A Whitworth Prize Rifle of 1860

Wigan Volunteer Rifles were formed in January 1860, and were the 21st Corps of Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. Their first rifle contest commenced on Thursday 29 November 1860 at Wigan practice ground, with a moderate attendance of spectators. Henry Woods MP presented a Whitworth military target rifle as a prize.

Homer Fisher: A Brief Introduction

Homer Fisher sold his own brand of long range muzzle loading match rifle and other American breech loading long range rifles. He noted in his adverts that “All Long Range Rifles will, if desired, be tested and sighter at Creedmoor, without extra charge.” Fisher was a member of both the Amateur and Empire Rifle Clubs of New York and the US Team to Ireland in 1880.

Homer Fisher, New York, USA

INDEX. New York dealer who sold Fisher’s Muzzle-Loading Long Range Match Rifle and other American breech loading match rifles. Fisher was a member of both the Amateur and Empire Rifle Clubs of New York and the US Team to Ireland in 1880.

Paper Patched Observations at the 2008 American Creedmoor Cup

This past week [2008], a coterie of hardy souls attended the American Creedmoor Cup (ACC) at the Ben Avery Range, 23 miles north of the I-17 / I-10 interchange located in Phoenix, AZ. This particular 2-day BPCR long-range match (800, 900 and 1,000 yards) is unique in the USA that no coaching is allowed once the competitor hits the target while shooting sighters. Only 2 more sighters are allowed after hitting the target for the first time whether they hit the target or not before the competitor must go for score. And, each shooter has only 20 minutes to fire sighters and 10-shots for record so waiting for a condition is not a workable option most of the time. This is a real rifleman’s game where one must turn the windage and elevation knobs quickly and precisely to stay in the game.

Another Day the Paper-Patch Way

Today more PP testing was done to refine the load shot at the American Creedmoor Cup as well as do some testing with the 45-cal BACO PP bullet. A 0.4410″ diameter PP mold was the prize for being high PP shooter at The Cup. The bullet actually mics at 0.4424″ when cast in 20-1, which was the only alloy tested today. The 16-twist, 45-90 with a replica of an original Sharps PP match chamber was used as the test platform. A number of different powder charges using Swiss Fg and 1.5 were tested.

Bullet Stability

The issue of BPCR bullet stability has been quite the puzzlement, for quite a while, to this crank. For the past 6 years there has been a considerable focus on optimizing bullet design for a given twist and vise-versa. Some solidification of understanding is starting to take place through extensive testing by shooting bullets through heavy corrugated cardboard at distances from 50 yards to 1,000 yards and applying a measurement technique to estimate bullet yaw angle or wobble about its center of mass or gravity. The short story is, all is not as it would seem.

BPCR Lube Thoughts and Findings

The topic of what a BPCR lube does and how it does it is often the topic of conversation; at matches, over the phone and online. Those of us that have shot BPCR for a while know that accuracy degrades rapidly without a good lube as well as either wiping or blow-tubing between shots. After several years of extensive research, experimentation and thinking about BPCR lubes and how to make them better some general conclusions have been drawn.

Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

INDEX. The shooting of black powder cartridge rifles is a great challenge and one which has very few finite rules. It involves almost continual experimentation with old and new components and equipment. For short range hunting and target practice, simple and proven reloading methods will provide suitable ammunition and accuracy. For those who want to surpass that level, specialized and developed handloads will always produce a significant improvement, just as it does with reloading for modern smokeless powder arms.

Birth of a Big Gun (1908)

A new weapon is launched in the pre-WWI naval arms race. This striking film illustrates the processes in the casting and manufacture of a 12-inch, 50-calibre naval gun – the kind of gun that would be used on battleships between 1914 and 1918. It was filmed in early 1908 at the factory of Armstrong Whitworth & Co., based in Newcastle-on-Tyne.