A Gas-Operated M1903 Conversion That Never Was

This article, "Another Self Shooter," originally appeared in the April 17, 1913 issue of ARMS AND THE MAN, predecessor to American Rifleman. To subscribe to today's monthly magazine, visit NRA’s membership page.

Perpetual motion as the eternal theme for discussion, as an object of endless experiment, has had nothing on the semi-automatic military shoulder rifle for the past ten years. Every country which has any right to be considered progressive, has been devoting much time, money and labor to the investigation of the claimed merits of different methods of hurling clouds of bullets from one self-acting gun.

The United States Government has not been behind in this matter. We may be short—and indeed we are lacking—in the number of airps and our supply of dirigibles, but the Ordnance Department of the Army has been consistently active in its efforts to secure a shoulder arm which would fulfill the requirements of military use. Many of the tests carried on have been described in the columns of ARMS AND THE MAN and the weapons fully discussed there. Others, though known, could not for one reason or another be spoken of.

Our readers have lately been told of the purpose of the Department to carry on a competitive test of all semi-automatics which may be submitted, probably in September of this year [1912]. With a breadth of vision which does them infinite credit our people have been ransacking the world resolved that we shall have-when we do get an automatic-the best creation affords.

There will be, it is supposed, in the September tests, the Bang from Europe, the Ross from Canada, the Young from Boston, and probably many more. The list of automatics (when we say automatic we mean always in this connection the semi-automatic, of course) would not be complete without considering those which have been evolved and built by the Ordnance Department itself. There have been a number of such arms, none of which has proven entirely satisfactory as yet. One of these which we can call for the sake of identification "The Rock Island Automatic" we are now permitted to picture and describe.

The illustrations give three views of this semi-automatic shoulder rifle which has recently been completed at Rock Island Arsenal. The rifle has not met all the conditions with which a service rifle of this type should comply, but it has been successfully fired a number of times and is presented here as a matter of interest. It shows what has already been accomplished, and it is possible that the rifle contains features which will be found in the semi-automatic rifle which undoubtedly will some day be the service arm in this country.

This rifle is operated by the powder gas drawn through two apertures or ports at the bottom of a rifling groove about 8 inches from the muzzle. This gas operates a pistol connected to a piston rod, which extends to the rear in a tube on the right side of the rifle. This piston rod terminates in an elbow which can be connected with the cam operating the bolt, when the rifle is to be used as an automatic rifle; by turning this elbow to the horizontal the cam is disconnected and the rifle can be used as a magazine rifle.

The gas pressure on the pistol forces the cam to the rear which first unlocks the bolt and then carries it to the rear. The bolt and cam, due to the tension of the action spring, which surrounds the piston rod, return, carrying an unfired cartridge into the chamber. The trigger is pulled for each shot fired. When the last cartridge in the magazine is fired the bolt will be held back in the open position by the cut-off, which rises in front of it through the influence of the magazine spring. The magazine will hold ten cartridges and is loaded from clips. The rifle as shown weighs eleven and one-half pounds.