INDEX. D. & J. Fraser manufactured a falling block breech loading rifle for Match and Military Breech Loader competition.
Author: Research Press
Monument To Sir Joseph Whitworth
A handsome monument from the inhabitants of Darleydale, Derbyshire, was presented to Lady Whitworth, in token of the esteem felt for the memory of the late Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bart. The monument occupies a space in the centre of the grounds at the Whitworth Institute, and has an imposing appearance, the base being formed of one block of Stancliffe stone.
The Grave of Sir Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth died on the evening of Saturday 22 January 1887, aged 83, at Monte Carlo. He was buried on Wednesday 2 February 1887 in the churchyard of the 12th century St Helen’s church at Darley Dale, Derbyshire.
The Rigby Rifle, 1869
This short description text is extracted from “Handbook of Rifle Shooting” by Alex Lord Russell (1869, Toronto). It provides contemporary description of the late form of Rigby muzzle loading match rifle.
The Rigby Rifle, 1864
Mr. Rigby has kindly furnished the following description of his rifle, which made such a favourable impression on the minds of all riflemen, by its extraordinary performances at the late Small-bore trials at Woolwich.
Rigby: A Brief Introduction
The early Rigby rifles competed in some of the trials of small-bore rifles held by the National Rifle Association for the rifles to be used in the finals of the Queen’s Prize at Wimbledon. In 1865 the Rigby was selected for use; this was the only year 1860-1870 that a rifle other than a Whitworth was selected. In direct response to the success of the Gibbs-Metford rifle with its shallow groove rifling and hardened bullet, Rigby began a program of rebarreling in 1866 and 1867.
Wimbledon Shooting Case
In the mid to late 19th Century target rifle shooting was a popular sport, and via the Volunteer movement Great Britain had thousands of trained riflemen. Naturally, businessmen sought to sell their wares to these riflemen enticing them with a variety of goods to assist the aspiring marksman. With ammunition, field glasses, vernier sight adjusters, tools and other associated accoutrements the rifleman acquired, a means of carrying it all was needed. One suitable case appeared in 1886, the ‘Wimbledon Shooting Case’.
John Rigby, Dublin, Ireland
INDEX. Rigby muzzle loading and later breech loading long range match rifles were famously used by Ireland in international shooting competitions against America.
The Science of Long Range Shooting
It’s 1879, and since the 1874 International Match at Creedmoor there have been a lot of changes. Edwin Perry shares, in his Third Edition of Modern Observations on Rifle Shooting (1880), some of the major changes / advancements at Creedmoor in just a short 5 years. When it comes to bullet alloys, much of what has been passed around on the internet as fact about the advent of harder alloy bullets is, frankly, nothing but conjecture. And what has been passed off as fact is in effect WRONG. Very hard alloy bullets, were in vogue by 1879 for long range competition and were sold by Sharps and Remington. Factory ammo was no longer used by any of the big name shooters. Most had, after careful study, found that their own reloads had much better performance on the long range targets. Make no mistake about it, rapid advances in long range shooting were going on, and much of it we knew little about, until now.
Breech-loaders V. Muzzle-loaders
On Saturday, July 31st, a very interesting competition took place in the presence of Major Sir C.S.Paul Hunter, Bart., between Corporal Bainbridge and fourteen picked men of the battalion using long Enfield rifles and three men using the Soper direct-action breech-loader.
