Thanks for the info on .30-40 bullet development. I sort of knew about the "tubular bullet," but hadn't known about the various pointed bullets.
I don't think the demise of the Krag really had much to do with the Krag nor the tactical superiority of the Mauser. I think it had much to do with the excellence of the Spanish regulars we faced in Cuba and the Philipines and the fact that few of our enlisted men had any combat experience while the Spanish had been fighting insurrectos for decades. For all kinds of reasons the Spanish couldn't win against us, but they could, and did, kill and wound a lot of us. My grandfather fought against them in the Philipines under Arthur Mc Arthur, and had great respect for them. (And, as a bonus, they taught him some elegant Castilian when he was in charge of guarding surrendered officers....).
Waterman, it's interesting you quote "Bullets and Bureaucrats." That was my (crabby) older brother's (BG David Armstrong, USA Ret.) Ph.D. thesis at Duke U. He now lives on Bainbridge Island WA and is still a gun nut.... He helped plan the First Gulf War when he was with what he always calls "those people I worked for" after he retired from the Army. Still can't say those three little letters out loud. We're planning a "The CA Where Nobody Ever Goes" road trip for January: earthquake faults, asbestos mines, and oil ghost towns. Great Mexican food every 120 miles, a lot of NOTHING in between.
