HISTORY OF THE RIFLE

Evening Star, Issue 25993, 7 January 1947, Page 8

HISTORY OF THE RIFLE

An engrossingly interesting story of, the development of the modern rifle is told by Colonel Lord Cottesloe in ‘The Englishman and the Rifle,’ published by Herbert Jenkins Ltd. That the writer is qualified to handle such a subject is evident from the fact that rifle shooting ’has been his hobby for two-thirds of a century, while for 60 years he has been in constant contact with ' the most' prominent users of this weapon and with those who have studied the ballistics of small arms.

Lord Cottesloe traces the development of the modern rifle from the days ■when bows and arrows first gave, way to gunpowder and lead. Strangely enough, it appears to have been a parson who gave us one of the greatest over the first firearms, the percussion cap. Considerable space is devoted to the activities of the National Rifle Association and its history from its inception in 1859. The first rifle meeting was held a year later and was opened by Queen Victoria, who “ proceeded to an open pavilion in which was a Whitworth rifle fixed in a rest and aligned on a target 400yds distant. She pulled a silken cord attached to the trigger; a shot rang out, the strike of the bullet was heard, and the flag at the butt signalled that the bullet had made a central hit.” The various competitions conducted by the N.R.A. are described, and the advantages and disadvantages of both sporting and military rifles are discussed- There is a chapter on wartime sniping, which is akin to game shooting in many respects; in fact, the origin of the term is claimed to have come from the shooting of snipe, which “‘consists in firing accurately at a very small target.” All users of the rifle will find this book of great interest.