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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
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 usual
black powder velocities of .
[
]
History
The rook rifle was developed in 1883 by the gun-makers Holland & Holland
Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker and clothing retailer based in London, England, which offers handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two royal warrants.
History
Holland & Holland was founded by Harris Holland (1806 ...
as a breech-loading equivalent of the muzzle-loading
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) desig ...
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
Westley Richards is a British manufacturer of guns and rifles and also a well established gunsmith. The company was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards, who was responsible for the early innovation of many rifles used in wars featuring ...
and W.W. Greener were also noted for their rook rifles.[
Rook rifles were used extensively both in Britain and throughout the ]British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
with large numbers being exported to many Commonwealth countries and colonial territories.[
The rise in popularity of the ].22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...
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 bore
The .410 bore is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available (along with the 9mm Flobert rimfire cartridge, and the less common .22 rimfire shot shell). A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small g ...
s, 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 and rabbits.[
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 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
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
, smaller antelope 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
The .220 Rook, also known as the .220 Long Centrefire, is an obsolete British centerfire rifle cartridge.
Overview
The .220 Rook is a rimmed cartridge originally designed for use in rook rifles, it was designed and produced in Britain in th ...
* .297/230 Morris
* .320/230 Rook
* .297/250 Rook
* .300/250 Rook
* .255 Jeffery Rook
The .255 Jeffery Rook, also known as the .255 Jeffery Rook Rifle, is an obsolete small bore firearm Cartridge (firearms), cartridge.
Overview
The .255 Jeffery Rook is a Rim (firearms), rimmed Centerfire ammunition, centerfire cartridge. It was ...
* .300 Rook
* .300 Sherwood
* .310/300 Rook
* .360/300 Fraser
* .310 Cadet
The .310 Cadet, also known as the .310 Greener, or the .310 Martini, is a centerfire rifle cartridge, introduced in 1900 by W.W. Greener as a target round for the Martini Cadet rifle. Firing a 120 grain heeled lead projectile at 1350 ft/s the ...
* .320 Extra Long Rook
* .320 Long Rifle
* .360 No 5 Rook
* .380 Long
The .380 Long .8 x 24mmR also known as the .380 Rook rifle, is an obsolete centerfire rifle cartridge.
Overview
The .380 Long is a straight rimmed cartridge originally designed for use in rook rifles for target shooting and hunting game up ...
* .410 Indian musket
* .442 Rook, Kangaroo, long
References
External links
{{Commons category, Rook rifle
Rifles of the United Kingdom
Single-shot rifles