January 2026 copy - Flipbook - Page 68
Long Range Muzzle
Loading in the UK
by David Minshall
A Brief History...
During the late 1850’s there
was growing apprehension as to the prospects of
French invasion of Great
Britain. This culminated in
1859 with the British Government authorising the
formation of Volunteer Ri昀氀e
Corps. There was an immediate rush of Volunteering,
but it was not expected to
last. The formation of the
National Ri昀氀e Association
(NRA) late in 1859 did however put measures in place
to secure the long-term
prospects of the Volunteers,
its aims including “the
encouragement of Volunteer Ri昀氀e Corps and the
promotion of ri昀氀e shooting
throughout Great Britain.”
The NRA established an
annual ri昀氀e meeting with
matches at distances of up
to 1,000 yards, the 昀椀rst
being held on Wimbledon
Common, in July 1860.
For the gun makers of the
time this development
created a new market in the
form of discerning ri昀氀emen
seeking accurate long range
arms. Following principles
established by Joseph Whitworth, there developed a
special class of ‘small-bore’
68
target ri昀氀e. The majority
of these ri昀氀es were around
.451 calibre, and the contemporary term ‘small-bore’
was used to distinguish
them from the ‘large-bore’
service ri昀氀e of .577 calibre.
During the decade of the
1860’s, ri昀氀es used for competition evolved from variations of the military pattern
into a technical form not
suitable for military use.
The early ri昀氀es outwardly
appeared much the same
as the service arm of issue,
with full length military
stocks and open sights, the
bore and form of ri昀氀ing
being where the major dif-
ferences lay. Through the
mid-1860s the small-bore
ri昀氀e developed into a highly
specialised form of target
ri昀氀e. The full length stock
reduced to a half stock with
‘pistol grip’, and the ramrod
was no longer attached.
These features allowed
more weight to be concentrated in the barrel (the
overall weight limit of the
ri昀氀e being restricted to 10lb
for NRA competitions).
Open sights were replaced
with aperture sights; foresights took interchangeable
elements and incorporated
a spirit level to aid eliminating cant.
Modern BPCR Shooter - January, 2026
