DETAILS OF MODERN
(From the British official
" AUSTRIA
Country . AND BELGIUM. DENMARK. GREAT BRITAIN. FRANCE. GERMANY. BULGARIA.
Pauém of the Year 1895. 1889. 1889. 1907. 1997. isae. 7 1s9s. A CHARGER SHORT
Designation . MANN1.1cnEn. MAUsEn. ' Jogigikn LE{E'f°€g; }IfLD LEE<EN1"l'ELD, Lani-:1.. - MAUSER. M ' ' MARK III.
ARK I.
lr, Magazine System Box' Box Horizontal-box Box Box Tube Box Number of Cartridges in Magazine 5 5 5 10 ro 8 5 Charger or Clip . Clip Ch. Ch. Ch. Ch. No Ch. Cut off No N0 Yes Yes Yes Yes N o
Safety Bolt Yes . Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Weightz-
Without bayonet . 8 Ib 55 oz. 8 lb Q oz. 9 Ib II2 oz. 9 lb 4 oz. 8 Ib 2} oz. ' 9 lb 3; oz. 9 lb. With bayonet . . 8 lb 152 oz. 9 lb 9»} oz. ro lb 45 oz. xo lb 35 oz. 9 lb ro; oz. zo lb 1; oz. 9 lb 14 oz. I»¢nsth=- . »
Without bayonet 4 ft. 2 in. 4 ft. 2-25 in. 4 ft. 4-75 in. 4 ft. 1-5 in. 3 it. 8-5 in. 4 ft. 3-12 in. 4 ft. 1-4 in. With bayonet . 4 ft. 11-5 in. 4 ft. 11-75 in. 5 ft. 3 ln. 5 ft. 1-5 in. 5 ft. 1-7 in. 5 ft. 11-84 in. 5 it. g-75 in. Barrel:- '6 l 6
Ill. 3O'l2 30 7 32'Q 3O'IQ 25'IQ 3I'4Q ' 29'O5 Length . i m, n 8 7.55 3 7 7 7.7 3 7.9
Calibre . V . in. -315 '3°I '3¥5 '3°3 .303 SIS °3II RiHing:-
Number of grooves . . 4 4 6 5 5 4
Twist (to right, except in Lee—Enfield
and Lebel) 1 turn in 31 32's 37-5 33 5O'2 calibres ....-V
Si htsze
iowesf for . 500 paces 500 rn. 300 m. 183 m. 250 m. zoo m. (410 yds.) (547 yds.) (328 yds.) (wo yds.) ' (213 yds.) (Ho yds.) Highest for . 2600 paces 2000 m. 1900 m. 2560 m. sooo rn. 2000 rn. (2132 yds.) ~ (2187 yds.) ~ . (2018 yds.) (2800 yds.) (2187 yds.) (2187 yds.) Cartridgez-Length
in. 3-o 3'°55 3-o 3-o5 3-22 » 3-18
Weight - - srs- 455 441 46° 415 447 415 431 369'9 Bulletz-
Shape of point . . Round* Round Round Round Round Pointed Round Pointed - - Copper zinc, Steel, coated Steel, coated Material of envelope . . Steel, lubricated C.N. C.N. C.N. C.N. -E no envelope with C N with C N § Length . . . . in. 1-24 I'20§ 1-187 1-25 1-221 1-625 1-235 1-1o5 Diameter (max.) . -3228 -31 -323 -311 -3223 -327 °3189 -323 Weight . ., , grs., 24,4 219 237 215 231 198 227 154-5 elg t . f -' ETS- ' 47'44 37 3505 3¥'5 42'43 4 '2 4°'75 '4 Propellant. . . N .C. N.G. and N.C. N .C. Cordite N .C. N .C. . N .C. N.C. Muzzle Velocity . . f.s. 2034 2034 1968 2050 ' 2073 2380 2093 2882 Chamber Pressure:- 3
Tons on sq. in. 19-7 19-7 I5'|I 15-5 17~75 17-75 21 17-5 N ore.-C.N. = Cupro-nickel. N.G. a N itro-glycerin.
100 yds. wrong atany range.” Now at 1000 yds. an error
in judging distance of 134 yds. above or below the true
range will cause all the shots of a particular rifie to fall away
from the target, and the better the marksman-i.e. the closer
his groupfthe more necessary is perfection in judging distance,
a perfection which in reality seems unattainable. The British
musketry regulations therefore lay it down that the individual
marksman's ire at service targets is unprofitable at ranges
of more than 600 yds. Beyond that distance collective fire,
controlled and directedhby an oficer or non-commissioned
officer, is the rule. The question as to whether fire is to be
opened in any given set of circumstances is decided by the fire director,
who considers first whether the probable error in
judging distance is greater than half of the effective zone
for the estimated range. If it is so, he must order “combined
sights, ” i.e. half of the units under his command use one
elevation, the rest another, which method artificially increases
the dispersion of the bullets and thereby the probability of
the target being included in the zone. This, however, makes
the fire less effective, and in practice cannot profitably be used
by any body of rifles of less than So or 100. The commander
of only a single section, therefore, however tempting the
target, must refrain from opening fire at all. At medium
ranges, however, controlled and directed ire is effective,
and at such ranges troops should still be sufficiently in
hand to execute the fire-director's orders. Within decisive
ranges fire-direction has to give place to fire-control. All that
the strongest commander can enforce is the opening and ceasing
of fire when he gives the order, and success is sought through
making the individual soldier skilful at rapid and snap shooting.
Black bull's-eyes on white targets are now used only to teach
men to make uniformly good shooting, which is shown by the
closeness of the shot-grouping. The rest of the musketry course
s fired against grey-green “ head and shoulders ” targets or
brown silhouettes, and consists of slow. rapid and snap shooting,
from' behind cover, at disappearing or running targets, &c.
IHIIQOQ special attention began to be paid to visual training,
both as an aid to judging distance and as an actual ingredient
of fire-discipline. A method of indicating targets which originated
in the French army was adopted and improved upon,
consisting essentially of giving two or three conspicuous
“ auxiliary marks, ” in artillery language, and naming the target
with reference to them. Judging distance is generally associated
with fire-discipline practices, and men are frequently
exercised in locating and ranging upon a hidden skirmisher,
300-800 yds. away. Perhaps the most important modification
of musketry training, within recent years, has been the
adoption of rapid fire in “ bursts, ” as the normal procedure
for infantry, instead of slow continuous fire. The complete
cessation of fire at intervals enables the leaders to observe the