Historical Firearms, Long Range Target Shooting & Military History
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This curious arm with its two-groove bore and belted bullet remained in the hands of Regulars, Militia and Native troops for almost half a century.
The 19th saw firearms evolve from flintlock muzzle loaders, using patched round ball and black powder, through to bolt action breech loaders with smokeless powders. As firearms development proceeded, so arms and ammunition needed assessing in comparative trials by the military. In the 1860s the National Rifle Association held competitive trials to determine which rifle would be used in the final stage of the Queen’s Prize at their Annual Rifle Meetings on Wimbledon Common. The system used to measure precision of rifled arms at this time was the “Figure of Merit”.
On the adoption of the Martini-Henry: “It is intended, before proceeding with the manufacture of the new arms on an extended scale, to issue a few hundreds to the troops for further trial, and report as to their general serviceability. If, as there is every reason to anticipate, the performances of the arm in the hands of the troops shall confirm the opinion which its experimental performances appear to warrant, the country will possess an unequalled military breech-loader.”