The Long Range Rifles Branch of the MLAGB have held their ‘Metford Trophy’ match since 1992. This is, where possible, an aggregate competition fired at 1000, 1100 & 1200 yards. This year bookings at Bisley for 1100 & 1200 yards were not available to suit the Branch calendar. Rather than forgo the competition it was changed to the aggregate of 15 shots at each distance, 900 & 1000 yards.
Author: Research Press
The Enfield – Whitworth Rifles
There were circa 5,500 rifles made by Whitworth and/or the Manchester Ordnance and Rifle Company. Exceeding this figure were the Whitworth rifles made at Enfield and issued for troop trials.
Can anyone help with research on the Enfield – Whitworth rifles?
Whitworth Database Updates – 2025
Whitworth Research Project – database management summary 2025.
Dollymount, 1875
The return rifle match between American and Irish riflemen took place at Dollymount Range, about two miles from Dublin, Ireland, on 29 June 1875. The six man teams fired fifteen shots each at each of the three ranges of 800, 900, and 1000 yards. The final team scores were America 967, Ireland 929.
Patent Assignments 1853-1871
A.W.F Taylerson commenced extracting data from Patent Office records in respect of the assignment of British patents covering firearms and related inventions. His work had only covered two volumes, 1853-1866 and 1867-1871, when the original records were destroyed in 1963. Taylerson’s work may now be the best remaining source of information on the assignment of such patents.
Dollymount 1875… US team trials close
The return international rifle match between Irish and American riflemen, was scheduled for June 1875 at Dollymount Range, near Dublin, Ireland. The first of the US trials to select their team had taken place at Creedmoor on 24 April. There followed three more trials, before the Team was selected.
Dollymount, 1875… first US team trials
The first competition for places on the team to represent the United States in the International Match at Dublin set for June 1875, took place at Creedmoor Range on 24 April 1875. The match commenced at 11am., with the entry of twenty contestants. Each was to fire 15 shots at each distance, 800, 900 and 1,000 yards.
Dollymount, 1875… planning
The ‘return’ international rifle match between the riflemen of American and Ireland was scheduled for the 29th June 1875 at Dollymount, Ireland. April was time for making plans for team selection.
Long Range Rifles, Bisley, April 2025
April shoot at Bisley with MLAGB 300 yard Rifle Championship for Enfield rifle and target rifle, and two days of practice at 600, 900 and 1,000 yards.
Leutmann’s Forgotten Bullet
Overlooked, unknown or forgotten is the work of Johann Georg Leutmann (1667-1736), who in 1733 described the use of elongated balls, with a conical cavity at the base. Leutmann’s egg-shaped ball predates that suggested by Robins in 1747, and the much later adoption in the 19th century of what today is often referred to as the Minié principle.
The Evolution of Gun Making
Peter Smithurst’s two volumes on ‘The Evolution of Gun Making’ provide a comprehensive and well illustrated study on the subject, giving a unique insight into military gunmaking of the 18th and 19th century.