A firing point at Wimbledon, 1870
Long range rifle fire. Long range target rifles. British military longarms. Small arms trials. Ammunition. Accessories. Gunmakers.
Military marksmanship. The art of shooting. Long range muzzle loading. National Rifle Association. Creedmoor and the international matches.
Those who pioneered the sport of target rifle shooting from the muzzle loading and into the black powder breech loading era. Biography.
The Volunteer Force was established in 1859. From 1881 territorial regiments included regular, militia and volunteer battalions.
Around 1873 Daniel set up business in Edinburgh. Initially at Greenside Place, within a year he moved to Leith Walk where he remained until 1878. At this time he went into business with his brother John, forming D. & J. Fraser and moving the business to new premises on Leith Street Terrace.
By the mid-1860s the Volunteer Movement in Great Britain was well established and rifle shooting, thanks also to the establishment in 1859 of the National Rifle Association, had become a popular pastime. On 8 April 1865 there was a hugely supported ‘simultaneous Enfield rifle match’ fired. Volunteer Battalions and/or Companies throughout the country had opportunity to compete, shooting on their own ranges and submitting scores.
Read more: Enfield Rifle Team Shooting: Bristol vs Staffordshire
In the mid to late 19th Century target rifle shooting was a popular sport, and via the Volunteer movement Great Britain had thousands of trained riflemen. Naturally, businessmen sought to sell their wares to these riflemen enticing them with a variety of goods to assist the aspiring marksman. With ammunition, field glasses, vernier sight adjusters, tools and other associated accoutrements the rifleman acquired, a means of carrying it all was needed. One suitable case appeared in 1886, the 'Wimbledon Shooting Case'
In the Annual Report of the National Rifle Association for 1875, General Alexander Shaler (President 1875-1877) reported on experiments with powder charges for long range shooting. The experiments commenced during the summer 1875 and were concluded that December. The aim was to determine the proper charge of powder to use in long range shooting in the Remington Creedmoor Rifle. Swaged bullets weighing 550 grains were used, and interestingly made of a hard alloy composed of fifteen parts lead and one of tin.
The ballistic pendulum invented by Benjamin Robins (1707 - 1751), was first used in 1740, with the object of measuring the velocity of projectiles and the resistance of the air. Electro-ballistic apparatus was seeing use by the mid-19th Century. One such device was Navez Apparatus, which saw use in Great Britain with both small arms and artillery.
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The Story of Creedmoor