Some readers will no doubt have left something behind at a rifle range on occasion. Following are lists of items found at Wimbledon and Bisley during the National Rifle Association annual rifle meetings. The list are from 1867, 1875, 1887 and 1895.
There’s a lot of knee-pads identified in the 1867 list! For Volunteer competitions shooting at the time was from the standing position at 200 yards, and at 500 and 600 yards in the kneeling or standing position. Distances over 600 yards were from ‘any position’. In 1871 this changed, and ‘any position’ was permitted at distances beyond 200 yards. The kneeling position was thus for practical purposes discontinued. Several ‘firing-beds’ and waterproof sheets were found in 1875, likely for shooting from the prone position.
There are several references in the 1867 list to Belgian articles (including a rifle!). In October 1866 1100 Volunteers from many Corps attended the Tir National in Brussels, Belgium. Following this, arrangements were made for inviting the Belgians to England. Although not involved with organising the original visit, the National Rifle Association offered the hospitality of Wimbledon to the Belgians on their return visit. In 1867 some 2400 Belgian Gardes Civiques visited Wimbledon.
By the 1880s breech loaders had largely replaced muzzle loading rifles. In 1883 cleaning out between shots was prohibited. Black powder was still in use at the time, and there remained the issue of fouling control. The practice of blowing down the barrel was developed, such that the moisture from the breath would soften the fouling. This was usually carried out by a tube inserted in the breech, and a number of these ‘blow pipes’ appear on lists of lost items from the mid-1880s. Verniers and ventometers also start appearing in the later period, these handy instruments were used to assist setting elevation and wind allowance on sights.
Volunteer Service Gazette Saturday 3 August 1867 |
Volunteer Service Gazette Saturday 9 October 1875 |
Official Notices of the List Of Articles Found During The Meeting At Wimbledon. Register No. |
Official Notices of the The following is a List of Articles found at Wimbledon Camp, during the National Rifle Meeting, 1875, and now in possession of the Superintendent of Police, Wandsworth, Surrey: |
5. A cartridge tester (broken). |
1 Common Shirt Stud. |
These articles are now at the police-station, Wandsworth. Edw. Butt, Superintendent of Police. July 29, 1867. |
C. Digby, Superintendent Police Office, Wandsworth, S.W. |
Volunteer Service Gazette Saturday 6 August 1887 |
Volunteer Service Gazette Saturday 10 August 1895 |
Official Notices of the |
Official Notices of the LIST of articles found during the Bisley Meeting, 1895, and deposited at the Police Station, and not yet restored to owners: |
1 wind gauge. |
Pair eyeglasses (steel folders). |
J. WARNER, Acting Supt. Metropolitan Police, A Division August 1, 1895 |