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AMERICAS TRENCH SHOTGUN Handy and Effective Weapon Which Made the Murderous Hun Shout How An Old Mortel Vas Improved ImprovedStrengthened Strengthened and Made MadeMore More Deadly The trench shotgun is Americas greatest con ¬ tribution to the war Through tli export handling of the trench shot ¬ gun the Germans learned that the Yanks were conii n g gAt At tiie first taste of tlie pellets the Huns began to whine and then to write notes calling iis bar ¬ barians bariansThree Three score years ago it was the handy piece of the sheriffs who hunted the outlaws prison guards express messengers and stage coach guards and it did yeoman service serviceWhen When America took a band in the war a Georgia engineer by the name of Eagor began ruminating on ways to stop the Hun Mis ruminations brought him to the discarded weapon of the days of mush ¬ room mining towns It was the big idea ideaHe He suggested the utilization of the short barrel shotgun to the war department and the suggestion met with favor The improved Winchester riot gun 1897 model six shot hand operated single barrel pump shotgun was examined and found worthy worthyBut But there was one problem to be met That was the placing of the bayonet The barrel of the gun was quite thin and did not offer much support for a bayonet This is where Yankee ingenuity asserted itself and made the gun the deadliest shortrange weapon ever conceived or used by man manThe The weakness of the barrel was overcome by providing an outer steel coat or jacket which is perforated and held a short distance away from the barrel proper and forms and air chamber that acts as a cooling jacket TolhisffeIiirdrceU jacket is the bayonet attached attachedThis This jacket prevents the scorching of the shoot ¬ ers hands and permits rapid fire The magazine holds five shells and there is one shell in the chamber making it capable of firing six shots as rapidly as one can pull the trigger and work the pump handle This we might assert is mighty fast when in the hands of a trapshdoter trapshdoterFIFTY FIFTY CARTRIDGES A MINUTE MINUTEThese These shells contain 3 A drams of smokeless pow ¬ der 00 buckshot load 9 pellets to each cartridge each pellet about the size of a 32caliber bullet It is possible for one man shooting and others load ¬ ing for him to fire fifty cartridges a minute which means 450 slugs a veritable shower of lead would be sprayed over a 1003ard sector With hundreds of these guns in use one can imagine the result resultNo No column of troops could stand at close range before a line of men armed witli trench shotguns In the past these guns have cowed mobs and upset mass formations It is unwise to stand in front of them especially when they are in the hands of those who might pull the trigger triggerThe The gun weighs 7 pounds and the bayonet pounds It is the 12gange patter with barrel 20 inches long made from rolled stvel cylinder bored The bayonet can be removed and used for closeup fighting A sling is attached to tne gun the same as to the rifle so that it may be thrown over the shoulder shoulderAn An idea of the effectiveness of the gun is shown in these tests on A twoinch pine board At fifty yards the pellets wormed their way into the wood 1 inches At seventyfive yards the shot went in threequarters of an inch and at 100 yards the shot went in onequarter of an inch When General Pershing requested the shotguns we were of the opinion that the idea was to try and keen Fritz at hbme in the evenings Thousands were supplied and these in the hands of men who could rise them not only have kept Fritz at home nights but have kept him sleepless more than one night nightNOT NOT TO REPLACE MACHINE GUVS GUVSThe The shotguns are more effective than rifles for sentries The guns will not replace the rifle in warfare nor will they perform the functions of a machine gun It is purely an emergency weapon which lias done all that it was intended to do aiid some more moreFiring Firing from the Iiin holding back the trigger and pumping the forehand the shooter can lay down a perfect barrage in front of him that will be effective for more than 100 yards This gives an idea of the value of the gun in the hands of sentries Jt carries more terrors f into J1 L hearts of the enemy than any other instrument of de ¬ struction that has been used usedThe The only umbrella that will assist anyone when the trench shotgun is showering pellets over the universe is an armored tank tankThe The requisition of General Pershing for sawcdoff shotguns for trench work lias never been made specific to the American public 1 do not know whether he asked for the automatic or the pump action shotgun writes Emerson Hough in the Sat ¬ urday Evening Post Probably it was the latter or what is known as the riotaction type or the brushgun model a sixshot handoperated single barrel pump shotgun It need not be pointed out that such a weapon loaded with nine buckshot is one of the deadliest shortrange weapons ever con ¬ ceived or used by man No column of troops could stand at close range before a heavy line of men armed witli this sort of gun In the Civil war ball and buck made the most dreaded load an ounce ball and three buckshot
