content_output-023_14 (Q5725)

Definition of rifling—Invention of rifling—Forms of grooving—Early use of the rifle—The muzzle-loading fire-arms of the British army—The story of the bayonet—“Crossed bayonets”—The development of the muzzle-loading rifle—The Minié rifle against the percussion musket—Lancaster's oval bore—The Whitworth rifling—The Whitworth against the Enfield—Historical note on the sporting rifle—The spherical ball rifle—Origin of the “Express”—The Cape rifle—The breech-loading rifle and its development—The Metford system—Classification of modern rifles