Editing Rifle (section)

==19th century==

{{multiple image| align = right | direction = horizontal | header_align = left/right/center | header= | footer = (left) "Premier Consul" model [[flintlock]] [[carbine]] made by [[Jean Lepage]] and named for the [[French Consulate|First Consul]] [[Napoléon Bonaparte]], {{Circa|1800}}; (right) rifling of the Lepage carbine.| footer_align = left | image1 = Lepage silex gun dite du Premier Consul circa 1800.jpg | width1 = 350| caption1 = |  image2 =Rifling of Lepage carbine circa 1800.jpg | width2 = 69 | caption2 = }}
During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] the British army established several experimental units known as "Rifles", armed with the [[Baker rifle]]. These Rifle Regiments were deployed as skirmishers during the [[Peninsular War]] of 1807 to 1814 in Spain and Portugal, and proved more effective than skirmishers armed with muskets due to their accuracy and long range.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

In Central Asia, Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Tadjiks in the course of the 19th century adopted a form of large-calibre rifle: the ''{{ill|karamultuk|ru|karamultuk}}'' or ''karamultyk''.<ref>
{{cite web
|last1                = Brovin
|first1               = Vladimir
|date                 = 7 February 2017
|title                = Karamul'tuk i dzhezajl - dikarskie mushkety, kotorye pobedili Britaniju
|script-title         = ru:Карамультук и джезайл — дикарские мушкеты, которые победили Британию
|url                = https://disgustingmen.com/history/jezail-musket-karamultuk
|archive-url          = https://web.archive.org/web/20190921194305/https://disgustingmen.com/history/jezail-musket-karamultuk
|url-status           = dead
|archive-date         = 2019-09-21
|language             = ru
|publisher            = Disgusting Men
|access-date          = 12 January 2025
|quote                = Карамультук и близкий ему джезайл — это конкретный и некогда очень эффективный вид мушкетов. Британские имперские войска вряд ли посчитали бы такие ружья в руках врага «нелепыми» или забавными.
}}
</ref>

===Muzzle-loading===

{{Main article|Muzzleloader|Muzzle-loading rifle}}

Gradually, rifles appeared with cylindrical barrels cut with helical grooves, the surfaces between the grooves being "lands". The innovation was shortly followed by the mass adoption of [[breech-loading weapon]]s, as it was not practical to push an overbore bullet down through a rifled barrel. The dirt and grime from prior shots were pushed down ahead of a tight bullet or ball (which may have been a looser fit in the clean barrel before the first shot), and loading was far more difficult, as the lead had to be deformed to go down in the first place, reducing the accuracy due to deformation. Several systems were tried to deal with the problem, usually by resorting to an under-bore bullet that expanded upon firing.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/bullet
 |title=Bullet |date=April 9, 2020 |publisher=Britannica |access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Delvigne system.jpg|thumb|The method developed by [[Henri-Gustave Delvigne|Delvigne]] for his rifles, with the lead bullet being supported by a wooden sabot at its base.]]

The original muzzle-loading rifle, with a closely fitting ball to take the rifling grooves, was loaded with difficulty, particularly when foul, and for this reason was not generally used for military purposes. With the advent of rifling, the bullet itself did not initially change but was wrapped in a greased, cloth patch to grip the rifling grooves.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2010/05/rifling-expanding-bullets-and-minie.html|date=16 May 2010|title=Rifling: Expanding Bullets and the Minie Rifle|publisher=Firearms History, Technology & Development|access-date=23 October 2021|quote=The solution for hundreds of years was to wrap the bullet in a greased cloth patch and ram it down the barrel}}</ref>

The first half of the 19th century saw a distinct change in the shape and function of the bullet. In 1826 [[Henri-Gustave Delvigne]], a French [[infantry]] officer, invented a breech with abrupt shoulders on which a spherical bullet was rammed down until it caught the rifling grooves. Delvigne's method, however, deformed the bullet and was inaccurate.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tom |last=McHale |date=2017-02-03|title=Reloading: Bullet Materials and Shapes|url=https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/reloading-bullet-materials-shapes/|access-date=2021-03-15|website=GunsAmerica Digest}}</ref>

Soon after, [[Louis-Etienne de Thouvenin]] invented the [[Carabine à tige]], which had a stem at the bottom of the barrel that would deform and expand the base of the bullet when rammed, therefore enabling accurate contact with the rifling. However, the area around the stem clogged and got dirty easily.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

====Minié system – the "rifled musket"====

{{Main article|Minié ball|Minié rifle}}
[[File:Japanese Minie rifle(Mirror).jpg|300px|thumb|British-made [[Minié rifle]] used in Japan during the [[Boshin war]] (1868–1869).]]

The famous Minié system, invented by French Army Captain [[Claude-Étienne Minié]], relied on a conical bullet (known as a Minié ball) with a hollow skirt at the base of the bullet.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} When fired, the skirt would expand from the pressure of the exploding charge and grip the rifling as the round was fired. The better seal gave more power, as less gas escaped past the bullet. Also, for the same [[gauge (bore diameter)|bore]] ([[caliber]]) diameter a long bullet was heavier than a round ball. The extra grip also spun the bullet more consistently, which increased the range from about 50 yards for a smoothbore musket to about 300 yards for a rifle using the Minié system. The expanding skirt of the Minié ball also solved the problem that earlier tight-fitting bullets were difficult to load as black powder residue fouled the inside of the barrel. The Minié system allowed conical bullets to be loaded into rifles just as quickly as round balls in smooth bores, which allowed [[rifled musket|rifle muskets]] to replace muskets on the battlefield.

Minié system rifles, notably the [[Springfield Model 1861|U.S. Springfield]] and the [[Pattern 1853 Enfield|British Enfield]] of the early 1860s featured prominently in the [[U.S. Civil War]] of 1861-1865, due to their enhanced power and accuracy.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} At the time of the [[Crimean War]] (1853-1856) the Minié rifle was considered the "best in military use".<ref name=":2" />

Over the 19th century, bullet design continued to evolve, the bullets becoming gradually smaller and lighter. By 1910 the standard blunt-nosed bullet had been replaced by the pointed, [[Spitzer (bullet)|'spitzer' bullet]], an innovation that increased range and penetration. [[Cartridge (weaponry)|Cartridge]] design evolved from simple paper tubes containing [[black powder]] and shot, to sealed brass cases with integral [[Primer (firearm)|primers]] for ignition, and black powder was replaced by [[cordite]], and then by other nitro-cellulose-based [[smokeless powder]] mixtures, propelling bullets to higher velocities than before.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

The increased velocity meant that new problems arose, and so bullets went from using soft lead to harder lead, then to [[full metal jacket bullet|copper-jacketed]], in order to better engage the spiral grooves without "stripping" them in the same way that a screw or bolt thread would be stripped if subjected to extreme forces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Soft Cast Bullets, Jacketed Bullets & Copper Coated Bullets {{!}} Shop Black Powder Cast Bullets at Buffalo Arms |url=https://www.buffaloarms.com/reloading-supplies-accessories/jacketed-44-lead-copper-coated-bullets.html |access-date=2021-03-15|website=www.buffaloarms.com}}</ref>

===Breech loading===

{{Main article|Breechloader}}
[[File:Chassepot-p1000739.jpg|thumb|Loading mechanism of the [[Chassepot]]]]

From 1836, breech-loading rifles were introduced with the German Dreyse [[Needle gun]], followed by the French [[Tabatière rifle|Tabatière]] in 1857, by the British Calisher and Terry carbine made in Birmingham and later in 1864 by the better known British [[Snider–Enfield]]. Primitive chamber-locking mechanisms were soon replaced by [[bolt-action]] mechanisms, exemplified by the French [[Chassepot]] in 1866. Breech-loading was to have a major impact on warfare, as breech-loading rifles can be fired at a rate many times faster than muzzle-loaded rifles and - significantly - can be loaded from a prone rather than standing position. Firing prone (i.e., lying down) is more accurate than firing from a standing position, and a prone rifleman presents a much smaller target than a standing soldier. The higher accuracy and range, combined with reduced vulnerability generally benefited defense, while making the traditional battle between lines of standing and volleying infantrymen obsolete.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

===Repeating rifle===
{{main|Repeating rifle}}

The mid-century drive for increased rates of fire led to the development of the first [[repeating rifle]]s, a type of breechloader that can load multiple cartridges ahead of time to be stored on the weapon itself. This allowed for a continuous burst of fire during which the user could mechanically cycle in unused rounds without stopping to reload. Various enduring mechanisms would be invented, including [[bolt action]], [[List of pump action rifles|pump action]], [[lever action]], and [[revolver|revolving]].

====Magazine-fed rifle====
Bolt, lever, and pump actions all allowed for the incorporation of a [[magazine (firearms)|magazine]] to store pre-loaded shells. The [[Spencer repeating rifle]] was a breech-loading, manually-operated lever action rifle that was adopted by the United States. Over 20,000 were used during the American Civil War. It was the first adoption of a removable [[magazine (firearms)|magazine]]-fed infantry rifle. The design was completed by [[Christopher Miner Spencer|Christopher Spencer]] in 1860.<ref>{{cite book |title=Almanac of American Military History | author= Spencer Tucker |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year= 2013 |page= 1028 |isbn=978-1598845303}}</ref> It used copper [[rimfire ammunition|rimfire cartridges]] stored in a removable seven-round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another. A rifleman could exchange an emptied magazine for another.<ref>
{{cite web |title=Back to Basics: Center-fire Cartridge Cases |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/11/1/back-to-basics-center-fire-cartridge-cases/ |access-date=2021-03-15 |website=www.americanrifleman.org}}</ref>
The [[Winchester rifle|Winchester repeating rifle]] was invented in 1866 as a lever action.<ref name="npr.org"/>

====Revolving rifle====
{{further information|Revolver|Repeating rifle#Revolver action}}

[[File:Colt Roots British Carbine.JPG|thumb|300px|Colt Model 1855 Carbine]]
Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combining them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier for revolving pistols. Colt began experimenting with revolving rifles in the early-19th century, and other manufacturers like Remington later experimented with them as well. The [[Colt revolving rifle|Colt Revolving Rifle Model 1855]], an early repeating rifle, became the first to be used by the U.S. Government and saw some limited action during the [[American Civil War]]. Revolvers, both rifles and pistols, tend to spray fragments of metal from the front of the cylinder.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revolving Rifles |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/category/rifles/revolving-rifle/ |access-date=2021-03-15|website=Forgotten Weapons}}</ref>