6mm Navy Straight Pull: The 1895 Lee Navy Rifle

The US Navy held a trial in 1894 to adopt a new rifle, one to finally replace the .45-70 black powder Trapdoor Springfield. The rifle was to be chambered for the .236 Navy cartridge, a radically modern small bore round firing a 135 grain bullet at a remarkably fast 2500 fps. This was a lightweight cartridge which allowed sailors and Marines to carry more ammunition (standard load out was 180 rounds per man), and its high velocity provided a very flat trajectory and very good penetration. For this round, James Paris Lee developed and patented an unusual straight-pull action. It was a tilting bolt type of system, with a bolt handle that calmed the bolt upward to unlock it (instead of the rotating bolt heads usually found on straight-pull rifles). He also developed an en bloc clip for loading in which the clip allowed 5 rounds to be loaded at once, but was not essential to the cycling of the action. Lee’s clip fell out as soon as the first round was chambered, and the rifle could be loaded with loose roun