Lee–Metford

Magazine Lee–Metford Rifle
Type	Service rifle
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1888–1926
Used by	See Users
Wars	Second Boer War Boxer Rebellion various Colonial conflicts World War I (limited)
Production history
Designer	James Paris Lee, RSAF Enfield
Manufacturer	RSAF Enfield
Produced	1884–1896
Variants	MLM Mk II MLM Carbine Charlton Automatic Rifle
Specifications
Length	49.5 in (1,257 mm)
Barrel length	30.2 in (767mm)
Cartridge	Cartridge .303 Mk I
Calibre	.303 inch (7.7 mm)
Action	Bolt-action
Rate of fire	20 rounds/minute
Muzzle velocity	2,040 ft/s (621.8 m/s)
Effective firing range	c. 800 yards (730 m)
Maximum firing range	1,800 yards
Feed system	8 or 10-round magazine
Sights	Sliding leaf rear sights, Fixed-post front sights, "Dial" long-range volley sights

The Lee–Metford rifle (a.k.a. Magazine Lee–Metford, abbreviated MLM) was a bolt action British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine with an innovative seven groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. It replaced the Martini–Henry rifle in 1888, following nine years of development and trials, but remained in service for only a short time until replaced by the similar Lee–Enfield.

Lee's bolt action mechanism was a great improvement over other designs of the day. The rear-mounted lugs placed the operating handle much closer to the rifleman, over the trigger. This made it much quicker to operate than other, forward-mounted lug designs which forced the rifleman to move his hand forward to operate the bolt; also, the bolt's distance of travel was identical with the length of the cartridge, and its rotation was only 60 degrees compared to the 90 degree rotation of some French and Mauser-style actions. In addition Lee introduced a superior detachable box magazine to replace the integral magazines in use with most repeaters, and this magazine offered greater capacity than the competing Mannlicher design. Metford's polygonal rifling was adopted to reduce fouling from powder residue building up in the barrel, and also made it easier to clean.

In spite of its many advantageous features, the Lee–Metford was something of an anachronism, due to its use of a black powder–loaded cartridge. By the time of the rifle's introduction, rifle design had moved on to using small-calibre smokeless powder cartridges, which allowed bullets to be propelled at much higher velocities without as much smoke or residue. The .303 ammunition designed for the rifle was in fact originally intended to be loaded with a new propellant (cordite). However, as a result of protracted development, production of cordite was delayed, forcing the British to use black powder instead. By the time cordite cartridges were available, it was found that they were wholly unsuited for use with the shallow Metford rifling, which would wear out and render barrels unusable after approximately 6,000 rounds.

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