English Sporting Rifle by Harvey

[TDM]

It's a very nice looking rifle and an interesting history.

 

[ResearchPress]

Attention Forum Moderators
Some beautiful vintage firearms showing up on this link !
Nice to see so many on this forum who also collect & shoot original antique firearms & would like to have an Antique Firearms category.

It would also be good to require identification of firearms posted and to keep on topic. So instead of my developing more details on the gunmaker, my ‘Harvey’ post has been lost to random pictures not connected with the gunmaker and notes to the moderators! Other firearms would have been far better posted in their own subject with clear identification (that can be found in search).

David

 

[Feltwad]

It would also be good to require identification of firearms posted and to keep on topic. So instead of my developing more details on the gunmaker, my ‘Harvey’ post has been lost to random pictures not connected with the gunmaker and notes to the moderators! Other firearms would have been far better posted in their own subject with clear identification (that can be found in search).

David

David
I can see your point information would-be helpful on each individual piece in its own thread although I am guilty on what you say I will keep that in mind.
Feltwad

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

@Feltwad

I've never seen a belted ball rifle, but I have seen the ammunition. Seeing the picture of the muzzle, it makes sense now! So, is that ball patched, or is it loaded straight into the bore?

 

[Feltwad]

@Feltwad

I've never seen a belted ball rifle, but I have seen the ammunition. Seeing the picture of the muzzle, it makes sense now! So, is that ball patched, or is it loaded straight into the bore?

For me it is no but to others it is a matter of Joice
Feltwad

 

[Relic shooter]

There may be differing opinions but I've used a lubed patch with the belted ball rifles I've shot.
I found lubed patches reduced fouling & increased accuracy when firing repeated shots without swabbing the bore between shots.

 

[Relic shooter]

It would also be good to require identification of firearms posted and to keep on topic. So instead of my developing more details on the gunmaker, my ‘Harvey’ post has been lost to random pictures not connected with the gunmaker and notes to the moderators! Other firearms would have been far better posted in their own subject with clear identification (that can be found in search).

David

I agree !

 

[GREENSWLDE]

Unfortunatly in the 60's,70' and 80's I rearly took Roll film Photo's of my aquisitions, restorations, useage or sales of some the unusual guns tended to find a bit different. One was a relic I had from a Famous B'ham gunmaker in need of TLC,a new bottom rib and new rear sight. A poli-goove 20b Game rifle(10) by Fieldhouse of Taunton. A bar locked rifle circa 1840,but unusual,it had a pistol grip and the chequing was verticle/horizontal not 45*. Cleaned up and re-ribbed and a set of old express sights I had it pooved to be a winner. Several 100yd wins. Sold it to go to an International MLAIC meeting.Silly Boy.. OLD DOG..

 

[Artificer]

An English sporting rifle by Harvey of Exeter and Plymouth. The overall length of the rifle is 41”, with a barrel of 25.5” including breech plug. Bore size is about .52”, with 7 wide grooves and narrow lands. The rifle has a single set trigger, leaf rearsight and an ivory or bone foresight dovetailed into the barrel. John Harvey established his business in Exeter c1790. His son, also John, was established in Plymouth c1830; he died in 1842 aged 38 and by 1850 the Plymouth premises had closed. John Harvey (senior) passed away on 4th April 1850, aged 84. By this time he had given his second son, William James Harvey, all of his tools as a gunsmith. William continued the business under his own name and died in 1873, aged 67. The Executors for William’s estate disposed of the business to Arthur Agnew. Trading under the name Agnew & Son, and as late as 1883 their newspaper advertising still referred to ‘Late W.J. Harvey’; a reflection perhaps of the esteem with which the original business had come to be regarded that it remained worthwhile retaining the link with their predecessor. The rifle bears Plymouth on the lock and likely dates from the 1840s.

View attachment 177615

David

David,

Some further questions, if I may?

Do you have the weight of this rifle? I'll bet it is very fast handling.

Do you know at what ranges the solid rear sight notch and ladder were to be used?

When I think of Plymouth, I admit I first think of the Royal Navy Yards and the British Board of Ordnance there, but am not very familiar with the land surrounding Plymouth. Would that rifle have been made for estate/park hunting near there or did the Harvey reputation carry to other parts of England, Wales and Scotland?

Thank you.

Gus

 

[Rudyard]

Unfortunatly in the 60's,70' and 80's I rearly took Roll film Photo's of my aquisitions, restorations, useage or sales of some the unusual guns tended to find a bit different. One was a relic I had from a Famous B'ham gunmaker in need of TLC,a new bottom rib and new rear sight. A poli-goove 20b Game rifle(10) by Fieldhouse of Taunton. A bar locked rifle circa 1840,but unusual,it had a pistol grip and the chequing was verticle/horizontal not 45*. Cleaned up and re-ribbed and a set of old express sights I had it pooved to be a winner. Several 100yd wins. Sold it to go to an International MLAIC meeting.Silly Boy.. OLD DOG..

I used to buy real rust streak's of old Stan Share of Ardentiny 3 quid + minus, one so bad you can't desern the name stocked it up deep three grouve affair 1 in 30 " pitch simple thin P51 type ladder sight but bore prouve good It beat A Gibbs Metford at 500 yards & took the 300 yards match same year ( Sheffield Branch this is), & shot deer in NZ just a 10 R/- Indian local trade lock & a floating Shotgun stock . & my Two grouve was no better all a siezed mass of rust Ex Dufty's Auction but its bowled more deer than any of my others mostly just the belted ball though I made a two winged conical H P a devil stopper but balls flatter & enough . I had the odd near mint stuff but felt better about useing a dogeared old bundook ..
Cheers Rudyard

 

[Eterry]

Gentlemen all, if you've spent much time on this, or any forum, you'll notice Staying on Topic is Challenging, if not Impossible.

The rules and regs to this site were set down long before I joined, and the general consensus among the mods are if none of these rules are violated we refrain from stepping in.

The good thing, to my thinking, is once a topic is broached it leads to others joining in with different ideas, items, pictures, etc.

I have long admired the revolving long arms, but have only seen Colt's and Burgess' before. The English Revolving rifles are very interesting to me, thanks for posting them.