Ferguson rifle

Ferguson Rifle
TypeRifle
Place of origin Great Britain
Service history
In serviceBritish Army 1776
Used byUnited Kingdom
WarsAmerican Revolutionary War
Production history
DesignerMaj. Patrick Ferguson
Designed1770
Produced1776–1778
No. built200
Specifications
Mass7.5 lbs (3.5 kg)
Lengthvarious: 48 to 60 in (1,200 to 1,500 mm)
Barrel length49 in (1,200 mm)

Cartridge.615 in (15.6 mm)
Calibre.650 in (16.5 mm)
Actionsingle-shot
Rate of fire6-8 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocityVariable
Effective firing range200 and 300 yards (180 and 270 m) sights on the Ordnance Rifle
Feed systemBreech-loaded

The Ferguson rifle was one of the first breech-loading rifles to be put into service by the British military. It was designed by Major Patrick Ferguson (1744–1780). It fired a standard British carbine ball of .615" calibre and was used by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, and possibly at the Siege of Charleston in 1780.[1]

Its superior firepower was unappreciated at the time because it was too expensive and took longer to produce – the four gunsmiths making Ferguson's Ordnance Rifle could not make 100 in 6 months at four times the cost per arm of a musket.

  1. ^ Life of Washington, W. Irving, Vol. IV, Ch. 5, 1857