Thanks to @rookhawk 's posting in classifieds of his lovely rook rifle and the discussion it generated, I thought it might be good to devote some discussion to these interesting little rifles that were so quickly eclipsed by rifles chambered in rounds like the 22 Savage HP, .22LR, and the flood of "varmint" rounds that began to appear in the thirties.
I have owned several over the years, and have retained two that I still occasionally shoot. Both are excellent for dealing with the occasional armadillo determined to excavate the shrubbery. When still in Northern VA, both accounted for the occasional ground hog attempting to undermine the 150 year old foundation of our barn.
This is my exquisite little 380 Rook by Stephen Grant. It was built on a miniature Martini-Henry style falling block action. Though not always interchangeable, because the rook used a heeled bullet and slightly shorter case, this particular rifle happily shoots 38 Long Colt ammunition. With my eyes, it is minute of armadillo accurate to forty or fifty yards. This rifle would have been built around 1890-1900.
This is my rook "stopping rifle." Plainer and clearly more extensively used, it was built around the same time as the Grant. I have not been able to identify anything about this maker, but the break open action with readily recognizable top lever is likely Westley Richards. The reason I have kept it is because of the chambering. It was built in "Winchester Caliber 44," or as we would now call it 44-40. I have never seen another in this chambering by any maker. It will decisively stop an enraged or wounded cottontail or armadillo.
I have owned several over the years, and have retained two that I still occasionally shoot. Both are excellent for dealing with the occasional armadillo determined to excavate the shrubbery. When still in Northern VA, both accounted for the occasional ground hog attempting to undermine the 150 year old foundation of our barn.
This is my exquisite little 380 Rook by Stephen Grant. It was built on a miniature Martini-Henry style falling block action. Though not always interchangeable, because the rook used a heeled bullet and slightly shorter case, this particular rifle happily shoots 38 Long Colt ammunition. With my eyes, it is minute of armadillo accurate to forty or fifty yards. This rifle would have been built around 1890-1900.
This is my rook "stopping rifle." Plainer and clearly more extensively used, it was built around the same time as the Grant. I have not been able to identify anything about this maker, but the break open action with readily recognizable top lever is likely Westley Richards. The reason I have kept it is because of the chambering. It was built in "Winchester Caliber 44," or as we would now call it 44-40. I have never seen another in this chambering by any maker. It will decisively stop an enraged or wounded cottontail or armadillo.
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I have never been able to find anything on him. Were it Suhl with a true trigger plate action, I could simply assume it was one of those makers lost in the aftermath of the war. Of course the WR top lever would then be inexplicable. A small mystery.
