Ball cartridge

“ They are most unnecessarily encumbered with a heavy, unwieldy firearm (the carbine) , when a neat and exceedingly effective weapon—a repeating pistol, or revolver—could be loaded with five rounds of ball-cartridge before going into action, and when fairly engaged and surrounded with enemies on every side, the revolver could be drawn from a holster-pipe, and every round it contained fired at such close quarters as to render it a matter of certainty that a man would be killed at every shot. ”

“ The Gardiner shells are so constructed as to have no different appearance in the cartridge from the common minnie ball—only the title on the box, and an examination of the ball when separate from the cartridge, giving any indication of its explosive character. ”

“ A tampion, or wad, of oakum or the like, was rammed down between the cartridge and the ball, and a second wad kept the ball in place. When the gun was loaded the gunner filled the touch-hole with his priming powder, from a horn he carried in his belt, after thrusting a sharp wire, called [301] the priming-iron, down the touch-hole, through the cartridge, so that the priming powder might have direct access to the powder of the charge. ”

“ Luckily, both George and I had a fair number of cartridges. I, as usual, carried my ·303, but George, whose rifle had once or twice missed fire, did not see the fun of risking his life with a weapon which might fail him at a critical moment; so he carried my 20-bore shot-gun with a supply of ball cartridges. These ball cartridges contained 21⁄2 drams of powder, which propelled a [Pg 318] spherical leaden bullet about the size of an ordinary marble, and a double-barrelled gun using them was a very ugly weapon up to a couple of hundred yards. ”

“ Then, placing the ball of the thumb immediately in front of the charger, and hooking the forefinger under 70 the cut-off, force the cartridges down with a firm and continuous pressure until the top cartridge has engaged in the magazine. Force the bolt sharply home, turning the knob well down, and, with the thumb or forefinger of the right hand, turn the safety-catch completely over to the rear. (Charger-loading Lee-Enfield Rifle.—Raise the safety-catch with the forefinger of the right hand.) ”

“ Each cartridge contains about four times the quantity of powder used in English cartridges, and the bullet is not placed in it as in Europe; a small leather ball-bag hangs from the shoulder by a strap which passes through the belt. When the Amazons are loading, they pour the powder into the barrel without any wadding, and then drop in a bullet, or a few slugs.
[197]
Shaving the head is a general, though not a universal fashion. Those who do so, leave only a small tuft of hair like a cockade ”

“ It is true that very fine shooting can often be done with this cartridge, but the explosive substance with which this cartridge is charged is tremendously powerful, and the slightest variation in the quantity affects the power of a cartridge, and it is not unusual to get a wild shot with good holding, and it is not uncommon to have a bullet lodged in the barrel of the pistol from lack of power in the cartridge sufficient to force it out. ”

“ The sporting cartridges now made never ball, they act with a considerable degree of precision and certainty, and that they may be safely trusted may be inferred from the fact that they are often preferred by persons engaged in pigeon matches. ”

“ The introduction of breech-loaders into the military service has led to the universal adoption of metallic cartridges. The cases are cylinders of copper or brass, closed at the breech end, and holding both powder and bullet, the latter being retained in the case by a slight crimp. A small quantity of fulminate in the base inflames the powder upon being struck by the firing-pin. England is behind all other nations in the use of the Boxer cartridge, the case of which is made by a wrapping of thin sheet-brass. In the manufacture of metallic cartridges the United States leads the world. ”

“ The wire-cartridges possess two principal advantages over loose shot; they are propelled with greater velocity, and thrown more evenly. A loose charge is always thrown in patches; the shots of a cartridge, as seen on a target, are comparatively equi-distant from each other. ”

“ If a second-hand one is otherwise good, a new barrel can be put to it. I suppose the various English makers of ammunition could supply “gallery” charges in any of their various calibre cartridges, but I know of none and should not advise the beginner to try loading this sort of ammunition in English cartridge-cases for himself. The dome of the cap is generally higher than in American cartridges; if, therefore, the small powder charge used in gallery ammunition be put in the case and the bullet pressed down, the bullet will come down on the dome, stop up the flash-hole, and cause a misfire. ”

“ Ware after his own design and to fit his own idea. He wanted a gun that was as light as possible and could be carried easily, and at the same time be adapted to all kinds of game, big and little. This upper barrel, the smaller one you see, shoots a cartridge that will kill anything up to the size of a jack rabbit, and is as accurate a shooter as any gun can be made. Yet the cartridges are so small that a pocket full will last a man a whole season. ”

“ The time needed for the complete ignition of the cartridge can be diminished or increased at pleasure by varying the mechanical arrangement of the spun threads. Each gun and each kind of projectile requires a certain density of cartridge. ”

“ The great peculiarity of the wire cartridge is, that being less than the bore, and having no bottom wadding, the explosive fluid acts all around, between the sides of the barrel and the net, by what may not inaptly be termed the windage, and the shot are thus expelled by a cushion-like force, which does not jam or compress them in the way it is liable to by a wadding forcing it outwards. ”

“ Remember, too, that vice versa to the rule of a loose charge, the heavier you load with powder, the closer will your cartridge carry. The men who do not like cartridges are--you may rely upon it--of the class which prefers scattering guns. I always use them, except in July shooting, and I shall even put a few red in my pockets, in case the wind should get up in the afternoon. Besides which, I always take along two buckshot cartridges, in case of happening, as Timothy would say, on some big varmint. ”

“ For a bad or uncertain rifle-shot, the green cartridge, with SG shot is the thing--twelve good-sized slugs, propelled with force enough to go through an inch plank, at eighty yards, within a compass of three feet--but no wad must be used, either upon the cartridge or between that and the powder; the small end must be inserted downward, and the cartridge must be chosen so that the wad at the top shall fit the gun, the case being two sizes less than the caliber. With these directions no man need make a mistake ”

“ Brick noted this. In a country where there was much use for rifle-shooting it seemed strange that any man would have an old cartridge in his possession. A hold-up man would rarely take a chance of using an old cartridge in a repeating rifle—or in any gun for that matter. ”

“ The improvement consists in rapidity of loading. The cartridges are carried in the ordinary paper or wooden cases, exposing the heads. The gun has a number of upright pieces at the breech with grooves between them. By drawing the cartridge-case downward over these uprights the cartridges are caught in the grooves by their flanged heads. They fall by gravity, and are conducted by suitable devices in grooved channels to the barrels. This gun, it is believed, fires more shots a minute than any other, but its mechanism [52] is not so perfect as several of its rivals. ”

“ Probably no invention connected with firearms has wrought such changes in the principle of gun-construction as those effected by the expansive cartridge-case. This invention has completely revolutionized the art of gunmaking, has been successfully applied to all descriptions of firearms, and has produced a new and important industry—that of cartridge manufacture.
About 1836, C. Lefaucheux, a Paris gunsmith, improved the old Pauly system of breech-loading, but its breech action was a crude mechanism, with single grip worked by a bottom lever. ”

“ The needle-gun, which is made on a somewhat similar principle, is more curious than valuable, being both dangerous and complicated, and possesses no advantages over the other pattern. In it the cartridge has a percussion-cap so disposed at its base that it is penetrated by a needle, which is projected by a spring through a hole in the lower end of the cartridge; but the composition of the cartridge, and the manner of its insertion, are altogether different from the same in the Lefaucheux gun. ”

“ To any one who, with numbed hands on a bitterly cold December morning, is watching for ducks at daybreak, and who looks to{54} reloading as a difficulty and recapping an impossibility, the large, easily handled cartridge is a blessing that he will never forget; and any one who, having used a breech-loader, will pretend that it cannot be loaded on the average infinitely faster than the muzzle-loader, is guilty of prevarication. In truth it can be reloaded in less time than the other gun can be recapped. ”

“ In 1866 our army adopted the breech-loading rifle with metallic ammunition, comparatively non-perishable by exposure to the elements. The almost cylindrical stem of the cartridge with the projecting flange on its head, made it possible to make a belt with closely fitting cylindrical loops, in which the cartridge was held in place by friction, prevented from dropping through by the flange.
When captain of the 18th Infantry, I equipped my company with my invention, using belts made of leather, with sewed-on leather loops. These did not prove entirely satisfactory. ”

“ All sportsmen know that there is a way to replace matches. I employed the usual means. I took a cartridge out of my gun, emptied it and its shot, and put in, instead a piece of paper. Then, resting my gun on the ground, so as to prevent a loud explosion, I made the powder flash up. ”

“ Oh! the setters for the morning; they are the only fellows for the stubble; we should be all day with the cockers; even setters, as we must break them here for wood shooting, have not enough of speed or dash for the open. Cartridges? yes! I shall use a loose charge in my right, and a blue cartridge in my left; later in the season I use a blue in my right and a red in my left. It just makes the difference between killing with both, or with one barrel. The blue kills all of twenty, and the red all of thirty-five yards further than loose shot; and they kill clean! ”

“ A great advantage is gained by this contrivance in effectually expanding the bullet, and thus closing up stray appendages, which are found to exert considerable influence on the ultimate direction of the bullet. A slight tail of cartridge-paper, a string, or an appendage of any description, exerts such an important influence on the bullet’s flight, as to cause it in some instances to describe a curve, the termination of which is very eccentric, and commences from the very base of its starting. It is evident, then, that great accuracy is necessary in order to produce a perfect expansive bullet. ”

“ The fixed magazine chamber, shown in the cross section, passes through the breech laterally below the barrel, and is filled with cartridges on one side of the gun, which cartridges pass through the breech laterally, and, turning a curve, enter the barrel from the opposite side. When the bolt is drawn back by the knob handle a cartridge is fed up into position to enter the barrel, and when pushed forward the cartridge is forced into the bore of the gun, and at the same time a spiral spring is put under tension to set the hammer of the gun, which carries a firing pin at its front end. ”

“ If you have too strong a cartridge you may have a fatal accident. If too weak a cartridge the mechanism will not operate. A weaker cartridge than that for which the pistol is made will prevent its working properly or, in fact, working at all, unless the closing is assisted by the hand, and then it ceases to be an automatic pistol.
It is best to begin practising single loading. The best way to do this is through the magazine so as to get familiar with the magazine. Take out the magazine, put in only one cartridge, put back the magazine, and operate the slide. ”

“ It was a superb piece of workmanship, very small but quite deadly. He examined it with apparent interest, snapping the safety catch off and on. Releasing the little magazine, he dropped it out upon the palm of his hand and ejected the cartridge which lay in the barrel, catching it dexterously and inserting it at the bottom of the magazine. ”

“ On the command Rapid fire, each man will load with dummy cartridges in chargers from the pouch or cartridge pocket, the pocket being buttoned up each time a charger is withdrawn, and aim ten rounds at an aiming disc held to the instructor’s eye. ”

“ Returning to the position shown in fig. 16, if the trigger be pulled, the compressed spring M reacts and drives the piston forwards, carrying the breech-block with it, the latter in turn driving a cartridge in front of it out of the feed-strip. When the block and cartridge are home, and not till then, the piston completes its travel, the upper cam (f′) locking the dog (h) , and the firing-pin protrudes and fires the cartridge. ”

“ If in drawing out an unexploded cartridge the brass end comes off or breaks away from the paper case, it will not be advisable to use the cartridge in that state: it cannot be safe to explode it in the barrel of a breech-loading gun; in fact, it would be almost as unsafe as a loose charge of powder. And in the event of the cap missing fire in a breech-loading cartridge, it is not desirable to recap the cartridge. ”