Reigniting the arms of old

As chairman of the Robin Hood Rifles (RHR) – the Nottinghamshire branch of the Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain (MLAGB) – I see a growing resurgence of interest in target shooting with historical arms.

I believe this stems from two things. Firstly, an interest in the historical context of iconic arms. All sorts of muzzle-loading pistols and varying types of military and civilian guns are popular, both rifled and smoothbore. Examples include the Brown Bess musket of Waterloo fame, the Pattern 1853 Enfield (as used in the Crimean War, Indian Mutiny and American Civil War), the Martini-Henry of the Zulu War and the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) in use during both world wars.

Secondly, historical arms shooting is hugely enjoyable but can also be as challenging as you want it to be. There are lots of club, regional and national matches and, for those who are particularly competitive, international championships as well. You don’t have to be a crack Shot, or keen on matches, as plenty of historical shooters are happy to ‘potter about’ on their local range.

Shooters include a great mix of ages, backgrounds and abilities, from the very serious precision shooter using a .451 target rifle of the 1860s at 1,000 yards, to a casual shooter with a .31 pocket revolver at ten yards. Both share a real interest in shooting and the historical context of the different types of firearm they are using.

The Trafalgar, organised each year by the National Rifle Association at Bisley, involves a weekend in October with over 200 matches for a huge range of historical arms – both military and sporting – including muskets, rifles and pistols, reflecting the period 1700 to 1960. Primarily, competitions are for flintlocks, percussion muzzle-loading arms, black powder breech loaders and rifles of World War I and World War II vintage. Ranges vary from ten yards to 900 yards depending on the type of firearm.

This hugely popular and very well-organised event is as much a social gathering as an opportunity for shooters of all levels of ability to see how they fare in open competition. There are prizes, medals and certificates to be won and the Trafalgar Dinner, open to all competitors, is a great event which attracts a wide range of characters.

To raise awareness of historical shooting, the Robin Hood Rifles has been running black powder experience days for shooters of modern centrefire and rimfire rifles who want to take a peek into the world of muzzle loaders and early cartridge arms. These have proved very popular and comprise a mix of presentations by well-known experts in their field and an opportunity to try out a selection of arms at a formal guest day afternoon. We are looking at running these in the future at the MLAGB central range complex near Warwick.

Those who wish to take up the shooting of historical arms are well catered for in terms of the training on offer, whether this be at local clubs, or on a national level, as run by the MLAGB, the national governing body for muzzle-loading within the UK. There are a variety of courses covering such matters as basic handling, shooting drills and safety issues, extending to range conducting officer (RCO) courses for those wishing to run muzzle-loading shoots.

Michael Hunting is chairman of the Robin Hood Rifles.