INTRODUCTION TO RIFLES
by Tom Leoni, Rifles Product Manager
 Our species, the homo abilis, is different from all other animals for its ability to invent and manufacture tools to make life possible and easier.
Naturally, the first tools devised by our ancestors had to do with procuring food by means of agriculture and hunting, and for making war on one-another. Thus ploughs, hoes, spear-heads and blades of all sorts are often found by archaeologists around the most ancient burial sites.
As one of the slowest-moving creatures on land, man soon discovered that hunting weapons that depended on his speed in running (such as the spear) were not as effective to collect the large amounts of prey necessary to feed their growing communities. So, men devised and manufactured means to throw projectiles far and fast enough to extend a person’s natural hunting range. These were the bow and arrow, the sling, and all their variations.
Such implements were more or less unchanged for the first two millennia of our recorded history. The hunting (and war) weapons at the disposal of the feudal Lord of the middle-ages were roughly the same as those used by his primal ancestors twenty centuries before. This, however, changed forever with the introduction of gunpowder at the dawn of the Renaissance.
A mixture of sulfur and potassium nitrate, “black powder” is an explosive good for making bombs. However, men soon discovered that if such powder was put into a strong tube closed at one end, it would channel its explosion towards the other (open) end, bringing with it any object it encountered on its path and propelling it at great speed.
Thus, the early Renaissance saw the birth of all kinds of “cannon” (=big tube), from hand-held devices mounted on a haft (hand gonnes) to giant monstrosities weighing thousands of pounds. But the one thing they all had in common was this: they all propelled a spherical object with speed and force previously unthinkable.
Hand Gonne
In the next few centuries, different ignition systems were invented, so that the powder in the “chamber” would be set off more predictably and reliably, and so that it would stay dry when the firearm was not in use. Among these methods, the most widely-adopted was the matchlock (a burning match shaped like a rope), the wheel-lock (a spring-loaded spinning wheel functioning on the same principle of a modern lighter) and finally the flint-lock.
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| Early 17 th-Century Musketeer shooting a matchlock. (Notice the rope-like match.) |
The genius behind the flintlock was that the “pan” containing the priming charge was always closed – and therefore more protected from the elements – until the hammer containing the flint would fall, opening it, creating sparks and igniting it. The small explosion would communicate to the main charge via a “flash-hole”, and the ball would be propelled. (A flash in the pan was when the priming charge would go off but fail to ignite the main charge inside the barrel).
It was the flintlock that Washington’s Yankees used to chase the British from America, and that Napoleon’s armies carried in their wars in Europe.
It was at the time of the flintlock that an important innovation was brought about: rifling inside the barrel. Until then, the ball shot from guns was simply cast out; now, rifling imparted a rate of spin to the ball, greatly stabilizing its flight and improving range.
Think of what spin does to a Frisbee, and imagine its flight without it. Now you can get a sense of how important this factor is the ballistics (from ballein, to throw) of a projectile.
 So, the guns without rifling were retained for shooting multiple pellets (=shot) at shorter ranges, making them ideal for hitting birds in flight. These became fowling pieces, or “shot guns.” Whereas rifled guns (=rifles) were used to hurl one projectile at a time accurately at ranges sometimes exceeding three hundred yards.
It was in the course of the Nineteenth Century that the most radical innovations were brought about to firearms and the rifle. The first was the invention of the caplock: now instead of a flint and a separate igniting charge, a percussion cap containing potassium fulminate was sufficient to ignite the rifle. The second was the gradual departure from the round ball as the typical projectile: now, thanks to the spin imparted to the bullet, this could be elongated and of a more aerodynamic shape. Such changes greatly improved accuracy, range and penetration.
The American civil war was fought by men carrying caplock rifles and shooting early elongated bullets called Minie Balls (see right). One of the reasons why the war was so bloody was that these innovations in firearm technology were not matched by improvements in antiquated infantry tactics.
In the last quarter of the century, the last and greatest innovations of all were brought about: brass-cased ammunition and smokeless powder. Thanks to these, a riflemen could now avoid the time-consuming ritual of loading the weapon from the muzzle, and when he fired, he would not be enveloped in a cloud of sulfurous smoke.
Above is the picture of a late muzzle-loader used in the 1660’s.
This is an early breechloader from only ten years later: notice the great difference.
Another great advantage of the new “breechloading” system was that now multiple cartridges could be pre-loaded into the rifle. Thus, the rifleman could “repeat” his shots by simply operating on a mechanical lever that would eject the spent case and insert a fresh one from the “magazine.”
Among the many repeating systems invented, these stood out as the best:
- Lever action (like John Wayne’s Winchester)
- Pump action (like police shotguns)
- Bolt action
 The bolt action was perfected by Mauser of Germany in the last 20 years of the century.
Mauser bolt action
The bolt – similar to a door’s bolt – would open the action, expose the magazine, clasp and load a cartridge in the chamber and, when closed, provide a sealed environment for the charge to go off. By the opening of the 20 th Century, the Mauser system and early variants of bolt-action rifle had become the standard on which all powerful rifles would be measured.
The benefits of Mauser’s bolt action were:
- Strength
- Ease of operation
- Stiffness and accuracy
- Manufacturing simplicity
Mauser-action rifles saw ample use in the Great War in the hands of millions of soldiers, as well as in the plains of Africa where it was used by famed ivory hunters such as Karamojo Bell. Mauser’s action was then copied and slightly modified by practically all rifle makers in the world throughout the century, and it still remains one of the most appreciated systems by amateurs and connoisseurs alike.
In spite of the Mauser being a German development, American manufacturers such as Winchester, Weatherby, Remington and others started producing their own version of the rifle, and became legendary brands in their own right. Actually, many consider America to be the natural home of the rifle.
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Elmer Fudd and his rifle are part of the American lore.... although He would have used a shotgun for “duck season”...
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Ammunition also kept up with the pace. Earlier, a ball was a ball was a ball. With brass-cased ammunition, manufacturers raced to produce all sorts of cartridges that promised themselves as the perfect “game getter” or “target hitter.” This is why, unlike with the five shotgun gauges, there are literally several hundred rifle cartridges.
Rifle cartridges vary in the following aspects:
- Bullet diameter used (generally from 0.220” to 0.450”)
- Bullet velocity advertised
- Shape and size of brass case
There is no hard and fast rule on how cartridge nomenclature works, although the first number generally indicates bullet diameter. A 30-06, for instance, shoots a 0.30” (circa) diameter bullet and was introduced into the US Military in 1906, hence its name. A “magnum” (named after the large Champagne bottles) uses a bigger brass case that contains more powder, thus it propels the bullet faster.
And what do rifle buyers want?
- Accuracy: a rifle is supposed to hit a small target at a long distance. For instance, the “vitals” of a whitetail deer are only 8 to 10 inches in diameter, and sometimes such game is shot at distances as long as 500 yards.
- Durability: a rifle is generally regarded as something that can be passed down to one’s children without needing major repairs. Note: most WWI rifles produced are still very much usable, in spite of their century-old status.
- Reliability: a rifle must function. With the tremendous expense often associated to big-game hunts, a rifle must do its part when the chips are down.
- Good cartridges: game must be brought down effectively and humanely. Fortunately, all rifle manufacturers offer rifles in good, proven cartridges.
- Aesthetics: a rifle is often seen as an object of pride and a carrier of tradition. Good wood, polished metal and clean lines are therefore important.
- Good sighting systems. While earlier rifles were shot with open sights, now the norm is scopes. Scopes are not integral part of the rifle. Therefore, the “attachment” systems must be rock-solid and be as accurate, durable and reliable as the whole ensemble.
- Value.
Sako and Tikka. A History of Continuous Improvement
Sako is a rifle made by riflemen for riflemen, and it was born around the concept of quality and improvement. 80 years ago, an elite group of Finnish gunsmiths banded together to improve the many surplus military rifles that were coming into their country from neighboring Russia. Once these rifles were carefully accurized and greatly improved, they were re-issued to the Finnish National Guard. During the second War, the Russians got a bitter taste of these improved rifles in the hands of the stalwart Finnish backwoodsmen-turned-soldiers – and the great Red Army was shamefully repelled by a militia a thousandth their size.
When peace came, the now-established Sako firm turned its attention to manufacturing sporting rifles. One of these made its way to America in the late 1940’s and the legend was born. True to their initial mission, Sako rifles became known for providing improved performance over anything else out there – in the form of superior accuracy, functioning and durability. In the more recent past, Sako and Tikka (another Finnish manufacturer) merged, and in 2000 the Beretta family decided that Sako and Tikka should become part of the group. Sako’s obsession for quality is in fact on a par with what the Berettas expect of their own products.
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