Britain

Britain

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Britain
  • Is this British .50 cal a match for the Barrett?

    Jonathan strips the Accuracy International AS50 to see how this lesser-known anti-materiel rifle sought to find it's niche with the British armed forces and beyond

  • Britain's *bad* take on the AR-18: The Sterling LAR

    The AR-18, seen as a cheaper alternative to the more commercially successful the AR-15 (M16), was the inspiration behind the Sterling LAR. However, with several patents preventing a more direct copy, Sterling had to find some inventive ways to do things a little differently, leading to this somew...

  • The Victorian revolvers fit for a revolutionary: The Pryse Cashmore

    Jonathan finds himself at home with a pair of Victorian British pistols, one percussion and the other converted to fire cartridges. The Daw, who was in fact only the marketer and vendor of the weapons, is a superb example of period craftmanship but failed to capture enough traction to make it a m...

  • Britain's Second World War pump-action sniper: The SREM-1

    Britain entered the Second World War with the Lee Enfield as its core sniper rifle. While it was an effective, accurate weapon, its very nature as a bolt-action rifle meant that users had to readjust their aim after reloading. The SREM-1 originated from a 1944 requirement from the War Office to t...

  • Fix *both* bayonets? The Sterling S-11

    The S-11 was Sterling's Chief Weapons Designer, Frank Waters attempt at competing with the huge commerical successes of the MP-5 and the Uzi.

  • Is this the the whackiest weapon we've ever featured? The Kretz Rifle

    A true unicorn of a weapon this week as Jonathan attempts to make sense of one of the strangest weapons we've featured on this channel so far. Overcomplicated and fundamentally flawed, the Kretz rifle was almost immediately obsoleted by superior designs.

  • Why was this the last Webley? The Webley Jurek

    Post-war Britain was looking for a new service pistol and turned to the tried and test German Walther P38 for inspiration. However, this new weapon's designer, Marion Karol Jurek decided to make a few changes. Jonathan Ferguson explains.

  • A Mauser inspired Lee Enfield improvement? The Enfield Pattern 1913.

    In 1908, Britain sought to improve its venerable .303 cartridge by making the bullet lighter and faster. That combined with the 1910 trial for a new rifle which led to the Enfield Pattern 1913.

  • Sterling's assault rifle story comes to a close: the SAR 87

    The Sterling Story draws to a close with its final production rifle, the SAR 87. Building on the more commercially successful SAR 80, the later variant came too late to ultimately save the Sterling Armament Company from going out of business.

  • When Britain stole the Dreyse Needle Rifle

    Soon after Prussia revealed it's ground-breaking, bolt-action Dreyse 'needle rifle', RSAF Enfield were hard at work making their own variant. This super rare weapon was the first official bolt-action rifle used by the British military.

  • The revolver rival: The double-barelled Lancaster Howdah Pistol

    The unreliability and issues with reload associated with new pistols in British service like the Enfield Marks I & II meant many officers preferred the large calibre Lancaster for a sidearm.

  • The riot gun with the most 80s promo video ever? The Enfield ARWEN 37

    This is very much an anti-riot gun that's had two lives. That of which it was intended from it's development in the late 70s, and then it's popular culture life as a wholly different weapon altogether. Join Jonathan as he examines both of these stories as well as some incredible promotional foota...

  • The Crimean War's forgotten rifle: the Minié

    Few weapons, if any have had a greater impact on history in a shorter space of time than the Minié rifle. Introduced in a limited capacity in British service during the Crimean War (1853-56). The Minié with its revolutionary ammunition had a devastating impact against Russian troops during the co...

  • The remarkable Mortimer flintlock repeating pistol

    Described by Jonathan as an 18th century Winchester repeater, this Lorenzoni repeater pistol combines intricate craftmanship with an ingenious mechanism for reloading on the fly. Join our Keeper of Firearms and Artillery as he delves into how this remarkable weapon functions, but also who would h...

  • The Martini Henry grenade launcher mired in controversy: The Blanche Chevalier

    To mark the 100th episode of What is this Weapon, the Royal Armouries hosted a special live episode at our flagship museum in Leeds in the UK. Befitting such a prestigious landmark for the series, our 100th weapon is one of Jonathan's all time favourites and has a back story immersed in the stale...

  • What made Britain's attempt at a GPMG a failure? The belt-fed Bren gun

    At the end of the Second World War, Britain looked to modernise it's small arms arsenal. With the Vickers MG a reliable but ageing weapon and the Bren limited to its 30-round magazine capacity, a more modern, belt-fed, 'general purpose machine gun' was sought. Despite excellent existing designs s...

  • Should Britain have adopted an AR-15 LMG?

    Jonathan Ferguson pulls another obscure weapon out of our stores, focusing this week on a Colt AR-15 variant sent to the UK for testing by the British Army. Britain was looking to re-equip its infantry squad with a full package of AR-type rifles, with this example with heavier barrell and bi-pod ...

  • Sterling's second stab at the AR-18: the SAR80

    Join Jonathan Ferguson as he examines the third instalment in our Sterling assault rifle series: the SAR80. Attempting to create a legally different yet ultimately still a copy of the AR18, Sterling made huge strides from its predecessor, the LAR. But, was it enough to achieve commercial success?

  • Having fun with an original P56 Enfield muzzleloading military rifle

    Please support us: https://www.patreon.com/capandball For buying our Civil War cartridge boxes: http://stores.ebay.com/Capandball?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 Just a little fin shooting to end the year the usual way. The rifle this time is my original P56 Enfield muzzle loading military rifle made by B...

  • Shooting the .451 Whitworth civil war sniper rifle

    Please support us at: https://www.patreon.com/capandball This is something I promissed you long before: a review of the Whitworth rifle with hexagonal rifling. Thanks to a friend of mine I was able to testfire one of those old Parker Hale rifles. Well, here is the result. And of course some histo...

  • Shooting the Pedersoli Whitworth rifle

    Please support us at: https://www.patreon.com/capandball Finally some action with the new Pedersoli Whitworth rifle. Some testshooting to 50 m and 100 m distance. Want to support our work? By a Capandball product: http://kapszli.hu/en/termek-kategoria/capandball-products-2/ Magyar szöveg: http://...

  • Military muzzleloading rifle 100 m - Preparing for the World Champs

    Please support us: https://www.patreon.com/capandball For buying our Civil War cartridge boxes: http://stores.ebay.com/Capandball?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 This year's muzzle loading World Championships will be held in Austria, Eisenstadt. I am documenting my preparation, while I'll be sharing every...

  • Shooting the original P56 Enfield rifle

    Please support us at: https://www.patreon.com/capandball Capandball Civil War cartridge boxes and more: http://kapszli.hu/en/termek-kategoria/capandball-products-2/ The Enfield percussion military rifle plays an important part in military history being one of the first "small calibre" military ar...

  • Shooting the original British small bore muzzle loading military match rifle

    Please support us at https://www.patreon.com/capandball For buying Capandball Civil War cartridge boxes and cartridge formers: http://stores.ebay.com/Capandball?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 Capandball Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KapszliCapandball I have been working on my original British m...