By Fire and Steel - The History of the British Infantry Weapon: Ep 5 - The Lee-Metford Rifle

The Lee-Metford rifle was the British Army’s first general issue repeating rifle that saw notable service in the Boer War, and can be considered the ‘Grandfather' of the famous Lee-Enfield family of rifles. Noted for having the well-engineered Lee bolt-action, as well as being the first rifle chambered in the famous .303 British cartridge, this short-lived service rifle did have its shortfalls (most notably its rifling when used with smokeless ‘cordite’). However, it set the stage for a lineage of rifles still used by some militaries around the world today.
In this episode, we examine the bolt-action of the Lee-Metford and its use in the Boer War and beyond.
No copyright infringement is intended.

[@hogsnplanes]

Black powder, cordite/smokeless are all gun powder. The old smoky stuff used until the late 1800's is now called black powder.

[@alexanderevans7426]

It would have been okay for a seige defending the barracks/ trench but looks far to long for field work, unless you used it with a bayonet.

[@astondriver]

Lee Metford did not have 10rds in magazine.

[@halfcan-nitafan5207]

Mate this like the guy you'd meet in a museum, he's read one book once and now he's a self proclaimed expert pair of bloody chancers

[@kiwigrunt330]

The MkII* shown here did.

[@jonathanlewis453]

The Mk1 Metford took 8 and the Mk2 took 10. The Mk1 had a finger rail in the forend and a single stack magazine. The specimen shown is a Mk2.

[@davidwhite5972]

Hate to see dry firing in any weapon

[@jonathanlewis453]

In the Lee series, the slamming of the cocking piece onto the rear of the bolt body, without the restraint of the firing pin landing on a primer, works the threads in the cocking piece. Eventually, in a tired Lee action, the cocking piece will rock on the threads under the action of the sear and this will give rise to an inconsistent release when the trigger is pressed.