The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States and Norway. The most distinctive feature of the Krag-Jørgensen action was its magazine. While other rifles of its era used a box magazine, the magazine of the Krag-Jørgensen was integral with the receiver, featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. The cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower. This presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with the standard top-loading "box" magazine; among other things, using a "stripper clip" to reload was impossible. At the same time, unlike a top-loading magazine, the Krag-Jørgensen's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. Today, the Krag-Jørgensen is a popular collector's rifle, and is valued by shooters for its smooth action.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1918: World War I: "The Red Baron", a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, was shot down and killed by Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown of the Royal Air Force. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen)

1960: Brasília, a planned city based on principles of Le Corbusier, was officially inaugurated as the capital of Brazil. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bras%EDlia)

1970: The Hutt River Province "seceded" from the Australia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutt_River_Province)

1985: Racing driver Ayrton Senna won the first of his 41 Formula One championships at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril, Portugal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrton_Senna)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." -- John Muir (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Muir)