technical Questions & Answers

A Gun Of Many Names

QI have this old revolver marked “National Arms Company, New York U.S.A.” It is chambered in .38 S&W, but is not so marked. It has no serial number that I can nd, and on the bottom of the grip frame there appears to be a date stamp of “9 10 23.” It also appears to be chrome- or nickel-plated and has pearl grips and no safety mechanism. Can you help me with information regarding my gun?

AI believe this revolver was manufactured by the Meriden Firearms Co. around 1910-1920. Meriden was owned by Sears & Roebuck from about 1909-1920. It made handguns and shotguns for Sears with the name “Aubrey” on them. In 1910, Sears began offering these guns to hardware stores, large dealers and others with any brand name the buyer wanted to use. Some examples of revolvers, like yours, can be found marked Eastern Arms Co., Chicago Arms Co., Howard Arms Co., etc. These off-brand revolvers of the early 20th century are of little interest to collectors, and, therefore, retain minimal monetary value.

—MICHAEL F. CARRICK, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mid-Range Trajectory

QI am having a hard time understanding the term “mid-range trajectory.” I have seen this dimension expressed using a line from the muzzle to the target as a measuring point. I have also seen the mid-range trajectory expressed using the line of sight. Which one of these mid-range measurements is the correct one to use? The mid-range expression with a line from the muzzle to the target gives a yardage of 50- to 55-percent total yardage. This seems to be the reason for the name mid-range, whereas, the mid-range expression using the line of sight gives a yardage of 60 to 65 percent.

continued on p. 52

LINE OF SIGHT

PROJECTILE PASSES THROUGH HERE FIRST

LINE OF TRAJECTORY MID-RANGE TRAJECTORY 50% OF TRAVEL

MAXIMUM ORDINAL HEIGHT 55% OF TRAVEL TARGET

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AThese terms can be confusing, but according to the NRA Firearms Sourcebook, “The maximum height above the line of sight of the bullet’s path one-half the distance for which the gun is zeroed is called the mid-range trajectory (i.e., the height at 100 yds. for a gun zeroed at 200 yds.), typically measured in inches or millimeters.” In other words, the mid-range trajectory for any gun/load combination is the height of the bullet above the line of sight at a point halfway between the muzzle and the zero range.

The same source de nes a related term as, “Maximum height

Shootin’ Blanks

QWhen ring a clip of blank cartridges in my M1 ri e, sometimes the second or third round will re and the spent case will be ejected, but the next round will not chamber. What is the reason for this and can I do something to correct it?

AThere could be myriad reasons for this beyond the fact that the M1 ri e’s design was not conducive to ring blanks, which is why the U.S. military never adopted a Blank Firing Adapter (BFA). The U.S. military’s inability to develop a satisfactory BFA resulted in the

(ordinate) occurs at a point roughly 55 percent of the way to the zero range, or the range at which the bullet path and line of sight intersect. Normally expressed in inches or millimeters, this gure is important to determine the maximum point-blank range of a cartridge.” The term “roughly” is used because the second half of the arc de ning the bullet’s ight is steeper because the rate of deceleration is faster. For any gun/load/range combination, the max ordinate is always greater than mid-range trajectory and is achieved farther downrange.

—JOHN W. TREAKLE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

practice of operating the action by hand. The source of your functioning problem could be that the operating rod spring is either too powerful or too weak to properly function with blanks. The extractor or ejector could be faulty. The follower or follower rod could be “out of spec.” There is simply no way to determine which of these, or perhaps something else, is at fault. There are a number of BFAs available on the market today, but all seem to have limitations of their own.

—BRUCE N. CANFIELD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Although it tried to develop a blank ring adapter for the M1 Garand—evidenced by the prototypes shown here—the U.S. military never of cially adopted such a device.

From the thousands of questions and letters on guns, ammunition and their use that American Ri eman receives every year, it publishes the most interesting here. Receiving answers to technical and historical questions is a privilege reserved to NRA members.

Questions must be in the form of letters addressed to: Dope Bag, NRA Publications, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400; must contain the member’s code line from an American Ri eman or American Hunter mailing label or membership card; must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope; and must be limited to one speci c question per letter. Non-members may submit a question with a membership application. We cannot answer technical or historical questions by telephone, e-mail or fax, and we cannot place even an approximate value on guns or other equipment. Please allow eight to 10 weeks for replies. “Questions & Answers” is compiled by staff and Contributing Editors: Bruce N. Can eld, Michael Carrick, Garry James, Charles Pate, Charles E. Petty, John M. Taylor and John Treakle.

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