Westley-Richards 'Monkey-tail' match rifle .451cal.

[tac]

A pal turned up on the range this morning with this rifle, and to my amazehoodness it has an OCTAGONAL bore, rather than the more usual hexagonal bore á la Whitworth. Imagine how hard THAT was to cut.

It has long-range tang sights with a micrometer-adjustable foresight unit, too.

I have few pics if anybody is interested...

tac

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[F2CMaDMaXX]

We always like pics

 

[orygun]

I recently read an article about the "Monkey Tail". May have been in an NRA mag. Pretty cool. Would love to see pics.

 

[tac]

Given the total absence of an octagonal bullet mould, Dave, the ownerist, has made a mould that throws a 545gr base-belted bullet, over 90gr of Swiss. There is work to do yet.

 

[tac]

Dave tells me that if he can find somebody who will appreciate it for what it is [yeah, right] he might consider letting it go to a good home. It is not only modesty that forbids me to offer my hut as it's future home, but the little matter of the $6000 cost of the thing.

tac

 

[Certaindeaf]

Wowie! That thing is beautiful.. and so are the pics, thanks.

 

[Vintage rules]

A pal turned up on the range this morning with this rifle, and to my amazehoodness it has an OCTAGONAL bore, rather than the more usual hexagonal bore á la Whitworth. Imagine how hard THAT was to cut.

It has long-range tang sights with a micrometer-adjustable foresight unit, too.

I have few pics if anybody is interested...

tac

 

[Vintage rules]

Nice to know that there are a few folks on the website who also enjoy shooting vintage originals.
Love the quality of European firearms !!
A few years back I owned & shot an original cased Best Grade Whitworth , no mold in the case so I cast long .452 bullets from a vintage 45/70 mold that had lube groves almost the full length that allowed the soft lead bullets to conform to the hexagonal bore. Shot well at long range but not as good under 100 yds, seemed it was taking awhile for the bullet to stabilize.
I shoot a couple of original perc. big bore Yeagers now that I've had for 30 plus years, one is a Danish.70 cal, the other is an Austrian.55 cal. The .70 cal. rifle is the most consistently accurate rifle I've owned.
Chuck
Aka Vintage rules

 

[orygun]

That's very nice. Thanks for the pics, tac.

 

[tac]

I cast long .452 bullets from a vintage 45/70 mold that had lube groves almost the full length that allowed the soft lead bullets to conform to the hexagonal bore.

Like THIS, you mean?



Do tell us about your Whitworth rifle? My associates Bill Curtis and Dr Dewitt Bailey are keeping a log of serial numbers.

tac
Whitworth #888

 

[Vintage rules]

Yes that's the same style bullet I used.
I recall registering the Whitworth I had with a registry in Canada as I recall, I do have some photos along with the serial number in my files I'll try to locate & get them posted. My rifle was marked Best Grade, was in excellent condition with approx. 85% original finish, had pistol grip type trigger guard, original ladder tang sight & vernier adjustable front sight.
Nice to meet up with folks who also enjoy shooting European firearms of this type, going to shoots at Friendship Indiana were always good times to see & shoot these type of firearms.
Chuck

 

[tac]

I hope you got a good price for it, VR. Peter Dyson here has a 'Best Grade' for sale for £12500 - no case though, just the bare rifle.

A word of warning, in a friendly way, of course. There ARE folks who don't care to have a Whitworth rifle lumped in with European firearms of any kind, Joseph Whitworth being a staunch Englishman, and no kind of European. Only the Swiss and Germans had anything like advanced as ANY English muzzle-loading match rifle, and that was only up to 200m - the so-called 'Schuetzen' rifle by Bristlen-Morges and others.

OTOH, the Whitworth rifle and its ilk were designed from the onset to shoot at the longest ranges - 1200y yds was typical back then, and now.

tac

 

[Vintage rules]

I hope you got a good price for it, VR. Peter Dyson here has a 'Best Grade' for sale for £12500 - no case though, just the bare rifle.

A word of warning, in a friendly way, of course. There ARE folks who don't care to have a Whitworth rifle lumped in with European firearms of any kind, Joseph Whitworth being a staunch Englishman, and no kind of European. Only the Swiss and Germans had anything like advanced as ANY English muzzle-loading match rifle, and that was only up to 200m - the so-called 'Schuetzen' rifle by Bristlen-Morges and others.

OTOH, the Whitworth rifle and its ilk were designed from the onset to shoot at the longest ranges - 1200y yds was typical back then, and now.

tac

Ha! your so correct. Back in the day when meeting with my associates on other side of the pond they would sometimes correct my off-hand redneck referral to lump firearms made abroad..
Just came across a couple of photos of this Scottish half stock rifle made by Robertson to hunt big game in Africa. To of the barrel was stamped, Maker for the East Lothian Rifle Club in Haddington.
It had a mint cond. fast-twist .62 cal bore with micro-groove designed to shoot a slug. It was fully engraved with African big game scenes & had a single set trigger
The top barrel flat showed it had undergone several vintage sight changes. Full length shot of the rifle I took was poor quality but am enclosing shots that turned out well. I sold this rifle about a month ago. P.S. For whatever reason the link would only allow me to download one photo.
Chuck

 

[tac]

Loading is complex -

1. Take the 550gr belted-base bullet, dip it in some kind of grease and ram it into the octagonal bore with the doohicky you see above, there being used as a ramrod to drive out the base wad - about half and inch long DRY felt. You'll see why it's still in the breech in a minute.

2. Take the little funnel and pour in 90gr of Fine Swiss powder.

3. Close the monkey-tail - it rams the charge as far as it will go before you

4. Open the monkey-tail and insert the SECOND wad - this is the one that stays behind in the breech on firing, and acts a a bore cleaner when pushed out. Get it?

5. Cap it and fire it.

6. Repeat.

He was getting about a three-inch group at 100m with this load, and is now selling it.

The home-made mould goes with it, but there are no other accessories - $3500 + shipping + insurance.

Give me a call if you are interested, for sure it will be the only one you'll EVER see in your lives.

tac

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Will he take a cheque?

 

[tac]

Will he take a cheque?

Always providing you can write it in Pounds Sterling. He has also dropped the price to £2300.00 plus shipping etc.

I'll be seeing him on Thursday if you are interested?

tac

 

[hztbvy]

Hi Tac, do you know if your pal still has the Monkey Tail available?

- curly

 

[tac]

Dunno, I might see him today.

His name is David Clareboes - he's a dealer.

tac

PS - you a noob? Might be a plan to introduce yourself and say hello to the rest of us. I also live in Ontario for part of the year, BTW.

 

[hztbvy]

Dunno, I might see him today.

His name is David Clareboes - he's a dealer.

tac

PS - you a noob? Might be a plan to introduce yourself and say hello to the rest of us. I also live in Ontario for part of the year, BTW.

Dunno, I might see him today.

His name is David Clareboes - he's a dealer.

tac

PS - you a noob? Might be a plan to introduce yourself and say hello to the rest of us. I also live in Ontario for part of the year, BTW.

Yup! Noob!

Love this forum ... i work in tech and holiday in the bush under a tarp lol

I'll share a post in the welcome area

 

[tac]

...holiday in the bush under a tarp lol

I used to do a fair bit of that a while back, notably in East German winters...all paid-for by HMTQ.

tac