THE RUBINI RIFLE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2647, 29 June 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE RUBINI RIFLE.

The now Rubini rifle, lately adopted by the English army, may be cosidered almost as great advance on the other riflea of the world a 8 the first rifle was ahead of the smooth bores which it sent to oblivion. Its features are in all respects a wonderful improvement. In respect o accuracy, range, and penetration it has produced startling results, and th«i terribly destructive effects of its bullets gives colour to the opinion of those who think that the man-killing power of modern weapons will before long prohibit all war. At the recent trials near Aldershot there were up to 43 per cent, of hits, at 2000 yards, on targets hidden by a heavy mist The bullets penetrated f-inch wooden planks and flattened on the iron behind. The Eubini qullet is 1$ inch long and a little less than three-tenths diameter, while the Enfield-Martini bullet is 1£ inc long and four-tenths in diameter, the weights being 217 grains and 354 grains respectively. There is a copper casing round the Rubini bullet, which, on striking a bone, flies off and tears the parts along the track of the projectile. Experiments made on the bodies of horses killed for the purpose of testing the power of the bullet in stopping a cavalry charge have shown a peculiarly destructive action. Instead oi perforating the fiesh with a small hole or splintering the bones tho bullet turns the muscles into pulp and the bones into dust for several inches around its path, It fatally demoralises all tissue, and there is very little chance of a man hit by it ever recovering. This terrible projectile will probablr be copied into the armaments of foreign nations, and it will then cencerii ns much more seriously in relation to its effect on the mounted troops, which will in the future probably form a large part of our defence. The effects of the Rubini bullet have been made the subjeet of veterinary study, and it appears that neitherrcnn norhoose can stand against it.