I believe there are some truths in all he theories mentioned thus far. I have another if you will permit me. Back when the bolt action rifle first came onto the scene the US was behind in it's appreciation of this new action and American gun companies were slow in adopting it into there offerings. The only place most peple could get rifle lenght blanks was from overseas and England was where alot of these blanks were shipping from (not grown there shipped from there). Hence the term English was born I believe and it may be mostly an American used term. I also Believe our California English ( named so I believe because it was like the wood we were getting from England but it was grown here) did not get much play early on as these trees were mostly to immature to harvest and their crops were to valuable. Juglans Regia is walnut but it is effected by the soil in which it is grow and hence we have many varieties. Austrailian. New Zealand, English, etc.
Actually Iran and Afganistan have large grove of walnuts as well and I believe Pakistan also does.
Just my take on it but when I was in gunsmthing school in the mid seventies we called it California English.
Michael J
