Sunday Gun Day Vol. III Ep. X - Why Can't I Have One? The Rook Rifles

“Gray’s Sporting Journal” has this to say:

A century ago, the opening day of rook season (May 15) was a major event in the British sporting calendar, not quite on par with the Glorious Twelfth, but up there. For the next few days, everyone with a rifle, from the Prince of Wales to the kid down the lane, would be out stalking the rookeries.  These were nesting trees favored by the adult rooks, who like to clan together. When young rooks hatch, they first climb out onto the branches and there they sit, getting their nerve up to try an experimental flight or two.

From a safe distance —  50 to 75 yards — the hunter would crouch with his rook rifle and try to pick them off the swaying branches. I should add that shooting rooks with a shotgun was considered, in the memorable words of David Baker, “a cad’s sport.” This all took place within a short window of time, because once the rooks reach adolescence, they are no longer edible.

 So, in the late 1880s, before the rimfire .22 cartridges had gained quite the popularity as small-game rounds, they now enjoy, these light, handy little pieces were quite popular. In fact, a look at the design philosophy of these light, handy small game rifles makes me wonder why someone isn’t making something like this now.

The Designs

These were, as noted, single-shots. There’s nothing wrong with that; single-shots are solid, easily repairable, strong, accurate designs, for the most part. They have the added advantage of being relatively inexpensive.

Of course, the first iteration of rook rifles may have been rather more costly. The grand old British firm of Holland & Holland produced the first such rifle, building the first ones on a break-open single-shot action in 1883. They sold around 5,000 of these guns. Other versions were made by Westly Richards and W.W. Greener, Jeffery, and in smaller quantities by smaller, independent firms. Most were on break-open actions, although a miniaturized Martini-style drop-block action was used in some, and found some favor for being a little stiffer, making for better accuracy and the capability of handling a slightly more powerful round.

Read More: Sunday Gun Day Vol. III Ep. IX - A Grand Old Name, Holland & Holland

The Guns

What was neat about these little guns was their light weight, easy portability, handling, and their medium-velocity small-game cartridges. These were mostly blackpowder rounds, but a (more or less) .30 caliber bullet launched at a moderate velocity is just the ticket for knocking over a rabbit or hare for the table. Like my personal choice for the one cartridge I’d resurrect if I could, the .25 Stevens rimfire, these will kill a rabbit with authority without ripping up too much meat.

The rook rifles were almost all single-shots, of course, but bear in mind the times in which they were made. Single-shot breechloaders were still pretty much state-of-the-art in the late 1880s, and even then British regulations on firearms were more strict than ours; no Second Amendment in Great Britain.

Read More: Sunday Gun Day Vol. II Ep. XXIII - Guns I Wish I Had

But there was a need, or at least a market, aside from the traditional rook shoots. Groundskeepers, gamekeepers, and farmers all needed, or at least wanted, a short, light, handy rifle that could be toted around while attending to the various outdoor chores of their profession, and was therefore readily available if a pest presented itself – or a possible supper.

Because of the many and varied manufacturers producing these pieces in wild variety, it’s near impossible to estimate how many rook rifles were made. But that number is surely in the tens of thousands.

All good things, however, must come to an end. The advent of the .22 Long Rifle cartridge, cheaper than the centerfire, mostly proprietary rook rifle cartridges, soon rendered the classic rook rifles moot.

Speaking of those cartridges:

The Cartridges

There were several rook rifle cartridges; all centerfire, all low-to-medium power. They included:

• .220 Rook
• .297/230 Morris
• .320/230 Rook
• .297/250 Rook
• .300/250 Rook
• .255 Jeffery Rook
• .300 Rook
• .300 Sherwood
• .310/300 Rook
• .360/300 Fraser
• .310 Cadet
• .320 Extra Long Rook
• .320 Long Rifle
• .360 No 5 Rook
• .380 Long
• .410 Indian musket
• .442 Rook, Kangaroo, long

I’ve never been able to test it myself, but I’m told that a .38 Special wadcutter will chamber and fire very nicely in a rifle chambered for the .360 No 5 Rook or the .380 Rook; accounts vary.

And, yes, we have some very similar rounds in America today, in the form of the .22 Hornet, the .25-20 Winchester, and the .32-20 Winchester. These rounds have also been in large part superseded by the .22 rimfire rounds, but unlike the rook rifle rounds, the American mid-range small game centerfires are still in the game.

A rook rifle would, though, be a great platform for the one rimfire round I’ve been agitating to see resurrected: The .25 Stevens rimfire.

These Days…

I can think of one modern American-made gun that might approximate a rook rifle. For a while, the H&R Handi-rifle was made in the .357 Magnum, which would accept .38 Special rounds, just as a .357 Magnum revolver would. A .38 wadcutter target load in one of these, which is likewise a light, handy single-shot piece, will pretty closely approximate the feel and power level of a rook rifle.

But, no engraving, no fine walnut. I like those things. That's why I mess about with old guns. 

Britain these days isn’t a good place for shooters, not even if one is shooting a single-shot rifle firing a mild small-game round. But here in the United States, there may be a market for such a piece, at least with some sportsmen who aren’t determined to have a semi-auto or a rimfire gun. Sometimes it’s fun to have something just a little different. The old rook rifles certainly were that. I can’t help but think they could be again.