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Parker-Hale Volunteer: Rigby or Henry

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Rudall

40 Cal
Joined
Jul 14, 2020
Messages
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Location
Surrey, UK
I am considering the purchase of one of these and wonder if anyone can give any information, details, experiential data or otherwise anything at all about the benefits, accuracy, reasons for one over the other and so on. What are the physical differences?

Many thanks.
 
You have a choice?
Early ones (3-band, I believe) were Rigby rifled - very few.
Most were Alexander Henry rifled (2-band).
The Pedersoli Volunteer I saw at the 2019 SHOT show had conventional rifling.
They are all nearly identical in appearance.
Good luck.
 
I have a choice in that I can choose to buy (or not) the one I have come across!
Can anyone tell which rifling this is?

IMG_1636 (1) (1).jpg
 
When introduced the Parker-Hale 'Volunteer' had what they described as being "rifled after the Rigby pattern with eight narrow lands of shallow depth making one turn in 20 inches." That appears to be what you have pictured. These will likely have a serial number less than 1500. Later they replaced this with a version with Henry Rifling, and the serial numbers insofar as I have seen start a new series and are prefixed with 'H'. Henry rifling is polygonal in form and of seven sides with angular projections at the angles - Parker-Hale used 1 in 20 pitch. (Search the web for Martini-Henry rifling and you should find plenty of images).

I have no experience of the 'Rigby' rifled version, but did have a 33" barrel Henry rifled Volunteer (they also made 36" barrel length with Henry rifling). I used the Lyman 45-70 Govt. pure lead bullet (457125) with 80 - 90 grains of TPPH and a plain card wad. TPPH is/was similar to Swiss No. 4 (1.5Fg). The bullet required more sizing then some recommended, but the deep grooves helped I think - irrespective of that I set an MLAGB National Record at 600 yards with it that remained in place for several years, before being beaten by a point.

David
 
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Dear Mr Rudall - it seems that you are spreading your questions around the fora and getting the same answers from the same people. The facts will not vary from one forum to another, I assure you.
 
Calling the .451 military match rifle 'Volunteer' is something of a misnomer, and essentially a marketing name that Parker-Hale used and others copied for the similar style rifles. P-H advertising said their rifle "would have satisfied the marksmen of the 1860s." Indeed, such rifles would have been used by Rifles Volunteers in competition, but in events open to All-Comers (not just Volunteers) and using Any Rifle. The rifle that the British Rifle Volunteers were actually armed with was .577 bore, and where issued to Rifle Volunteer Corps was the Pattern 1853 ('three band Enfield') Rifle Musket. For a home defence organisation whom the Government are issuing ammunition to this makes sense; a Government circular of May 1859 in fact required that the arms of the Volunteers "should be perfectly uniform in gauge with those in use by the Regular Army."

David
 
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