From 1910 down through 1914, in addition to the semi-automatic attachments, rifles of Springfield Armory design, and the Schouboe, tests were made of some six other models. Drawings of others were examined but no models sent for test.50 Five of the six models tested were discarded rather promptly, the Standard Arms Company model, the Dreyse Automatic Carbine, the Kjellman Automatic Rifle, the Benét-Mercie, and the Rock Island Arsenal model. Only the Bang semi-automatic received prolonged consideration.

The Smith-Condit Self-Loading Gas-Operated Rifle

The “Standard Semi-automatic Sporting Rifle” was twice tested in the early month of 1910. It may have been a further development of the “Smith-Condit Self-Loading Gas-Operated Rifle” (see above p.8), inasmuch as W.D. Condit was Secretary of the Standard Arms Company. The new rifle was gas-operated. The Board of Officers examining the Standard refused to recommend it, not because of malfunctioning of the semi-automatic mechanism, but because of the rifle’s unsuitability as a military arm. Not only was it not designed for service ammunition, it was labeled not strong enough to use that high pressure type. Its rapidity of fire was less than ninety rounds per minute and the length of time needed for disassembly and the number of tools needed for reassembly told against it. There were other lesser faults, but probably the chief objection was the rifle’s general lack of sturdiness.51

The same criticism of not being strong enough to use service ammunition resulted in the rejection of the Dreyse Carbine and the Kjellman Automatic rifle. In the case of the Dreyse, tested on September 12, 1910, the report declared the gun neither safe nor sturdy enough.52 The Kjellman, a recoil-operated arm of Swedish invention, was of lesser caliber than .30, did not achieve the desired rapidity of fire or initial velocity, and displayed various other weaknesses. On the other hand, several advantageous features, the 9.72 pound weight, the balance, the few tools required for dismounting, the useableness either as a self-loader or as a repeater, the arrangement whereby the bolt had to lock before the firing mechanism could be operated, and several others, led the Ordnance Department to instruct the Armory to repair the damage done the rifle during the second part of Test XI, (See Appendix II) and then ship the arm to Rock Island Arsenal.53 Rock Island was to undertake further firing tests.

In October 1913 the Rock Island Arsenal itself submitted for test at Springfield a semi-automatic designed and manufactured at the western arsenal. After only two shots had been fires, however, the bolt broke. As the mechanism failed to meet the requirement of simplicity, strength, and compactness, the Commanding Officer of the Armory, recommended that no new bolt be fabricated or further firing tests be conducted.54

A few weeks before the unqualified disapproval of the Rock Island design, the Benét-Mercíe automatic shoulder rifle was tried out. This was basically a modification of the Benét-Mercíe automatic machine rifle, the U.S. M1909, lightened and adapted to use as a shoulder arm. The report of the Board of Officers in Springfield announced the rifle to be ingenious of design but too complicated and expensive. Comprising 211 parts, the semi-automatic would be too costly to manufacture for service use.55