Musgrave Rifles
Encyclopedia
Musgrave rifles have their roots in target shooting and were designed and built for full bore target shooters, in an era where surplus war rifles such as the Lee-Enfield, Lee-Metford, P14 and others dominated on shooting ranges. The accuracy and performance of these rifles made them very popular and formed a great platform for the excellent Musgrave hunting rifles which followed. Because Musgraves were manufactured in the RSA, were reliable, accurate and priced very competitively, many Musgraves are still carried by those roaming Southern African hunting areas. Lyttleton RSA actions are regularly encountered on shooting ranges.
The Musgrave faclilty was located in Bloemfontein, Replublic of South Africa (RSA) while the actions were manufactured at Lyttelton Engineering Works near Pretoria. Musgrave's product range later diversified to include pump action shotguns, sporting equipment such as cricket bats, special shoes, fuel locking devices, and other items. The Musgrave rifle name were finally dissipated into Denel
Armscor and Denel Firearms history in SA(an Armscor division,) where Lyttleton Engineering Works continued to build hunting rifles under the "Vektor" (Vector) name for a while alongside the R4 assault rifle, Z88 pistol and other small armament.
) Initially barrels from Ferlach (Austria) were used and the top part of the barrels on these rifles were covered (encased) by the stock, while Parker Hale 1/4 MOA rear sights were installed. Later models were stocked with significant bulkier fore ends to allow for an open barrel with effective cooling while it still reduced potential fliers due to contact between the free floated barrel and the shooter's fingers. Accurate Musgrave manufactured cut rifled barrels (parallel nox) usually matched with these stocks and M&S 1/2 MOA rear sights were used. Musgrave barrels manufactured later on were all button rifled and Musgrave triggers were designed to work reliably to around a minimum of 2 pounds of pressure. The completed RSA action are sometimes found with various bolt stop configurations and is extremely hard - it will damage machining tools carelessly applied.
Due to the many .303 rifles available in South Africa after the 2nd Anglo-Boer war, it logically followed that conversions of these served well as hunting rifles. For plains game, a flatter shooting alternative were found in the 6mm Musgrave, 6 mm Musgrave
which is essentially a .303 British cartridge case with a 6mm projectile delivering performance slightly below that of the 243 Win, due to the lower pressure that these actions could handle. In later years, Musgrave had a section focussed solely on the conversions.
Three models of Musgrave centre fire hunting rifles for which the RSA action served as platform were initially manufactured, namely the
There were various other models to follow. These include but is not limited to the
Example of Model 90 Action - Impala series
.22 Rimfire:
The Musgrave faclilty was located in Bloemfontein, Replublic of South Africa (RSA) while the actions were manufactured at Lyttelton Engineering Works near Pretoria. Musgrave's product range later diversified to include pump action shotguns, sporting equipment such as cricket bats, special shoes, fuel locking devices, and other items. The Musgrave rifle name were finally dissipated into Denel
Denel
Denel Ltd is a South African state owned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate established in 1991. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency for South African Defence Force , now known as the South...
Armscor and Denel Firearms history in SA(an Armscor division,) where Lyttleton Engineering Works continued to build hunting rifles under the "Vektor" (Vector) name for a while alongside the R4 assault rifle, Z88 pistol and other small armament.
The Musgrave RSA Target Rifle
The single shot Musgrave RSA action (sometimes marked "Lyttleton RSA") that serves as the platform for these rifles are based on Mauser's design, with controlled feed(claw) extractor. The actions have a large flat bedding area underneath and a short case extraction port which contribute to its stiffness. The original Musgrave target rifles were fitted with 26.5" barrels and designated "7,62" (7.62x51mm NATO or .308 Winchester.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...
) Initially barrels from Ferlach (Austria) were used and the top part of the barrels on these rifles were covered (encased) by the stock, while Parker Hale 1/4 MOA rear sights were installed. Later models were stocked with significant bulkier fore ends to allow for an open barrel with effective cooling while it still reduced potential fliers due to contact between the free floated barrel and the shooter's fingers. Accurate Musgrave manufactured cut rifled barrels (parallel nox) usually matched with these stocks and M&S 1/2 MOA rear sights were used. Musgrave barrels manufactured later on were all button rifled and Musgrave triggers were designed to work reliably to around a minimum of 2 pounds of pressure. The completed RSA action are sometimes found with various bolt stop configurations and is extremely hard - it will damage machining tools carelessly applied.
Musgrave Hunting Rilfes
(Please note that the features higlighted here as characteristics of the various models are not exclusive, as many variants exist)Due to the many .303 rifles available in South Africa after the 2nd Anglo-Boer war, it logically followed that conversions of these served well as hunting rifles. For plains game, a flatter shooting alternative were found in the 6mm Musgrave, 6 mm Musgrave
6 mm Musgrave
The 6 mm Musgrave was the brain child of Ben Musgrave and introduced by Musgrave Rifles in 1955 and can be described as a classic Africa cartridge. It is based on necking down the .303 British with the original intent of it being a Springbok calibre for hunting on open plains in South Africa's...
which is essentially a .303 British cartridge case with a 6mm projectile delivering performance slightly below that of the 243 Win, due to the lower pressure that these actions could handle. In later years, Musgrave had a section focussed solely on the conversions.
Three models of Musgrave centre fire hunting rifles for which the RSA action served as platform were initially manufactured, namely the
- "Veld Model"
- "Vrystaat Model" (MkI)
- "Presidents Model" (Mk II)
There were various other models to follow. These include but is not limited to the
- Mk III & Mk IV (Mod 98 based Santa Barbara actions and barrels - Serial numbers start with "R-")
- LP 1000 series (LP 1001 and 1002 (and possibly a 1003 version as well)
- Mod 80
- Mod 83
- K98
- Mod 90
- Mini Mod 90
- Mod 2000 (Lyttelton action again)
Example of Model 90 Action - Impala series
.22 Rimfire:
- Ambidex (Straight pull action of which the bolt handle can be swopped around to accommodate all shooters)
Custom rifles
Some "prototype" hunting rifles are around, fitted with reworked stocks and magazine wells.Musgrave Pistols
Some examples of pistols built be Musgrave can be seen at:- Varan_PMX-80
- Musgrave_Pistol
External links
- .308 Winchester Cartridge Guide by AccurateShooter.com
- http://weapons.wikia.com/wiki/Varan_PMX-80
- http://guns.wikia.com/wiki/Musgrave_Pistol