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The rook rifle, originally called the rook and rabbit rifle, is an obsolete English single-shot small calibre rifle intended for shooting small game, particularly
The rook rifle, originally called the rook and rabbit rifle, is an obsolete English single-shot small calibre rifle intended for shooting small game, particularly rook shooting
Rook shooting was a previously popular sport in the United Kingdom, in which young rooks were shot from tree branches, often using purpose-built rifles known as rook rifles. Rook shooting could serve as a form of pest control, a blood sport
...
.
Design
The rook rifle was designed to be light enough to be carried for a walk in the country, accurate and powerful enough to take small game and usually elegant in balance, fit and finish. Almost always single-shot, various actions were used including break-open actions, but the miniature Martini, a scaled-down version of the military Martini-Henry, was a favourite due to its strength and accuracy. The first rook rifles fired calibre bullets, although subsequently a number of cartridges were developed for this purpose ranging in calibre from and firing bullets at the usualblack powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
velocities of .
History
The rook rifle was developed in 1883 by the gun-makersHolland & Holland
Holland & Holland Limited is a British gunmaker and luxury clothing retailer based in London, England, which sells handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom), royal warrants.
His ...
as a breech-loading
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...
equivalent of the muzzle-loading
A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...
pea rifle. Holland & Holland made a particular specialty of producing rook rifles, reportedly selling around 5,000 of them in the late 1800s. Westley Richards and W.W. Greener
W.W. Greener is a sporting shotgun and rifle manufacturer from England. The company produced its first firearm in 1829 and is still in business, with a fifth generation Greener serving on its board of directors.
History
The history of W.W. Gree ...
were also noted for their rook rifles.
Rook rifles were used extensively both in Britain and throughout the British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
with large numbers being exported to many Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
countries and colonial territories.
The rise in popularity of the .22 Long Rifle cartridge in the United Kingdom spelled the end of the rook rifle and its cartridges; due to its combination of accuracy, lower noise, and economy, .22 LR superseded the various English centrefire rook rifle rounds in the early 1900s. Over the same period miniature rifle target shooting moved towards shorter ranges and indoor competitions, again being better suited to the .22 Long Rifle round.
Due to the increasing scarcity of rook rifle cartridges, many rook rifles were converted to smoothbore shotguns, usually to .410 bores, and many others were sleeved down to calibre.
Use
As indicated by its name, the rook rifle's intended quarry was small game including rooks andrabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
s.
The rook tends to live in colonies known as rookeries, which over time grow and become nuisances in country areas. In rural Britain it was previously the practice to hold rook shoots where the juvenile birds, known as branchers, were shot before they were able to fly. These events, traditionally held on 12th May, were both very social and a source of food (the rook becomes inedible once mature) as the rook and rabbit pie was considered a great delicacy.
Whilst usually limited to smaller game, the larger calibre cartridges are very capable for hunting larger game such as roe deer, smaller antelope
The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...
and similar sized game.
In Culture
A rook rifle features prominently in Agatha Christie's short story '' The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor''.Rook rifle cartridges
* .220 Rook * .297/230 Morris * .320/230 Rook * .297/250 Rook * .300/250 Rook * .255 Jeffery Rook * .300 Rook * .300 Sherwood * .310/300 Rook * .360/300 Fraser * .310 Cadet * .320 Extra Long Rook * .320 Long Rifle * .360 No 5 Rook * .380 Long * .410 Indian musket * .442 Rook, Kangaroo, longReferences
External links
{{Commons category, Rook rifle Rifles of the United Kingdom Single-shot rifles