British Military Rifles: 1800 - 2000

A concise history of the attempts to develop and improve the British Army's most important individual weapon, and the ammunition designed for it.

In the late eighteenth century a new 'long-arm', the rifle, began to replace the old smooth-bore musket that had been used throughout Europe for centuries. Although the British Army was slow to adopt this new weapon, after 1800 the rifle began to make its presence felt and by the mid-Victorian era had come into standard use.

This book outlines the development of the rifle and chronicles its use in the British Army from its debut during the American Revolutionary War, through the technological advancements of the nineteenth century, to the modern weapons issued to British forces on service around the world today