Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 199 Browning M1892 Vanguard Rifle

Early Friday morning, Larry had just gotten out of bed, stretched, and was about to go to the bathroom when he heard heavy footsteps coming from upstairs.

In those days, buildings used wooden floors, which had terrible sound insulation.

But the sounds coming from upstairs sounded like heavenly music to Larry, proving that Matthew Browning had returned from Concord!
Larry slowly brushed her teeth and washed her face, trying to figure out what Matthew was doing from the sounds coming from upstairs...

He first lay on the bed to rest for more than ten minutes before walking heavily into the bathroom and starting to take a shower.

By the time Larry was dressed and had thrown his old clothes into a large basket outside the door to wash, Matthew had already gotten out of the bathtub and returned to the bedroom.

Larry nodded, casually threw on a shirt and wide-legged trousers, and went straight downstairs to the restaurant for dinner.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Mrs. Winthrop in the dining room craned her neck to look up. When she saw Larry, a slightly disappointed look appeared on her face.

Larry pretended not to know anything and greeted Mrs. Winthrop and her maid Carmel warmly.

“Mr. Livingston, would you like some fried eggs?” Mrs. Winthrop smiled again.

“Yes, madam. Oh, please allow me a moment’s delay; I’m used to reading the latest Boston Globe at breakfast.” Larry smiled and thanked the two, then took the newspaper before sitting down at the breakfast table.

Larry is in the habit of reading the newspaper every day; these days, newspapers are the most effective way for the public to obtain information.

But today's newspapers didn't have any special news. Apart from local gossip, there were a few articles like "Conno, Iowa, dominates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange," "William Durant: A guy who can sell sand to Arabs," or "Dole Eugene Felt, an eccentric inventor."

Larry casually flipped through a few articles about people and thought it was no wonder that biographies were so prevalent at the time; even an honest inventor could have a bizarre backstory fabricated by journalists.

It's comparable to the previous version of "Approaching Science".

As I turned to the supplement featuring crossword puzzles, footsteps echoed down the stairs once more.

Larry and the other two ladies in the restaurant looked up and saw Matthew, dressed neatly with his freshly washed hair flowing freely, walking down with a faint smile on his face.

Mrs. Winthrop's face instantly softened into a gentle smile as she said to Matthew, "You're back so early!"

Matthew quickly smiled and said to Mrs. Winthrop, "Yes, madam. I took the midnight train back."

After speaking, Matthew looked at Larry, paused, and said solemnly, "You're back, my brother! That's great, wait for me!"

After he finished speaking, he turned back upstairs, his hurried footsteps pounding like drumbeats.

Mrs. Winthrop was getting a little anxious and quickly called out, "...Come down and eat first!"

“Immediately, madam…” Matthew’s voice came from upstairs.

Not long after, Matthew rushed downstairs again, carrying a roll of blueprints in his left hand and a wool felt package in his right. He then placed the blueprints and the wool felt package on the table.

Larry glanced at the items on the table, raised an eyebrow at Matthew, and said with a smile, "Let me guess, is it a rifle or a pistol?"

The blueprints and artifacts Matthew brought from Concord must be related to firearms. Larry glanced at the long, narrow object wrapped in wool felt and concluded that it was more likely a part of a rifle.

Sure enough, Matthew smiled and said, "You guessed right! It's the Mauser-style rifle you were talking about."

As he spoke, he unfolded the wool felt, revealing a smooth and intricate section of machinery inside.

Larry took the thing in his hand and, after a moment's examination, discovered that it was the core bolt of the rifle.

The bolt action of this gun has a simple and clear structure and smooth lines, making it very pleasing to the eye. It is truly a masterpiece.

Matthew moved a chair over and sat down next to Larry, eagerly introducing the weapon to him.

“My brother said he greatly admired the sturdiness and safety of the Mauser bolt action, as well as its double locking lug design, but the German design was a bit too straightforward. My brother abandoned the front locking lug and changed it to…” As he spoke, Matthew pointed to the locking position with his finger and continued, “…he changed it to an integral bolt head, which can greatly reduce the precision machining steps and increase production speed!”

Larry nodded. In fact, he only knew the general design concept and didn't know much about the details, especially the craftsmanship.

But the logic is clear. I had explained a principle to Browning: when designing a new rifle, we must retain the excellent rotating locking design while trying to adopt an integrated design or reduce the number of precision machining steps. This is the only way to reduce costs and improve production efficiency in the original design of the rifle.

From what we can see, Browning has achieved his goals in a very artistic way.

Matthew continued, “The Mauser’s safety pin was retained, which provided smoother operation and faster continuous firing. But that lousy bolt cover was discarded. My brother said it could have been designed as a single unit for dust protection, instead of having a loose, unreliable moving part.”

Larry's eyes followed Matthew's fingers as he examined the details again, nodding occasionally.

"There's also an internal cartridge compartment, which is based on your idea of ​​using 10-round stripper clips for feeding. Here's the stripper clip guide, which allows for rapid feeding. My brother thinks the guide should be wider and less prone to deformation, so that it can be loaded quickly in any environment."

After Matthew finished speaking, Larry turned and asked, "How many bullets are loaded?"

“Ten rounds! And the bullets can be ejected quickly from the bottom of the magazine.” Matthew nodded firmly. “Excellent!” Larry held the bolt, his gaze fixed on the rifle bolt, which bore a distinct American pragmatic and aesthetic standard. He could sense that Browning, in designing this firearm, not only retained the classic design of the Mauser rifle in its overall direction, but also implemented the ergonomic and simple reliability principles that Larry mentioned in the specific details.

In particular, the safety mechanism of this rifle is different from the small paddle shifter design of the Mauser rifle. Browning changed it to a large lever-type safety located on the right side of the bolt, which can ensure that the user can operate it quickly with his thumb, and even operate it smoothly while wearing gloves.

In terms of appearance, the rifle has a more rugged and "mechanical" overall line, rather than the artistic streamlined shape of the Mauser.

The shape of the grip and stock will prioritize sturdiness and production efficiency over an absolute fit to the palm.

Another distinctive feature is the bolt handle, which is not Mauser's standard spherical shape. Browning used a simple, downward-curving handle, which was easier to apply force, would not snag clothing or equipment, and was also cheaper to produce.

Matthew continued, “The key is the manufacturing process. Mauser rifles have a lot of milling and precision fitting parts, which ensures accuracy and lifespan, but it is costly and slow to produce.”

My brother's design maximizes the use of stamping, forging, and casting processes to produce non-load-bearing components, such as the magazine base plate, arm guards, and stock clamps. This reduces costs while increasing production volume. This is also what you meant by a design that's best suited for assembly line production!

"Excellent!!" Larry exclaimed sincerely.

Larry couldn't tell the difference between other designs, but he felt that reducing costs and increasing production efficiency were the most important things.

The biggest problem with rifles of this era was that they had not yet broken free from the design mindset of "crafts produced in gun workshops." Even though they had adopted factory-style production methods, their designs still pursued the "ultimate precision and curves that better suited European aesthetics" of crafts.

This resulted in their design having many extra parts, which not only reduced reliability but also complicated maintenance for soldiers.

Larry's requirements for Browning were: simple, straightforward, and effective, with fewer curves and grooves to facilitate mass production.

Matthew then unfolded the blueprints, compared them with the actual object, and pointed out to Larry the points of comparison between the actual gun and the design drawings.

Larry nodded repeatedly, his gaze unconsciously drawn to the name of the rifle—the Browning M1892 Vanguard Rifle.

Great! This name is good too.

Larry thought to himself, "The word Vanguard means 'vanguard,' 'frontline,' or 'pioneer.'"

It symbolizes being at the forefront, pioneering new territories, and paving the way for others.

In the language of firearm design, or rather in Larry's pre-marketing language system, the "pioneer rifle" carries a rich connotation.

Technological leadership: This implies that the rifle used the most advanced technology, processes, or design concepts at the time, placing it at the forefront of the industry.

Superior performance: Committed to providing users with accuracy, reliability, and performance that surpasses those of its competitors.

Pioneering spirit: This aligns perfectly with the American cultural values ​​of "pioneering," "innovation," and "personal excellence."

At this time, the Americans had already grasped the unique spiritual essence of this spirit, which was independent of Europe.

Larry had it all figured out: if the first one was called the "Pioneer" rifle, then the second one would be called the Maverick Lone Ranger rifle, thus creating Browning's own "TOP GUN".

As Matthew explained, Larry nodded, until...

Larry saw the shape of the bullet on the drawing; it turned out to be a round-nosed rifle bullet!

Larry frowned, pointed to the bullet graphic, and asked, "What's this?"

Matthew paused briefly before answering seriously, "This is a .30-40 Carat rifle cartridge. Yes, it's a round-nosed cartridge, but... it's currently the standard ammunition for the U.S. Army."

Larry waved his hand and said firmly, "No! No round-nosed bullets. I approve of everything else about this gun, but the bullets must be changed to pointed bullets!"

“But the US doesn’t have any standard pointed bullets right now. My brother is also considering that this gun is going to be used by the US military, so we have to take into account the existing US ammunition standards,” Matthew argued quietly.

Larry waved his hand emphatically again, saying, "I'd rather this gun use Mauser 7x57mm rifle cartridges than round-nosed cartridges!"

“But…but the US military won’t consider using German calibers!” Matthew said, frowning. “We can only accommodate the current US ammunition calibers and bullet types…”

Larry turned his head and looked Matthew intently into his eyes, his gaze sharp and resolute.
"This is non-negotiable. I suggest Mr. Browning design a rifle with round-nosed bullets and a rifle with pointed bullets, both using the Mauser 7x57mm caliber. Then we can compare them! If the pointed bullets don't significantly outperform the round-nosed bullets, I can perform a demonstration of eating spaghetti upside down!"

Matthew had never seen Larry so serious and stern, with an undeniable determination in his eyes. He felt his mind go blank.

The previously cheerful atmosphere at the dinner table instantly turned tense, and even Mrs. Winthrop and her maid Carmel dared not utter a sound.

Matthew pondered for a moment, then frowned and asked, "...So we won't sell our rifles to the US military?"

“Of course we’ll sell to them!” Larry said firmly.
"But we must prove that it is the United States that is wrong, not us! The Vanguard rifle must use pointed bullets, so that the US military's ammunition caliber will be changed to our design from now on!"

(End of this chapter)