American riflemen using their breech loading rifles in long range competition beat Ireland at Creedmoor (USA) in 1874 and again at Dollymount (Ireland) in 1875. In the Centennial Match of 1876 at Creedmoor they were again successful beating teams from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. A Great Britain team was also beaten at Creedmoor in 1877. Despite this British riflemen were slow to adopt the breech loader for match rifle shooting.
Archives
Hints for Long Range Riflemen
Horatio Ross’ letters encouraging Scotsmen desirous of “becoming a first-class shot” were published in the press. This advice is still relevant today and worthy of study by the long range rifleman.
The Creedmoor Era
INDEX. In the latter part of the 19th century the Creedmoor Rifle Range, Long Island, New York, USA, was the venue for a number of international long range rifle matches that received widespread public interest and much press coverage.
First Hints On Rifle Shooting: Wind
from ‘First Hints On Rifle Shooting’ by A.P. Humphry (William Clowes and Sons, London, 1876). Alfred Paget Humphry (1850-1916) was the Queen’s Prize Gold Medal winner in 1871 and represented Great Britain in the GB Rifle Volunteers vs US National Guard competitions of 1882 & 1883.
Obituary: William Ellis Metford
William Metford worked closely with the Bristol gunmaker George Gibbs, the manufacturer of the Gibbs-Metford muzzle loading match rifle and the later Farquarson-Metford breech loading rifle. This obituary was published in Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in 1900.
The Art of Shooting with the Rifle
INDEX. Contemporary articles, historical perspectives, and advice for the rifleman.
Accessories
INDEX. Accessories associated with rifles and rifle shooting. Military, sporting and target rifles.
Long-Range Rifle Fire
Undue importance may be given to long-range fire, just as it can, and sometimes is, for example, to the value of the bayonet as a weapon; but it will be generally agreed by those who know anything of the matter that at the proper time and place long-range rifle-fire has, its very great uses, but, if not good of its kind, it will be useless and expensive. It is known that in 1680 each troop of our Life Guards was supplied with eight rifled carbines; and that in 1800 the 60th Rifles were armed with the “Baker” rifle. Long-range rifle-fire, in its present sense, is of much more recent date.
Long Range Rifle Fire
INDEX. A collection of articles on historical topics providing hitherto difficult to find contemporary texts and newly written pieces for the student of long range shooting.
Long Range Muzzle Loading
INDEX. Long range target shooting with the muzzle loading rifle offers the discerning rifleman opportunity to participate in a challenging and ultimately very rewarding discipline. The sport is rich in heritage and the origins of many of todays national shooting associations stem from the muzzle loading era.
Rigby, Quicksilver & Bullet Alloys
For a period during the 1870s long range target shooting captivated the public and much coverage of the sport was given by the press. Some reports referred to technical detail and this article includes contemporary comment from the 1870s on bullet alloys and in particular the use of quicksilver (mercury) as a bullet-hardener.
Volunteer Force, 1859-1908
INDEX. During the late 1850’s there was growing apprehension as to the prospects of French invasion of Great Britain. Newspapers continued to fuel the debate as to the formation of a Volunteer Force for home defence. On 12 May 1859 the Government issued a circular sanctioning the formation of Volunteer Corps.