History of the Rifle
The fact that rifles are named after the helical grooves that are cut into the barrel is not generally known. The process was invented by an Englishman named Benjamin Robins, who was provoked to thought by the fact that projectiles that spin on their axes tend to reach their intended target with better accuracy. The spin lent to the bullet cuts down on air resistance and also helps balance the projectile by centrifugal force. In fact, the American Indians had known this for quite a while before he did – this explains the slanted feathers at the string-end of their arrows. They caused the arrows to spin by virtue of the way these feathers cut into the air they traveled through.
The discovery did not find immediate favor with those who used muskets and other early firearms. This is not surprising. The early gunsmiths lacked the technology to provide firearms with rifled barrels, and it used to take them quite a bit of time and toil to get it right with individual pieces. However, the earliest marksmen did begin to choose rifles for precision work, and the concept of a straight, non-grooved barrel eventually became an archaic one. The term rifled musket was finally shortened to ‘rifle’ and the name has stuck. These days, almost all shoulder-supported firearms feature rifled barrels. This would, of course, exclude the shotgun, which depends on scatter power rather than single-projectile accuracy.
One of the most important innovations in rifles was the introduction of the breech loading mechanism, which overcame the limitations of the original muzzle loader. The breech loading mechanism was far from simple to apply, though gunsmiths immediately recognized that it was the only feasible option. When the first workable breech loaders were finally engineered and introduced, a major landmark in the history of firearms was reached. Since the bullet did not have to be manually pushed down the barrel, it could be manufactured to a tighter fit. This added to the rifle’s overall life and safety, and also allowed for a higher degree of the power generated by exploding gunpowder to be transferred onto the exiting bullet. Naturally, range and accuracy was vastly increased.
The next important innovation in rifle technology was the conical bullet. It is hard to imagine that, up to that point in history, all firearm projectiles were basically spherical musket balls. The conical bullet, first used widely in the American Civil War, had a hollow base that expanded on detonation of the gunpowder and forced the bullet’s metal into effective contact with the barrel’s grooves. Various other milestones in rifle technology followed. Single-shot rifles gave way to rifles with repeat-fire capabilities in 1860, when Christopher Spencer invented the first usable magazine-supported rifle. This invention revolutionized warfare at a time when there were many wars either in process or coming up.
Finally, there came along inventions that helped make the rifle far deadlier weapon than ever before. Telescopic sights were the perfect accompaniments to the enhanced ranges of modern rifles and allowed targets to be spotted and shot at over larger and larger distances. Infra red sniper scopes overcame even the seemingly insurmountable limitation brought by lack of visibility at night, and nighttime warfare became commonplace. A more sinister device was the silencer, though it continues to be of limited use in rifles. Silencers tend to cut down drastically on attainable range and also cause the rifle barrel to heat up to dangerous levels with repeated use.
Gunpowder-based rifles are not the only kinds in popular use today. The air rifle is still a favorite among small game hunters and sport gunnery. While the stopping power of a hollow lead slug (or a ball bearing in the case of BB rifles) that is sped on its way by nothing but compressed air is not very impressive, air rifle aficionados will have you know that they consider their choice the purer one. They correctly claim that air rifle shooting calls for a separate skill set, and that lack of the lead slug’s range must be compensated by better stalking skills.
The number of models available in rifles today is bewildering. The Enfield and Remington rifles were just the forerunners – and while these brands are still very much in the running today, they have been joined by a plethora of others that manufacture an equally impressive range of rifles. Depending on requirements, one can now choose from automatic rifles, single shot rifles, anti-materiel rifles (for shooting at other than human targets), assault rifles, recoilless rifles and many other kinds. Each finds its own application in the specific situations they are designed for.