April 2026 (2) - Flipbook - Page 42
The Military Muzzle Loading Ri昀氀e
by David Minshall
Range Ri昀氀es Branch (LRR) of
the MLAGB Asquith Cup match
is an aggregate 昀椀red at 600 and
800 yards with the large bore
service ri昀氀e.
Mention long range muzzle
loading to most shooters today however and the classic
.451 match ri昀氀e such as those
by Whitworth, Henry, Gibbs
and Rigby most likely come to
mind.
The author 昀椀ring his original En昀椀eld Short Ri昀氀e at 600 yards on
Century Range, Bisley. While modern shooting equipment
such as jacket, glove, mat and spotting scope are permitted historical ri昀氀es (original or reproduction) are used.
The two-point military sling is the only permitted support.
The military muzzle loading
ri昀氀e may not be the 昀椀rst ri昀氀e
that springs to mind for long
range shooting, yet within Great
Britain its use goes back to the
origins of the National Ri昀氀e
Association.
The Volunteer Movement established in the spring of 1859
was the catalyst for a great
interest in ri昀氀e shooting and
marksmanship skills. Signi昀椀cant factors in maintaining this
interest were the formation of
the National Ri昀氀e Association
(NRA) late in 1859 and the
sponsorship by Queen Victoria
of a competition in the NRA’s
Annual Ri昀氀e meeting 昀椀rst held
in 1860.
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The Volunteers were a military
organisation, and their arm of
issue was the .577 bore Pattern
1853 ‘En昀椀eld’ Ri昀氀e Musket.
Both the Volunteers and the
NRA held many competitions
that were 昀椀red with this ri昀氀e,
perhaps the most notable being
the First Stage of the Queen’s
Prize, with shooting out to 600
yards.
For many years the Muzzle
Loaders Association of Great
Britain (MLAGB) have continued this tradition of long range
shooting with the En昀椀eld ri昀氀e.
Their match schedule includes
National Ri昀氀e Championship
matches at 200, 300, 500 and
600 yards. For those seeking
a further challenge, the Long
For those accustomed to the
management of the match ri昀氀e
with all its 昀椀nesse, the simplicity of the military muzzle
loader will come as a joy. The
careful cleaning between shots,
the wads and paper patched
bullets, and the studious attention to vernier adjustable sights
can all be set aside. Anyone
who shoots the Muzzle Loaders Associations International
Confederation (MLAIC) 100m
Minie discipline has all the
essentials necessary for a foray
out to longer ranges. Powder,
lubricated hollow based bullets and percussion caps are
all that’s needed; once loaded,
elevation is set on the rearsight
slider, one makes an assessment of wind strength, aims o昀昀
if necessary and 昀椀res. Simple!
Well, actually it’s as simple as
one wants to make it. So perhaps a review of typical equipment in use is called for.
The ri昀氀e most commonly used
in MLAGB matches is the ‘two
April, 2026 - Issue #2
