Early rifles

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 74. Chapters: Krag-Jørgensen, Mosin-Nagant, Lebel Model 1886 rifle, Kammerlader, Martini-Henry, Schmidt-Rubin, Jarmann M1884, Krag-Petersson, Rifles in the American Civil War, Long rifle, Baker rifle, Dreyse needle gun, Sharps rifle, Brunswick rifle, Springfield Model 1892-99, Martini-Enfield, Snider-Enfield, Ferguson rifle, Berdan rifle, Harpers Ferry Model 1803, Remington M1867, Chassepot, Hawken rifle, Minié rifle, M1819 Hall rifle, Vetterli rifle, Springfield Model 1866, M1841 Mississippi Rifle, Farquharson rifle, Springfield Model 1873, Springfield Model 1871, Springfield Model 1865, Berthier carbine, Fusil Gras mle 1874, Springfield Model 1880, Springfield Model 1870 Remington-Navy, Springfield Model 1884, Remington Rolling Block rifle, Model 1817 Common Rifle, Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878, Springfield Model 1877, Springfield Model 1888, Albini-Braendlin rifle, Murata rifle, Springfield Model 1882, Springfield Model 1886, Martini Cadet, Mylonas rifle, M1870 Italian Vetterli, Wanzl, Springfield Model 1875, Eidgenössischer Stutzer 1851, Tabatière rifle, Infanteriegewehr Modell 1842, Boyer rifle, M1870 Belgian Comblain, Kropatschek, Infanteriegewehr 1863, Jägergewehr 1856/59, Percussion rifle, Quackenbush rifle, M1867 Russian Krnka, M1867 Werndl-Holub. Excerpt: The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway. About 300 were delivered to Boer forces of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, or ZAR. A distinctive feature of the Krag-Jørgensen action was its magazine. While many other rifles of its era used an integral box magazine loaded by a charger or stripper clip, the magazine of the Krag-Jørgensen was integral with the receiver (the part of the rifle that houses the operating parts), featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. Instead of a charger, single cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower. The design presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with a top-loading "box" magazine. A similar claw type clip would be made for the Krag that allowed the magazine to be loaded all at once, also known as the Krag "Speedloader magazine". Normal loading was one cartridge at a time, and this could be done more easily with a Krag than a rifle with a "box" magazine. In fact, several cartridges can be dumped into the opened magazine of a Krag at once with no need for careful placement, and when shutting the magazine-door the cartridges are forced to line up correctly inside the magazine. The design was also easy to "top off", and unlike most top-loading magazines, the Krag-Jørgensen's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. The relative complexity of manufacturing this magazine has been suggested as a reason why many countries did not adopt the Krag-Jørgensen. For others, the magazine's features likely aided adoption. Today, the Krag-Jørgensen is a popular rifle among collectors, and is valued by shooters for its smooth action. The 1880s were an interesting period in the development of modern firearms. During this decade smo