Page:EB1911 - Volume 23.djvu/351

 mistake would nullify even the small amount of aimed fire that can be reckoned upon. Peace-time experiments have their value—and it is very great—in establishing data as to the effect of fire on troops in different formations, the limits of permissible error in ranging, &c., on the principle that of two methods, that which is proved to be better in peace would in much the same proportion be found better in war.

Match or Target Rifle.—The sport or pastime of target shooting has many times changed its character, owing to the steady improvement in the rifle and the different ranges or distances at which shooting is practised. Range usually governs the construction of the target rifle, long-range rifles not being necessarily the best weapons for a short range of, say, 200 yds. Limitations—such as the amount of powder charge, weight of bullet and rifle—are also usually imposed in order to place all competitors on equal terms. The long-range match rifle is not the superior of the military rifle as a weapon, but as a scientific shooting instrument is the best small-arm produced. The ordinary target rifle is a hybrid arm, combining the points of the long-range match, modern military and best sporting rifles. The miniature match rifle is used for short-range practice.

Shooting at fixed marks has been practised continuously in Switzerland from medieval times. A club (“Société de l’harquebuse et de la Navigation”) has existed in Geneva since 1474; and the Zürich “Schützen-Gesellschaft” since about the same date. It is not clear at what period rifles were introduced in these clubs. From the beginning of the 19th century up to 1844 the rifle generally used in Great Britain had a poly grooved barrel ·630 in. in diameter, with spherical ball, and the arm weighed from 11 to 15 ℔. It was not fired in military fashion, but had a handle extending downwards fixed in front of the trigger-guard, which was grasped by the left hand, the left arm being steadied against the body. This method of shooting is still sometimes followed by Swiss and German riflemen. Target shooting as a sport or business was rarely practised in Great Britain until after the formation of the Volunteer Force in 1859. The inauguration of the “National Rifle Association” in 1860 opened a new and most important era in the history and development of the rifle. This institution was established “for the encouragement of rifle corps and the promotion of rifle shooting throughout Great Britain As a national pastime to make the rifle what the bow was in the days of the Plantagenets, the familiar weapon of those who stand forth in the defence of their country.” The first meeting of the N.R.A. was held at Wimbledon in 1860. The first shot was fired by Queen Victoria from a Whitworth rifle on a machine rest, at 400 yds., and struck the bull’s-eye. The Whitworth muzzle-loading rifle won many of the important prizes at this and subsequent meetings prior to 1871. Its most important features, arrived at after exhaustive experiments, were a smaller bore of ·450 in., with a twist of rifling of one turn in 20 in., and an elongated mechanically fitting projectile. Long-range rifle construction is also largely indebted to Whitworth for the highly accurate and superior tools and processes introduced by him in this branch of manufacture.

In 1866 and after, Metford’s system of hardened expanding bullets and shallow rifling gradually superseded the mechanically fitting system of Whitworth, and the Whitworth rifle gradually lost its position. In 1861, the Henry grooving for a cylindrical bullet, a modification of the Whitworth, first appeared. In 1864, Rigby, with a five-grooved rifle and a mechanically fitting bullet, tied with the Whitworth rifle in the preliminary rifle trial of the N.R.A. at 1000 yds., and in a subsequent trial took the first place. By 1871 the Whitworth ride had given place to the Metford system with hardened cylindrical bullets, shallow rifling and increasing spiral. In 1867 the modern breech loading rifle with a metallic cartridge was first introduced. The Metford system of rifling greatly assisted its development. In this year Rigby also produced a new model long-range rifle designed on the lines followed by Metford. In 1869 the Henry barrel came to the front. In 1870 the Martini-Henry, the new service arm, won the duke of Cambridge’s prize, the extreme range in this competition being 800 yds. In 1871 the Snider breech-loader replaced the Enfield muzzle-loader, and the Martini-Henry replaced the Whitworth in the later stages—800, 900 and 1000 yds.—of the Queen’s prize. The Metford barrel was also used in breech-loaders, and the duke of Cambridge’s prize—for the first time fired at 1000 yds.—fell to it. During the twenty-three years from 1871 to 1894 the Metford military match rifle only four times failed to win this prize, while it took a preponderating share of other prizes. The years 1872 and 1873 marked a decided advance in the military breech loader, though for fine shooting the muzzle-loader still seemed hard to equal. In 1875 a team of American riflemen first visited Wimbledon with “army-pattern” breech-loading rifles, which were cleaned out after every shot, and met with considerable success. A feature of their shooting was the “back position,” then a novelty. In 1877 the superiority of the clean sable and cleansed breech-loader over the increased fouling of the muzzle loader was clearly demonstrated, though the muzzle-loader did not at once disappear. In 1878 the highest scores ever made with the muzzle-loader in Great Britain were recorded, greater care in cleaning the rifle after every shot being observed.

In 1883 the N.R.A. Council altered the conditions, wiping out after every shot was forbidden, but muzzle-loaders were not disqualified. The result was that the American type of rifle disappeared. The poor shooting of the Martini at 1000 yds. induced the Council to take the retrograde step of reducing the maximum range for the Queen’s prize to 900 yds. In 1890 the N.R.A. first met at the new ranges at Bisley. This year was noticeable for the excellent shooting made in the “any” rifle competitions by the Gibbs-Metford match rifle, particularly at 1000 yds. range. The accepted type was ·461 calibre; 7 grooves ·0045 in. in depth; 80 grains of special black gunpowder, and a bullet of 570 grains. In 1892 and 1893 the Lee-Metford ·303 rifle with cordite ammunition was first used by the army teams. In 1890 and later the Hon. T. F. Fremantle, Captain Gibbs and some others used Metford’s copper-coated bullets in the Gibbs-Metford rifle with success. In 1895 many match rifle shots followed their example. In 1895 and 1896 the ·303 was equalled, and in some instances beaten, by the smaller-calibre Mannlicher rifle. This was partly due to faulty Lee-Metford ammunition. The ·303 now proved its superiority to the ·450 Martini, especially at the longer ranges. The Bisley meeting of 1896 practically closed the series of contests with both the Martini and the military match rifles. The Volunteers were thenceforth armed with the ·303.

The results of the Bisley meetings since 1895 have proved that rifles of the ·303 class, the British ·303 rifle particularly, are not so good for match rifles pure and simple as the larger bores using black powder. The light bullets are more subject to deflection by the wind at long ranges than the heavier speed-retaining bullets of the larger bores. No nitro-powder used appears to have equalled the black powder in regularity of shooting. At the same time the object of the N.R.A. competitions is to encourage the use of the military service rifle in the first place, and in the case of the “any” rifle competitions to encourage the production of weapons of the highest efficiency for military purposes. Acting on these principles the rifles allowed by the N.R.A. regulations (1907) are classed as follows:—Class I.—Service rifle (S.R.): government pattern ·303 magazine rifles;