut, the tip of the fore-sight seen /6 in the middle of the V being brought on to the mark. /% f . -f/
24? In thfe longigihairger-éoaderhthis florm of Sack-sightbhas bfeen f, f-» We ~"' greaty mo 1 e, an in the “ s ort ” ri e it as een a to-Igether abolished. Thi: barleycorn fore-sight has been replaced bot cases by an uprig t blade protected from injury by two T ' ' ierzirs or wings and the V by a U al
g, perture. For elevation the long
f ' “; rifle has still a slide on a vertical leaf, but the movement of this slide is controlled no longer mere? by its tight fit but by a clamping %? § 33""' ' screw. The s1ght of the short ri e is larger and also uite different g .v, °"la.s, F: Q sag <1 C1
f in appearance and principle. There is a leaf and on it a slide, but the f slide (controlled by clamping studs) works on a cam-shaped bed; , , " rg //' ', ,, 5 (J ~ " QQ": i its position on the leaf, affectin the point of contact with the cam? N, , ¢ 3
/ jr *' P i shaped bédi) elevates lthe leaf to the iiequired angounlt, the actiual étgfgf/4” 3 $545, /, 5' sig tin ein on the extremity o the leaf. T e s ort rifle as Va c .. also a g fine adjustment ” which admits of minor changes of elevation witilliin tqhe uspal 53 yds. graduation. hBoth the long and the s ort ri es ave 'win -gauges, ” or mec anisms for fine lateral 6 M adjustment of the central U sighting aperture, -so as to point the FIGS 5 and Lee etford axis of the barrel a little to the left or the righ-t of the line of sight 4 to compensate for wind, error of the individual rifle, &c In both k . .
3 3 / *I rifles, on the left 's1de of the stock, 1s.a long-distance sight (graduated H; Y , to 28?0 ygss), whlirih consists of an Epelrlture sight nearhthe bolt and 3 ' if' K / ' ' g Q;-1; iv a dia an mova e pointer near the and-guard. T e short rifle X /, ii 'If °'~ is cased from breech to muzzle in a wooden hand-guard; all patterns jf!" 4 of long rifle have only a short wooden hand-guard just behind the r-'Pg ' . back-sight bed. The bayonet in the long rifle is secured to. the rriglég ' ' ' *" ' - fore-end by a?]1;ing catch and to tléie baiiirel byla ring passing over
- i, ;§ "“/'€ ' " the muzzle. is tradition, an sti .usua, arran ement has
" ' been abandoned in' the short. Eilfiek as lthe Iyibration of tlhe bariiel C '§ >»' on discharge is more or less c ec ed y the extra weig t of t e 1 id/I bayonet, and therefore the shooting of the rifle differs according as it is fired with or without the bayonet hxed. With the short rifle ” p A 0' the bayonet is fixed to two metal fastenings, a plug for the ring '¢, 75, ., ,. zé1, , - -, , gag, and a catch for the handle. ' I gag- r " A »~-; '“;§§ 5;;""*""';§ " Contineniial Europeanjijles.-These lare for the rnostbpart ofghe
- ~- fr fr " " ' "' -§§ " /// #f Mauser an the Mannlic er types. 'T e Mauser is a olt weapon
/ %, a>='-=E " E '" with box ma aZ1l'l€. The bolt 1S sim le, without separate bolt-Z2 1 M Q g I P I
- *' f arg, -', ; ' ' *j head, and is eld by two bolt-lugs at its front end engaging with
rf i . § i.ZQ;§ "j;%*f'é Q 'f"“? , :.: recesses in the body (tllge German Mixuser has an extra lug near /' ' 'l;.;?;§ s1=<°“"*"§ > 'rf-””i;5"f-" " the rear end). Neart e rear 'endgt ere is a cam-shaped recess, /. ' G which, engaging with a stud on the cocking-piece, partially forces lf' f P back the cocking-piece and spring when the bolt is revolved. When
é% 4 the .bolt lgver IS ttarned ug alnd the liolt begins in revolve, the cocking-2,1/i
- /' ' piece an bolt p ug, w ic toget er orm the connexion between
the bolt and the trigger, do not revolve, but are forced back slightly, FIGS. 7 and 8.-Lee-Metford.
inserting a charger in the "charger guides" (these, attached to the body, form a sort of bridge over the bolt) and forcing down the strip of cartridges into the magazine (charger guides not shown in diagrams). The action of the mechanism is as follows: Suppose that the rifle has been fired and the magazine is full. On beginning to turn up the knob of the bolt, the after is revolved, but the cocking-piece (the tongue being held by a groove in the body) and the bolt-head remain stationary. Soon, however, a cam on the bolt comes in contact with a stud on the cocking-piece and the latter is brought slightly to the rear, pulling in the point of the striker and partly compressing the spring. At the same time the lug on the left of the bolt, in contact with the front face of a recess in the body (both being cut slantwise to a screw pitch), forces the bolt and with it the claw of the extractor, which rips the base of the cartridge-case, to slide backwards a little. Es the bolt continues to turn the rib on the right of it comes up clear of the bod and the whole bolt, with the bolt-head, can thus be drawn back until the bolt-head comes against the resisting shoulder on the so as to begin the compression of the striker spring. Then, the bolt lever bein so shaped as to bear against an inclined-plane edge on the body, the bolt, comes back a little, and with it the extractor jaw and the empty cartridge-case. Lastly, when the bolt has turned through a right angle, all studs are opposite their slots and ways in the body, and the bolt can be drawn back. At the farthest rearward position of the bolt the cocking-stud on the cocking-piece is well behind the nose of the trigger sear, and is thus held when the bolt is pushed forward again, the spring being thereby compressed. All Mauser rifles have a safety-catch and a double pull-off. None have cut-offs except the Turkish pattern. All are constructed for clip or charger loading, but the box magazine contains only five cartridges as against the 'Lee-Enfield's ten. Mauser rifies, which are perhaps the strongest and least complicated of magazine arms, are used in the German, Belgian, Spanish, Portu uese and Turkish armies, and were also used by the Boers in the § outh African War. The type adopted by each' of these nations differs from the rest in details only. The German rifle has a long guard less sword bayonet, fixed to thefore-end only and not connected with the barrel, and a
peculiar form of back-sight, 'which bears some 'resemblance to the