doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Cogswell & Harrison

I personally think that British rifles of the late eighteen hundreds into the early nineteen hundreds can't be matched for elegance.
This one was originally a centre fire Rook rifle with Cogswell & Harrison's name on it but more than likely made by Webley and at some time in the past the twenty nine inch barrel has been sleeved to a 22rf and the firing pin altered.
Would I be right in thinking it was made sometime around the eighteen nineties or just a tad later?
I found Leupold rim fire scopes fitted the scope blocks although on bore sighting it in, I ran out of adjustment on the two and a half power Zeiss and had to file the side of the front and rear scope blocks to get it somewhere to point of aim and also change the rings around. Also had to get inserts for the small diameter tube of the scope.
Bought this about a year ago and gave it to my gunsmith to check it over and he also made a new flat spring for the top lever and I took it to the range today to sight it in at twenty five metres. [img[/URL][/img] [img[/URL][/img]

I certainly agree with your opening sentence and your estimation of the date of manufacture. It appears it wants to shoot! Continued experimentation with different ammo could turn up some very satisfying results!!

I have to chuckle, such a statement is really a matter of taste and one the individual certainly can have and defend; however for my tastes, least wise in the case of single shots, a #6 1/2 Ballard quite nicely defines the terms sleek, elegance, built to fit and shoot. IMHO

Group could be better and will get half a dozen different brands to see which it likes best after I have gone out to 100 metres.
That target was shot aiming at the the bottom of the 6 ring as as that was the limit of the scope and am hoping we might be on target further out.
Yep pretty nice looking rifles those Ballards.

Ballards are indeed nice. I have a 1 1/2 Hunter from Cody Rifle Works but it doesn't see a lot of use. A good argument could be made for just about any of the single shots from that era. Of today's manufacture of production single shots, in this country, only the Ruger #1 comes remotely close to any from say 1870 - 1920. Some of the low walls are pretty slick. The high wall is a dandy but to my eye not quite as svelte as the low wall....and those are all opinions and worth what you paid for them!