mrw311 - AnthologyMain MenuIntroductionThe Gatling Gun and Machine GunsRifles and HandgunsIronclad Battleships and Torpedo TechnologyThe Boer WarsStagnation and Fear of DestructionAnxious, Fictional Accounts of the FutureBibliographyMatthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18
The Mk. I Lee-Metford Firing Exercise
12016-11-27T02:51:08-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18667plain20432016-12-13T16:06:55-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18Ironclad Battleships and Torpedo TechnologyThis video, uploaded by britishmuzzleloader's Youtube channel, shows the traditional garb and firing exercise of the British soldier carrying a Lee-Metford rifle. Beginning with a history of the rifle itself, the firing exercise reveals the still antiquated firing methods of British infantryman. Despite containing a magazine, the utilization of the magazine cut-off lever effectively converts this rifle back to a single shot weapon to be fired "one-off" in a line at the order of a commanding officer. When "firing at will" or in defense, the magazine cut-off was disengaged, thus giving the operator access to the reservoir of rounds within the magazine and enabling a higher rate of fire at the expense of accuracy and cartridge conservation. This exercise harkens back to the days of the muzzleloading, black-powder rifles of the 17th and 18th centuries - due to the lack of accuracy produced by round-shot fired with black powder out of a smoothbore rifle, these exercises were a way of ensuring that effective fire-density was placed downrange to compensate for the rifle's tendency to be wildly inaccurate even at closer distances. The small-caliber Lee Metford, despite being an important step forward, is still an "in-between" rifle for the British military as it fired the black-powder .303 (7.7mm) Mk. I cartridge whereas other rifles of the time were already utilizing smokeless-powder (the Russian 7.62x54mmr being developed in 1891, the same year as the black-powder .303). This firing exercise often times resulted in excessive smokiness on the battlefield as the antiquated black-powder and volley fire produced a tremendous amount of smoke. Additionally, this practice did not require precise aim and the British soldiers found themselves oftentimes overwhelmed by the more accurate, smokeless rifles of the Boer commandos. The army's tendency to stand in formation and fire in volley made them easy targets for the cover-using, mobile Boers.
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12016-11-27T01:38:48-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18Rifles and HandgunsMatthew Werkheiser17plain20432016-12-13T15:55:34-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18