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Wild Beasts and their Ways
Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America
by Sir Samuel W. BakerF.R.S., F.R.G.S., etc., etc.Volume 1
Forty years ago our troops were armed with a smooth-bore musket, and asmall force known as the "Rifle Brigade" was the exception to this rule.
The military rifle carried a spherical bullet, and, like all others ofthe period, it necessitated the use of a mallet to strike the ball,which, being a size larger than the bore, required the blow to force itinto the rifling of the barrel in order to catch the grooves.
Sporting rifles were of various sizes, but they were constructed upon aprinciple generally accepted, that extreme accuracy could only beobtained by burning a very small charge of powder.
The outfit required a small mallet made of hardwood faced with thickbuff leather, a powerful loading-rod, a powder-flask, a pouch to containgreased linen or silk patches; another pouch for percussion caps; athird pouch for bullets. In addition to this cumbersome arrangement, anipple-screw was carried, lest any stoppage might render necessary theextraction of the nipple.
The charge of powder in ordinary use for a No. 16 bore (which carried anounce spherical ball) was 1 1/2 dram, and the sights were adjusted for amaximum range of 200 yards. Although at this distance considerableaccuracy could be attained at the target upon a quiet day, it wasdifficult to shoot with any precision at an unmeasured range owing tothe high trajectory of the bullet. Thus for sporting purposes it wasabsolutely essential that the hunter should be a first-rate judge ofdistance in order to adjust the sights as required by the occasion. Itwas accordingly rare to meet with a good rifle-shot fifty years ago.Rifle-shooting was not the amusement sought by Englishmen, although inSwitzerland and Germany it was the ordinary pastime. In those countriesthe match-rifle was immensely heavy, weighing, in many instances, 16lbs., although the bullet was exceedingly small.
The idea of non-recoil was paramount as necessary to ensure accuracy.
It will be at once perceived that the rifle was a most inferior weapon,failing through a low velocity, high trajectory, and weakness ofpenetration.
In 1840, I had already devoted much attention to this subject, and Idrew a plan for an experimental rifle to burn a charge of powder solarge that it appeared preposterous to the professional opinions of thetrade. I was convinced that accuracy could be combined with power, andthat no power could be obtained without a corresponding expenditure ofpowder. Trajectory and force would depend upon velocity; the latter mustdepend upon the volume of gas generated by explosion.
The rifle was made by Gibbs of Bristol. The weight was 21 lbs., lengthof barrel 36 inches, weight of spherical belted bullet 3 ounces, ofconical bullet 4 ounces, charge of powder 16 drams. The twist was onefull turn in the length of barrel. The rifling was an exc