M1898 with sub-target gun machine stock?
Re: M1898 with sub-target gun machine stock?
So what was the purpose of this device?
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butlersrangers
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Re: M1898 with sub-target gun machine stock?
1911Ron:
Short Answer - Virtual Target Shooting.
Longer Answer - The Sub-Target Gun Machine was a $600 device, that allowed training in Rifle Shooting skills and provided competition without ammunition or Range facilities.
The device worked something like a pantograph. A rifle was fixed to the apparatus. Through the use of counter-weights and pivots, the "shooter' supported the weight of the rifle and could move it freely. The "Shooter" aimed the unloaded rifle at a target placed a moderate distance away. The machine had been adjusted or calibrated so that a sharp "needle" moved in alignment with the axis of the rifle's bore. When the "Shooter" had the rifle's sights aimed and pulled the trigger, the needle would pierce a miniature target placed in a holder on the Gun Machine. The strike on the miniature target would give an accurate indication of the sight picture on the distant target at the moment of "Dry Firing". The results were accurate and repeatable, which allowed for competition and skill building.
The Sub-Target Rifle Machine saw use from about 1900 to 1918. In the U.S., The New York City - Public School Athletic League put 'Gun Machines' in all the High Schools and ran a huge competition program. The U.S. Military Academies had machines. In Great Britain and Canada, Military Schools and the Royal Navy (aboard ships) made use of the Machines. The U.S. Machines used mechanical linkages and cables to power the 'needle'. The British machines (Wilkinson) used a battery powered solenoid.
The attached post-card is actually a "Sub-Target" with 'pin pricks' and a score of 20 (3,3,3,3,3,3,2,0,0,0,), "Fired" in the U.S.A. (An NRA Postal Match?).
Short Answer - Virtual Target Shooting.
Longer Answer - The Sub-Target Gun Machine was a $600 device, that allowed training in Rifle Shooting skills and provided competition without ammunition or Range facilities.
The device worked something like a pantograph. A rifle was fixed to the apparatus. Through the use of counter-weights and pivots, the "shooter' supported the weight of the rifle and could move it freely. The "Shooter" aimed the unloaded rifle at a target placed a moderate distance away. The machine had been adjusted or calibrated so that a sharp "needle" moved in alignment with the axis of the rifle's bore. When the "Shooter" had the rifle's sights aimed and pulled the trigger, the needle would pierce a miniature target placed in a holder on the Gun Machine. The strike on the miniature target would give an accurate indication of the sight picture on the distant target at the moment of "Dry Firing". The results were accurate and repeatable, which allowed for competition and skill building.
The Sub-Target Rifle Machine saw use from about 1900 to 1918. In the U.S., The New York City - Public School Athletic League put 'Gun Machines' in all the High Schools and ran a huge competition program. The U.S. Military Academies had machines. In Great Britain and Canada, Military Schools and the Royal Navy (aboard ships) made use of the Machines. The U.S. Machines used mechanical linkages and cables to power the 'needle'. The British machines (Wilkinson) used a battery powered solenoid.
The attached post-card is actually a "Sub-Target" with 'pin pricks' and a score of 20 (3,3,3,3,3,3,2,0,0,0,), "Fired" in the U.S.A. (An NRA Postal Match?).
Re: M1898 with sub-target gun machine stock?
Interesting. Thanks!