Chapter 242: New Rifle

After a busy day of chores, Liang Yao couldn't help stretching and relaxing his body.

Walter, who had just settled down in San Francisco, came to see Liang Yao with his invention.

"How is it? Are you used to it these days in San Francisco?"

Liang Yao stood up and asked Walter with great concern.

Walter felt warm in his heart. Before this, no partner had ever cared about his life. They only cared about how many dollars they could earn from his patents.

"San Francisco is great. The development here is better than I thought." Walter smiled very happily.

"Thanks to your care, everything went smoothly. It's just that my wife felt that the manor was too spacious, so she hired a construction company to build some new buildings. But for me, as long as there is a research room for inventions and experiments, it is enough. I am very satisfied with the life here."

"Come to me for anything you need. Whether it's materials or people, I will do my best to satisfy you. Even if what you want is in London or Paris, I will find a way to get it for you." Liang Yao said.

"I have a dedicated assistant and a dedicated painter. These are things I never dared to think about before. What else do I lack? If I have to say what I lack, I only lack creativity now!" Walter said very honestly.

"Creativity is exactly what I can't provide you." Liang Yao smiled, "How is Nobel recently?"

"Since you sent him a few barrels of liquid called petroleum, he has been confined to experiments all day to purify this thing. He is very interested in this liquid." Walter recalled the scene of visiting Nobel last time and said.

"He said that as you said, the composition of this liquid is very complex, and a lot of new things can be extracted from it. I think he will have new research results soon. This kid is very talented and young, and he will definitely make a difference in the future."

"I am also optimistic about him. He is both talented and hardworking and focused. Such a person is very rare. He is a young man with a promising future."

Liang Yao agreed with this. He pointed to the wooden box held by the assistant behind Walter and asked curiously.

"What new invention have you made?"

"It's not a new invention. I just made some changes to the rifle I invented last time at your request."

As he said that, Walter turned around and took out the box and pried it open. He saw two brand new rifles lying in the box and introduced them to Liang Yao.

"The caliber of these two rifles has been reduced from 15mm to 10mm according to your request." Walter said.

"Aren't you used to using imperial units?" Liang Yao was a little surprised.

"I am used to using imperial units, but you seem to be more used to metric units, so I'll cater to your preference." Walter smiled and said, "Does the Qing Dynasty also use metric units?"

The United Kingdom and its colonies and former colonies are used to using imperial units.

But before the mid-19th century, there were not many countries that adopted metric units, mainly France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

As for whether the Qing Dynasty used metric units, which Walter asked, the answer was naturally no. It was not until the 34th year of Guangxu (1908) when the Qing Dynasty was about to fall that the Qing government decided to partially adopt metric units.

Being used to metric units is just Liang Yao's personal habit.

The prototype gun Walter gave him before actually used the 85-inch caliber of Springfield. It was just Liang Yao's personal habit. He was used to metric units. Seeing that the caliber was the same as Springfield, he subconsciously converted it into metric units.

"It's also my personal habit. I'm more used to using metric units." Liang Yao picked up one of the guns and looked at it carefully.

"The one you have in your hand uses paper shell bullets. Of course, you can also use bullets wrapped in linen. The cost is about $15." Walter introduced.

"If I remember correctly, the cost of the sample gun you showed me last time was $20 per gun. Now you can directly reduce the cost by 25%. How did you do it?" Liang Yao was very surprised.

If the cost is $15, it will be very advantageous compared to Springfield M1842.

"Start with the material, but it also has a price."

Walter said while picking up another new gun with a metal shell version.

"The new gun using metal bullets still costs $20 each, but the materials are the same as before, which is more solid. I have done experimental comparisons, and the hammer and barrel of the new gun using paper shell bullets have a lifespan of only two-thirds of the metal bullet version."

"That's enough, let's go and try the gun!"

Liang Yao did not plan to let his own troops use the new gun with paper shell bullets, as long as the performance is better than the Springfield M1842.

He used this kind of gun for transition at most, and he still focused on the Delisay striker gun for infantry standard light weapons.

Firearms fired by bolt-action strikers are the general trend of the future.

If the leakage problem of the Delisay striker gun had not been well solved at this time, Liang Yao would not be interested in this kind of gun.

Liang Yao brought the gun to the manor shooting range to test the gun. After the caliber was reduced, the bullet charge was also reduced, and the corresponding recoil was also reduced a lot.

It is much easier to use than the previous 85-inch (7mm) caliber prototype gun, of course, the power is also reduced.

But after all, it is a 10mm caliber, and the power reduction is only relative. The power of rifles in this era is sufficient, and some guns are even seriously overpowered.

What the guns of this era need to improve is not power, but reliability, rate of fire and accuracy.

After several rounds of testing, Liang Yao was very satisfied with the performance of both guns.

So he called some soldiers and officers to test the new gun.

The soldiers equipped with Springfield m1842 rifles praised the performance of this new gun, especially the rate of fire of 6 to 9 rounds per minute, which is much better than the muzzle-loading guns such as Springfield.

Compared with the Delyse needle-fired gun, it is only slightly slower than the rate of fire of the Delyse needle-fired gun.

Even the Prussian officers have a high opinion of this gun, especially the new gun with metal shell pin-rim bullets, and they are very fond of it. They believe that metal bullets are more reliable than paper shell bullets and bullets wrapped in linen, and can be used in more severe weather.

Liang Yao was very satisfied with the performance of the gun and decided to test it for a few more days and put it into production after the production line of the Sacramento Arsenal was built.

The predecessor of the Sacramento Arsenal was the Sacramento Armory, which was mainly responsible for repairing damaged weapons. This time Liang Yao did not return empty-handed from the East, but brought a large number of gunsmiths and workers, and a large number of machine tools and equipment.

The Sacramento Armory has been upgraded to a large arsenal with more than 700 gunsmiths and workers.

The Sacramento Arsenal is also the only arsenal in the western United States that is capable of manufacturing standard firearms. It can be said that it is unique.

"This gun has not been named yet, you can give it a name." Walter said to Liang Yao.

Walter was very happy and proud that the weapons he designed and manufactured could be recognized by so many people and put into mass production.

Walter had previously provided Colt with a design for a firearm, which was the lever-action rifle that he was proud of. However, Colt believed that Walter's design was too complicated and the cost of manufacturing the lever-action rifle was too high.

For the military, which even thought the Springfield M1842, which cost $13, was too expensive, this lever-action rifle was unattractive.

In fact, Colt's judgment was not wrong. The U.S. military later considered the cost and power issues and did not purchase lever-action rifles on a large scale.

This fast-firing gun later became a favorite in the civilian market, especially among the police and cowboys.

It even became a symbol of American Western culture.

It was just that Walter's design concept was too advanced, and his contemporaries could not keep up with his wild and unconstrained brain circuit.

Liang Yao thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it the Walter M1852 rifle. The version that uses paper shell bullets and linen bullets is called the Walter M1852E."

(The US Army's standard numbering system uses the letter M as the type indicator of various weapons and equipment. M is the abbreviation of Model. Perhaps it is easier to understand if it is translated as Type.)

"Name it after me?"

Being able to name a rifle that is about to be mass-produced with his own name made Walter feel excited and thought it was an honor.

"Yes, this is the rifle you invented, and it should be named after you." Liang Yao smiled, "Test it for a few more days to see if there are any minor flaws. If not, wait until the production line of the Sacramento Arsenal is built, and then officially put it into production. Each version will be made 3,000 at first. If there are some minor problems, improve and solve them before putting it into mass production."