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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Equipment & Weaponry
It had two different caliber barrels on the same frame.. The cap & ball Le Mat Revolver was invented in in 1856 by a New Orleans doctor, Jean Le Mat. It featured the unique arrangement of a nine chamber cylinder surrounding a larger central smooth bore barrel, located under the pistol barrel. The cylinder was originally chambered for a .42 cal. ball with the central barrel of .60 cal (modern 16 Ga.) which would be loaded with buckshot. The favorite side arm of Confederate General P.T.G. Beauregard, who helped develop the revolver, about 5000-10000 were produced between 1856 and 1865, mostly in Europe. It was popularly known as the "grape-shot" pistol.
The Gyrojet.. The Gyrojet was designed to fire a .51 cal. gyroscopically stabilized projectile. The perceived advantage of this type of "bullet" was little recoil and the elimination of the requirement for a heavy barrel. The short lived pistol soon proved to be cumbersome, unreliable, and, because of its' initial low muzzle velocity, ineffective at short range. Today it is considered a rare collector firearm, with ammunition, when it can be found, costing in excess of $200 a round.
Because they usually fire a smaller pistol round.. While all of the answers can be factually correct, the term "sub-machine" was initially applied because the hand held weapon fired a "sub" or smaller, less powerful pistol round. A sub-machine gun usually fires a 9mm or .380ACP cartridge. Less common is the .45 ACP used in the Thompson Sub-machine gun and the MAC-10.
Yes. The exact diameter of a .38 special bullet is .357in, the same diameter as a.357 magnum. The .38 Special cartridge is shorter and contains less powder than a .357cal cartridge, and can therefore be safely loaded and fired from a .357 magnum revolver. The reverse is not true. A .357 cartridge will not fit in most .38 Special revolver's cylinders because of the length of the cartridge. If it does happen to fit and you pull the trigger, it will probably ruin your whole day.
It's a device designed to allow a semi-automatic fire mode in the Springfield 1903 Rifle.. The Pedersen device was developed in 1917, by John Pedersen a Remington Arms employee, to provide the 1903 Springfield with a short range, semi-auto fire capability, while still retaining single shot (bolt action) longer range capability. The device was designed to require very little permanent modification to the basic rifle, and could be installed by simply removing the bolt and replacing it with the device. The rifle would now hold a 40 round top loading magazine, angled 45 degrees from the vertical, which used a lower powered .30 cal ACP round. This bullet was the same diameter as the standard 30-06 round normally used in the rifle. Several thousand of the Pedersen Devices were produced, but too late to be used in WWI. In 1931, the War Dept, considering the device obsolete, ordered all remaining devices destroyed. Today they are considered a very rare collectible, with only a few known to exist.
| The U.S. Rifle Cal .30 M1, the Garand, was arguably the best military rifle of WW2. It did, however, have an undesirable feature when used in short range fire fights. What was it?
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A loud, distinctive metallic "ping" was given off when an empty clip was ejected.. The semi-automatic Garand is an 8 round clip fed weapon. Upon the firing of the eighth round, the empty clip is automatically ejected emitting a loud, distinctive "ping." In close quarters, this sound could alert the enemy that your rifle was empty. Not really something you wanted him to know.
The notorious "M 1 Thumb" occurred when the rifle was loaded. When the last round is fired and the clip ejected, the bolt is automatically locked in the rearward position. To reload, a loaded clip is inserted into the top of the receiver. While holding the handle of the operating rod in the rear position with the heel of the right hand, the fresh clip is pushed down into the receiver with the right thumb, automatically releasing the bolt. If you're not fast enough you will "experience" M 1 thumb.
| The lands and grooves inside the barrel of a long gun, which differentiates a "rifle" from a smooth bore "musket," have been known to improve the accuracy and power of a long gun since the 15th century. What probably caused, after such a long wait, the relatively sudden adaption of the rifle as a standard military weapon in the mid 19th century? | All About Equipment & Weaponry
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The invention of the "minie" ball.. Grooves were first cut in musket barrels to reduce the build up of black powder fouling in the barrel. The early method of cutting these grooves, called rifling, resulted in a spiral cut inside the barrel which produced the spin and subsequent stability to the ball (bullet). These grooves also made it more difficult to load a tight fitting round musket ball from the muzzle. The manufacturing process of cutting rifling into a smooth barrel was much more expensive and time consuming as compared to producing a smooth musket barrel. Prior to the mid 19th century many varieties of rifles were made for civilian hunting use and in limited production numbers for the military; e.g. the Baker and Ferguson Rifles. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, rifled barrels could be made both more quickly and much cheaper. Using a round bullet, however, it was still more difficult to load a rifle than a musket. The military believed that it was better to have the higher rate of fire of the musket rather than a more accurate, longer range, but slower firing (rounds/minute), and more expensive, rifle.
In 1840, a French Army developed a new type of bullet, named after a co-inventor, Captain Claude-Etienne Minie. This soft lead bullet was in the shape of a conical-cylinder, with two cylindrical bands and a hollowed out base with thinned out skirts. The bullet was made in a size slightly smaller that the caliber of the rifle, thus enabling it to easily fit down the rifled barrel. When fired, the expanding gases forced the hollowed out base, thin skirting, and cylindrical bands to "bite" into the rifling, insuring a good gas seal behind the bullet. This imparted a better accuracy and range to the "minie" ball compared to the musket ball.
The Ferguson Rifle. In 1770, Major Patrick Ferguson of the British Army, patented a design for a single shot, .65 cal, breech loading rifle. The rifle was loaded by dropping a rapid pitch screw plug, located just forward of the flint-lock ignition mechanism, by turning the trigger guard one full turn. The bullet was loaded in the breech end of the barrel followed by an overcharge of powder. Closing the breech plug cut off the excess powder, automatically insuring the proper powder charge. The system enabled the rapid loading and firing of the rifle at almost twice the rate, 5-6 round fired/minute, of the standard musket of the period.
About two hundred rifles were made and issued to an infantry unit commanded by Major Ferguson. This unit fought in the Battle of Brandywine during the American Revolution. Ferguson was wounded in the battle and the rifle unit, which suffered high losses, subsequently disbanded.
The two main reasons the Ferguson Rifle was not adopted by the British Army are probably the fact that the gun was difficult and costly to produce and that it was unreliable in the field. The lock and breech mechanism were too large for the wooden stocks used for the rifle and frequently broke the stock when fired.
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