A look at evolution of firearms

Americans have always had a fascination with whatever the current assault rifle was at the time. War has always led to innovation and improvements. When the Civil War commenced, the primary weapons were fueled by loose powder, a single bullet and primed by a cap. Revolvers were loaded one cylinder at a time.

The first innovation to take place was the invention of the self-contained cartridge that is bullet, propellant and primer in a single unit. The first assault rifle, actually it was a carbine, was the Spencer. It was tube fed through the stock and fired multiple times until the magazine was emptied. The Union war department was adamantly opposed to adopting this carbine as they felt the troops would expend too much ammunition. It wasn't until President Lincoln was given a private demonstration that the Spencer was adopted.

Lincoln held a fascination with firearms and understood the importance the Spencer would make for the Union army. By today's standards, the cartridge fired by the Spencer would be considered a pistol cartridge.

After the war, the surplus Spencers were sold to a welcoming public in such large numbers that the Spencer Arms Company went out of business. Frontiersmen and hunters loved the Spencer as a self-defense firearm and as a hunting carbine that held many follow-up shots.

The next war, the Spanish American War, produced two assault rifles: the 7.57mm Mauser and the 30-40 Craig. The Craig was our first attempt at a .30 caliber rifle. It had a side box magazine that when loaded with loose ammunition was snapped into place and bolted into the firing chamber after firing the previous round. It was an excellent example of a finely machined rifle but a disappointment as a military rifle. I used to deer hunt with a retired Marine who hunted with a Craig. It was well maintained and looked factory new.

The 7.57 Mauser was developed in 1892 and adopted by the Spanish government in 1893. This was a watershed change in that the magazine was fed with a five-shot stripper clip. The 7.57 Mauser was a smokeless powder cartridge with the most efficient ballistic coefficient ever designed. It was a flat shooting rifle that achieved greater muzzle velocity than was ever seen at that time and earned the nickname of the "Spanish Bee."

Not to be outdone, the John Rigby Company licensed the Mauser and renamed it the .275 Rigby. W.D.M. Bell was the most acclaimed African commercial ivory hunter of his time. Bell is credited with taking more than 1,100 elephants with the .275 Rigby.

Between 1903 and 1906, the U.S. government developed the .30-06 as its main rifle cartridge. Two rifles emerged from WWI, with the Enfield being produced in greater numbers than the Springfields. These were the two American assault rifles of WWI, with the Springfield emerging as the winner between the two. The Springfield was held in high esteem by hunters and target shooters.

The preeminent assault rife to emerge from WWII was the M-1 Garand. The Garand was and still is a favorite of both competitive and recreational target shooters. It never caught on as a hunting rifle since it weighed too much and you had to replace the eight-shot enblock with a five-shot enblock.

Both WWII and Korea introduced millions of service members to semi-automatic rifles. This caused increased shooting and hunting interests in semi-automatic rifles and shotguns. The next iteration was the introduction of the M-14. While this is a welcomed addition for the target and competitive shooter, the M-14 gave us the .308.

Vietnam gave us the M-16. Concurrent with the introduction of the M-16 was the civilian version called the AR-15. The Armalite had two civilian versions, one in 5.56mm and one in .308. The running joke then was that it was made by Mattel. The AR-15 is not an assault rifle since it is only capable of being fired in a semi-automatic mode. When Congress was going through the motions of defining an assault rifle, one thing they attributed to an assault rifle was a bayonet lug.

There are many assault rifle look-a-likes that are given the distinction of AR, but they are only capable of semi-automatic fire. The 5.56mm is a great round for target shooting and varmint hunting but not suitable for big game. One of the newer offerings from Olympic Arms is in .243 and .25 WSSM. Both are acceptable whitetail hunting rounds. Some in the hunting community are opposed to using an AR in a hunting mode. With so many veterans being trained with the latest version of the M-16, they would be firing something they are used to and I don't see the harm.

By the way, can the ordinary citizen possess an assault weapon? The answer is yes. All you have to do is go through an extensive criminal background check and pay the federal registration fee and you, too, can own a fully automatic firearm. Would I want to own one? No, I'm a hunter and take pride in the hunting shotguns and rifles I use in the field. When I shoot on the range, I am trying to improve my shooting skills so that I am a better hunter. That said, some of these semi-automatic AR's look like they would be fun to shoot.

Bob can be reached at hunterscorner@aol.com

Bob Washburn