Бру́нсвикская винто́вка: исто́рия и констру́кция

The Brunswick rifle was a large calibre muzzle loading percussion rifle manufactured for the British Army at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the early 19th century. Its name is derived from the historical German state of Brunswick because the British were experimenting with Hanoverian percussion cap technology during the period Great Britain and Hanover (1714–1837) had the same head of state.

The Brunswick had a two groove barrel designed to accept a "belted" round ball. Like all rifles of the period, the Brunswick rifle suffered from the problem of being difficult to load. Rounds for rifles were required to fit tightly into the barrel so that the round would grip the rifling as it traveled down the barrel, imparting a spin to the round and improving its stability. Even though the rib and groove design of the Brunswick allowed it to use rounds that did not fit quite as tightly, the black powder used during this period would quickly foul the barrel, making even the Brunswick's design more and more difficult to load as the rifle was used. Since the Brunswick used a round that was specifically designed to be mated with the grooves in the rifle, it had to be oriented properly in order to be loaded. This made the rifle difficult to load at night, when the grooves could not be seen. The lock was originally a back action design, with the mainspring located behind the hammer. This design proved to be unpopular, as it weakened the wrist of the stock. Later Brunswick rifles featured a more conventional side action lock. The stock was made of walnut, and featured a straight wrist and a low comb butt. A patch box with a hinged brass lid was located on the right side of the butt. Originally, the Brunswick rifle used a single compartment patch box. Later rifles used a slightly larger patch box with two compartments. The ramrod pipes, trigger guard, and butt plate were all made of polished brass. The rifle was designed to accept a sword type bayonet which mounted by use of a bayonet bar, similar to the design of that used on the Baker rifle. The bayonet bar was relocated further back due to problems that had been experienced with the Baker rifle. The Brunswick rifle used a block front sight and a two position folding leaf rear sight which could be set for either
The rifle weighed approximately (depending on the pattern) without the bayonet attached.

The Pattern 1836 featured the original back action lock and the single compartment patch box. The first of these were caliber. This was changed fairly early in the rifle's life, and most were caliber. All subsequent patterns were caliber. The Pattern 1840 featured a dual compartment patch box, and had several minor improvements to the Pattern 1836. The Pattern 1841 replaced the back action lock with a side lock. However, this lock change was not put into manufacturing until 1845. This version also used a wrought iron barrel instead of twisted steel, and a simple plug that replaced the break off breech plug used in earlier patterns. The Pattern 1848 featured other minor improvements, and used an improved bayonet latch with the locking notch located halfway along the bayonet bar on its upper side. Only a few batches of rifles produced for the British Army were fitted with this improvement. A heavier version in caliber was produced for the Royal Navy. Copies of the Brunswick rifle were made in Nepal, from approximately 1840 to 1860. These copies were apparently hand made, and as such their details varied slightly. There were two distinct versions, a "light" pattern that weighed approximately , and a version that was more similar to the standard Brunswick rifle that weighed over It is estimated that approximately 10,000 to 12,000 of these were made in Nepal.