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This Edwinson Green Rook rifle, made by J. Harper in Birmingham, started life circa 1882 as a centre fire, probably a .300 Rook.

It was then tubed to a .22 Long Rifle but sadly the then owner had it smooth bored so he could keep it on a Shotgun Certificate.

I intend to restore it as a rifle (perhaps a .32/20) but in the meantime I have bought some shot cartridges to play with.

The Federal crimped Long Shot contain 25 grains of No. 12 shot whilst the CCI Extra Long have 31 grains (2.01 grams).

I was given the Gevelot 6mm Double Charge (aka No.1 Long Shot) cartridges but have not yet dissected one to find the charge weight. They are probably corrosive so I will boil the barrel out carefully after I try them.

Sweet gun! Are you going to buy it?

Yes, I did buy it.

Great maker

It was quite common practice to re-tube Rook Rifles to .22 or bore them to .410 shotgun as Rook Rifle ammunition became hard to get. There was a time when the Police would only allow these to be kept on a Firearms Certificate hence the boring out to smooth which meant that only a Shotgun Certificate was required. On a F.C. a reason for having had to be explained whereas on a S.C. no explanation was needed. They argued that you had no need for one rifled if you couldn't get ammo for it and refused the required certificate. More enlightened times came along and if suitable ammunition was obsolete then; if pre 1939 manufacture, it could be kept as an antique and no certificate required at all if held as a curiosity and not used. This then increased the value of original unaltered Rook Rifles. Sadly a lot had by then been 'butchered'. I remember being offered a H & H .300 Rook rifle in it case for £30 back in the '70's but unable to get the rifle put on my certificate. Probably worth around £2,000 by now!

I think you got a good buy with the Wiggan & Elliot and would happily pay that for it. In .22 shot it would have to go on and be listed on a S.C. as ammo is easily obtainable here. Oddly I have a .300 Rook Rifle that has been smoothed out and Proof tested at .300 Smooth which is a calibre that does not exist so doesn't require a certificate. It would be worth quite a bit more had it been left original. Lagopus.....

Lagopus,

Your smooth bored .300 was, I suspect, smooth bored at a time when original Rook rifles were still “on ticket” and deemed to require a Firearms Certificate but by being smooth bored could be held much more easily on a Shotgun Certificate.

As .300 (or .295) Rook is on the Obsolete Calibre list you can clearly hold it as s.58 antique (assuming you do not intend to shoot it).

You are not quite right in describing in as a “calibre that does not exist” as back in the day, in the same way that you can still buy .22 rimfire shot cartridges for pest control, .300 Rook as well as .360 No. 5 etc cartridges were offered with shot loads.

I have a star crimped .300 Rook shot cartridge, it has a similar crimp to the Federal .22 Long Shot cartridge shown above.

I quite agree. The .300 Smooth is almost certainly a smoothed out .300 rifle. It is a Martini action model with no maker's name. I have it 'off certificate' as the law here accepts that if ammunition is not readily obtainable and it is not intended for use then it can be held as an antique. I did make a handful of .300 shot cartridges to test it out. A small drinks can the size of a rat was well peppered at around 10 feet. No one makes ammunition for .300 Rook any more, either bulleted or shot, but I did manage to get hold of quite a bit of old Eley and Kynoch ammunition. I have another .300 Rook rifle on my firearms certificate and I do use that one. A nice, and unusual, gun in that it is a side by side with one barrel rifled and the other .410 shotgun; a sort of miniature 'Cape Rifle'. I did have a .360 No.5 Rook rifle that I made ammo for using .38 S & W Special cases. Sadly that got sold in order to finance something else.

.22 Shot cartridges are still made and easy to obtain here in the brass crimped type. I have quite a few of the old paper stuff but they are now collector's items. The only .22 smoothbore I have is a Webley & Scott bolt action gun that was made as a shotgun and not a bored out rifle. I sometimes take it to despatch small animals in live cage traps or the odd garden rodent. Rook rifles now fetch good prices here in view of their Antique status.

I don't know if you are aware of the book; The Classic British Rook & Rabbit Rifle' by Colin Greenwood published by Crowood in 2006 ISBN-10 1 86126 880 7 or ISBN-13 978 1 86126 880 8. Quite interesting. Lagopus.....

Sacrificed a misfired Gevelot No. 1 Long shot to find out the contents. 21.2 grains of shot (42 pellets so about No. 10 shot) ahead of 2 thin card wads and 3.2 grains very fine black powder.

Whilst it looks more impressive than the modern cartridges it has a smaller payload. “All hat and no cattle”.



I thought that the rosette crimped Kynoch .300 Rook was a shot load but as it only weighs 6 grains more than the uncrimped empty case on left it must be a blank for bird scaring.

The UMC .30 Rook case on the right is a scarce example of American production of this calibre.



These in Holts next sealed bid sale are shot cartridges for .360 No. 5 Rook rifles or revolvers.

Thanks Lagopus, I do have a copy of Colin Greenwood’s excellent book.

He did very good work in identifying many of the original manufacturers of Rook rifles.

My Edwinson Green above is the exception to the rule, in that it is signed J HARPER under the barrel.

More frequently Rook rifles bear the Adams and Tait A&T mark of those specialist riflers.