The Service Pistol

, Philippine Scouts In considering a service pistol, it is necessary at the outset to agree to the proper uses of the arm. That a pistol will shoot accurately at one hundred yards and over is nothing in its favor; better use a rifle. A good service pistol is assumed to be one that is accurate up to fifty yards for bull’s-eye target practice, is a deadly (stopping) close quarter fighting weapon, a quick firer, and substantially and simply made so as to keep in order with the usage of the cavalry service. The.38 service Colt appears to be the only pistol which a majority of cavalry officers agree possesses all the requirements, except the most important, a deadly close quarter fighting weapon. It has not the necessary shock or stopping effect. This defect is attributed generally to caliber. It is not questioned that a -45 bullet moving with the same velocity as a.38 has more shock effect than the.38, but the assertion, frequently made, that the wound made by the.38 which failed to stop a man, would have stopped him if made in the same place by the.45, has not been demonstrated. It is not believed that the so-called “New Service.45 Colt” with its long heavy powder charged cartridge with cylindrical bullet would do much better. The old.45 Cowboy Colt with its short light powder charged cartridge and short hollowed bullet has a national reputation for stopping power. The stopping effect of a bullet depends upon some thing more than caliber: Ist, the sensitiveness to shock of the man shot; 2d, the locus of the wound; and 3d, the velocity, shape and size of the bullet. To illustrate: Sensitiveness to shock and the consequent incapacitating or deterring effect generally increases with the culture of the man shot. A wound that may stop and incapacitate for further aggressive action a civilized man, may only increase the fury and efforts of a savage to destroy his enemy; especially is this true if the savage is imbued with the idea that, if killed while killing his enemies, his future bliss is assured. A shot in the brain will stop any man. A horse drops instantly from a -38 bullet striking the brain. A deer shot through the heart with a -45 Winchester will run fifty yards. In the case of a man shot with a.32 revolver, the bullet penetrated the left cheek and entered the brain; death was instantaneous, so that the man fell backwards; his.cigarette remained in his mouth and smoked, up. In another case, a man was shot through the belly with a.45 carbine so that his intestines protruded. He walked over a mile, and his wound was only discovered by his death two hours after the shot. The bullet from a.30 Krag ball cartridge can be fired through a pane of glass without shattering the pane. Decrease the velocity of the bullet by reducing the powder charge and the pane will be shattered. The bullet from the gallery cartridge will shatter the pane. A spent bullet may knock a man down insensible or stop him, yet inflict a slight wound. Velocity appears to control the shock effect.

It is not to be expected that the influence of civilization will perceptibly affect the sensitiveness of the savage to shock in the near future; nor can we hope to attain the skill in pistol shootingnecessary to hit a man in the head with every shot, but it is believed the shock effect of the pistol can be increased without decreasing its accuracy up to fifty yards.

The trooper must be instilled with confidence in his pistol, otherwise it is of little use in his hands; this can be instilled only by target practice. For accurate bull’s-2 ARMOR