The Nutcracker Soldier
is 24 inches tall including the red square base he stand on. These Wooden Nutcrackers Soldiers helmet is black with a gold loop design on the front with a red plastic jewel at each end. His jacket is red with gold cuffs, gold epaulets and a blue collar. On the front of this traditional nutcracker are blue stripes that go down the front with gold diamond designs that have a red dot in the middle of each diamond. Our Christmas Nutcracker Decorations pants are blue with gold cuffs and tall black boots. The Tall Nutcracker for sale is ready for battle with a gold rifle leaning up against his right side. This golden rifle is almost as tall as out Nutcracker Soldier. Select to see a complete listing of our Christmas Decorations Ideas.

History of The Rifle.
A rifle is any gun with a rifled barrel. A rifled barrel has a series of spiral grooves on its inner surface to make the bullet spin rapidly as it leaves the gun. Any bullet except a ball will tumble as it flies through the air unless it is made to spin. A spinning bullet holds a steady course with the nose forward. Rifling is one of the most important discoveries in the history of guns.
Authorities do not agree as to the inventor of rifling. Some point to a record dated 1746, showing the invention of a weapon with a spirally grooved barrel. Others say the rifle was invented about 1520 by Gaspard Koller of Vienna. The first rifles were used by either hunters or for amusement.
Modern rifles developed from the crude, muzzle loading firearms of the 1400’s. Smooth bore firearms or ones without rifling could not be depended on to hit targets more than 100 steps away.
The Jaeger rifle of central and northern Europe was the first accurate rifle. It was developed about 1665. German immigrants brought Jaegers to Pennsylvania in the early 1700’s and gave them new features, including longer barrels. The Pennsylvania made Kentucky rifle developed from the Jaeger. Some Kentucky rifles were used in the Revolutionary War in America.
Rifles used round bullets until the 1850’s, when more accurate Minie bullets became popular. Minie bullets had hollow bases and pointed tips and were used in the U.S. Civil War. Improvements of the late 1800’s included repeating rifles, smokeless explosive powder and jacketed bullets, which have a tough metal cover over a lead or steel core. Select to see a complete selection of our Wooden Nutcracker Ornaments.

How a Rifle Works.
A rifle is ready to be fired when a cartridge has been fed into the firing chamber. Then the rifle is aimed and the trigger squeezed. The rifle’s hammer or firing pin strikes the rear end of the cartridge and ignites the primer. The primer in turn ignites the propeller powder in the cartridge. The powder burns rapidly creating pressure that drives the bullet down the barrel.
The rifling in the barrel makes the bullet spin. Without spin, a bullet would not stay pointed forward in flight, but would tumble over and over. The spinning motion increases the accuracy of a bullet. Check out our selection of Gifts for Boys.