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empty before reloading with another charger; in an
Enfield, the only time you need to completely empty the magazine is in cases of emergency. The rest of the time you can use it as a 5-shot rifle with a five-round charger clip in reserve. This is one reason why the UK never adopted 10-round chargers to go with the 10-round magazines. Another benefit of the detachable magazine was that with the magazine detached, the rifle became a single-shot weapon, a feature seen as desirable by some countries for training purposes or for maintaining control over sometimes unreliable colonial or indigenous troops, many of whom were hardly familiar with breech-loaders at all, let alone repeating firearms. It also allowed the rifle to be used as a single-shot weapon during long-range volley fire, with the full magazine set aside for when the enemy closed and rapid fire was needed (the later
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modifications, including the Model 1866 (another conversion) and the models of 1868, 1869, and 1870. With the exception of the M1865 in .58 rimfire, all the others were .50-70 centerfire. Lee's sample (in the newly-authorized .45-70 cartridge) had a hammer-operated falling-block design, similar to the
Peabody and the Martini. His rifle did not win the trials (that honor went to the latest Allin design, the Model 1873) but with further consideration his gun was found worthy. $ 10,000 was appropriated, and Lee moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, to supervise construction of the new rifle. Tooling consumed most of the money, and only 143 rifles were built. Known to collectors as the "Model 1875 Springfield-Lee Vertical Breech", it is one of the rarest and most desirable Springfield arms of the post-CW period.
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equipped with a single spare magazine, while the first magazine was attached to the rifle with a chain link as it was feared that the primary magazine might be accidentally detached and lost, something that wasn't a risk on weapons without detachable magazines. The earlier
Remington-Lee rifle could also be fitted with a Mills belt with pockets for carrying four (5-round) magazines. Lee's detachable column-feed magazine system eventually became the pre-eminent design after World War II, and served as the basis for the box magazines used in all modern military small arms.
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of a Mauser, one would have to redesign the entire action, as the magazine is machined integrally with the receiver; the capacity of a tube magazine is constrained by the length of the weapon. Because the cartridges were stored in a double column and the magazine wasn't integral to the rifle, the Lee magazine could be easily deepened to store additional cartridges in keeping with evolving small arms doctrine. Although no Lee rifle ever carried more than ten rounds (with the exception of the so-called "trench" magazines from
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clip, and added a great deal of cost (one or two stripper clips can be made at a fraction of the price), and a metal magazine also weighs a great deal more, adding to a soldier's ammunition load. With the exception of handguns, it wasn't until rifles with magazine capacities of 20 rounds or greater were invented that detachable magazines were regularly used to carry ammunition in (although many
401:), because they were considered to make the ammunition heavier, and hinder the ability to replenish the magazine with separate rounds. It was believed that the capacity of the magazine is already sufficient, and in a pinch it would be easier to give the riflemen additional magazines for emergency reloading. It was not until the end of the
450:. In combat, the detachable magazine theoretically allowed a soldier to carry many loaded magazines, thus speeding reloading time, although this was never practised until much later on. At the time Lee's magazine was introduced, rifle magazines were expensive to fabricate and could not be regarded as expendable items.
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rifles loading by inserting a new magazine in reality the Lee-Enfield rifle was always loaded by stripping two 5-round charger clips into the magazine, in both World War I and World War II. The only exception was that soldiers armed with pre-charger loading Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield were sometimes
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clip system is that the weapon cannot be loaded without a clip, it cannot be used as a single-shot weapon, and you cannot top-off a partially full magazine; all shots must either be fired or ejected before a new clip could be loaded (which is inconvenient when a soldier finds himself between actions
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The Lee magazine was also adaptable to a variety of cartridges and bolt systems regardless of bullet shape or cartridge length, whereas a non-detachable magazine (such as used on the Mauser Gewehr 98) had to be designed and fitted integrally with the rest of the gun; in order to deepen the magazine
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adopted detachable magazines at a very early date). While the costs of carrying full magazines were not thought to outweigh the benefits in a rifle with a 5- or 10-round magazine, the time it took to load a 20-round magazine with stripper clips was considered excessive, and militaries switched to
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Lee's idea of carrying additional loaded magazines was not seen as an advantage by most major military forces at the time, who preferred to issue the soldier with loose cartridges or charger clips; loading by inserting a full new magazine did little to speed up the loading process over a stripper
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Having a magazine holding 10 rounds which is loaded via 5-round charger clips also allows the soldier to reload the magazine every time he fires 5 shots, just like he would with a 5-round magazine, only with a 5-round reserve at all times. With a 5-shot magazine, you have to wait until the gun is
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The Lee magazine was perfectly compatible with the charger device, in its later development 1903 No1Mk1(SMLE) onward, unlike tube-magazine guns, and had other advantages over the Mauser-style, five-shot, single column magazine. The Lee magazine differed in holding the ammunition in two vertical
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In 1872, he submitted a single-shot breech-loading rifle to a U.S. Army Trials board which was considering a replacement for the 'trapdoor' system of
Erskine S. Allin, which had begun in 1865 as a conversion of the Model 1861 Rifle Musket. The Allin design had progressed through several
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cartridge rifles. The main advance of the Lee magazine was that it carried its cartridges in two columns, rather than the single column which was typical of the time. This allowed twice the ammunition to be carried without making the magazine any deeper or longer. When fitted with a
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were influenced by the Lee magazine; they retained the 5-shot capacity and remained non-detachable, but they adopted double columns, allowing the entire magazine to fit within the stock, rather than protruding below in front of the trigger guard, like that of the
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decided to adopt the Rifle, Magazine, Lee–Metford (RMLM) as a standard issue arm. This in turn developed into the Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield (or SMLE), the standard
British service arm for many decades and in official service for nearly a century.
239:, Wisconsin. In total 250 were delivered but due to a bore diameter error, these were rejected by the army and the weapon did not see use in the Civil War. These guns are rare and highly collectible.
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systems, except that the rounds were stripped off the charger into the magazine, rather than having the entire clip with all of the cartridges placed into the weapon, as was the case with the
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with only a few cartridges left in the magazine with no way to reload). The charger system avoided all this, allowing ammunition to be carried in units of five and rapidly loaded like an
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The Lee Model 1879 rifle was a landmark rifle design, incorporating a turn-bolt action and a spring-loaded column-feed detachable box magazine system. this was Lee's first successful
446:, which was designed to use a 20-round magazine), the design served as the basis for what later became the universal standard for military rifles, the detachable, sheet-metal
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columns, rather than a single stack, allowing for 10 rounds to be carried in a magazine that was no deeper than that of the M1889 (although later Mauser rifles, such as the
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clip, but also allowing it to be easily used without the clips (albeit with somewhat slower loading). Although the charger clip was invented by
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rifles with double-column, detachable magazines in the Lee style. Although video games and movies frequently depict soldiers armed with
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His bolt-action and box-magazine fed design interested the
British ordnance authorities and in 1889, after extensive trials, the
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rifle adopted by the U.S. Navy in 1895. In 1891, Lee sued von
Mannlicher, claiming that the latter's design infringed upon his
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in the US, where they had two sons: William (born in 1859) and George (1860). They later returned to Canada in 1865.
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on 24 February 1904, having lived to see his rifles in service throughout several
Colonial conflicts, including the
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199:. The gun failed to function effectively when first fired, but started Lee's interest in gunsmithing and invention.
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Royal United
Services Institute for Defence Studies, Royal United Service Institution (Great Britain) (1892).
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in 1836 at age 5. He built his first gun at the age of 12, using an old horse-pistol barrel, a newly-carved
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rifle, the first rifle using Lee's action and two column box magazine design (the second being the famed
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Association, N. R. (n.d.). The
Remington-lee rifle: Ahead of its time. An Official Journal Of The NRA.
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In 1858, James Lee and his wife Caroline Lee (née Chrysler, of the later automotive family) moved to
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356:(which was in vogue for military rifles in certain nations of that era), or with a charger (aka
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bridge, the Lee magazine could be quickly reloaded with either individual cartridges, like a
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designer. He is best known for having invented the Lee Model 1879 rifle, which is the first
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charger-loaded magazine along the lines of the system developed by Austrian engineer
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https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-remington-lee-rifle-ahead-of-its-time/
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that it became apparent that the ability to load from clips saw a clear advantage.
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293:-fed repeating rifle. Two first designs—Model 1879 and Model 1882 were adopted by
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The Rise and Fall of Krugerism. A Personal Record of Forty Years in South Africa
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Complete Book of Rifles And Shotguns. With a Seven-Lesson Rifle Shooting Course
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Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, Vol. 36
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362:) holding 5 rounds each. These charger clips were similar to the Lee or
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639:. London: Hudson and Kerns, George Newnes, Limited. 1898. p. 617.
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Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 111
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159:-fed rifle. These features would be incorporated into more successful
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development came with his invention for a spring-loaded column-feed
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Emigrants from pre-Confederation Ontario to the United States
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clips. This was desirable, because the main drawbacks of the
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606:. National Rifle Association of America. 1914. p. 271.
223:, managing to acquire a contract for 1,000 rifles from the
688:. Gold Coast QLD (Australia): Arms & Militaria Press.
143:(9 August 1831 – 24 February 1904) was a British Canadian
577:. Ontario Publishing Company, Limited. 1895. p. 112.
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544:(Great Britain), Institution of Civil Engineers (1893).
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309:—were also adopted militarily and sold commercially.
335:Perhaps Lee's greatest individual impact on modern
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471:Lee independently and concurrently developed an
742:Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
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588:Hugh Romilly Abercrombie, John Scoble (1900).
430:, and in other rifle designs of that period).
279:Lee No. 61 (2 lbs 11 oz. (1.219 kg))
267:Lee No. 54 (2 lbs 13 oz. (1.276 kg))
393:rifle, it was not quickly adapted to the new
255:Lee No. 53 (2 lbs 7 oz. (1.106 kg))
183:, Scotland, Lee emigrated with his family to
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531:"Lee Carbine: Gunmaking is not for Sissies"
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625:: K. Paul, Trench, TrĂĽbner. p. 75.
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438:was intended for a similar purpose).
195:stock, and a priming pan made from a
99:British from 1831, Canadian from 1836
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487:magazine patent but lost the case.
285:The Lee magazine systems and rifles
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677:, The New York Times, 7 March 1894
637:Navy And Army Illustrated, Vol. VI
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163:designs later on, such as in the
592:. Unspecified. pp. 241–242.
307:Winchester-Lee or Lee Navy M1895
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722:19th-century American inventors
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563:. The Institution. p. 942.
548:. The Institution. p. 204.
732:People from Cambridge, Ontario
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619:The Elements of Modern Tactics
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490:James Paris Lee died in Galt,
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575:The Canadian Magazine, Vol. V
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123:William Lee, George Miles Lee
301:, and two later designs—the
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675:American In A Belgian Court
617:Shaw, Wilkinson J. (1890).
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767:Immigrants to Upper Canada
604:American Rifleman, Vol. 57
654:. Tannenberg Publishing.
209:In 1861, Lee developed a
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16:British firearms designer
684:Skennerton, Ian (1993).
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477:Ferdinand von Mannlicher
322:Royal Small Arms Factory
650:O'Connor, Jack (2016).
436:magazine cutoff device
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318:Enfield Island Village
218:Springfield Model 1861
686:The Lee-Enfield Story
354:tubular-feed magazine
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175:Early life and career
115:Caroline Chrysler Lee
316:James Lee square at
235:was manufactured in
231:. The Lee Civil War
303:Remington-Lee M1885
216:conversion for the
762:People from Hawick
747:Scottish inventors
727:Canadian inventors
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229:American Civil War
757:Firearm designers
411:Mauser Model 1893
389:in 1889, for the
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189:Upper Canada
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157:box magazine
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78:(1904-02-24)
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717:1904 deaths
712:1831 births
465:Lee–Enfield
444:World War I
399:Lee-Enfield
395:Lee-Metford
387:Paul Mauser
343:system for
227:during the
169:Lee–Enfield
165:Lee–Metford
155:detachable
153:bolt-action
96:Nationality
706:Categories
506:References
428:Mannlicher
364:Mannlicher
345:centerfire
337:small arms
104:Occupation
67:, Scotland
53:1831-08-09
458:and most
237:Milwaukee
214:cartridge
204:Wisconsin
197:halfpenny
134:(brother)
128:Relatives
367:en bloc
341:magazine
305:and the
297:and the
291:magazine
179:Born in
145:inventor
132:John Lee
120:Children
90:, Canada
492:Ontario
485:en bloc
473:en bloc
456:pistols
424:Carcano
383:en bloc
378:en bloc
374:en bloc
350:charger
299:US Navy
233:carbine
225:US Army
88:Ontario
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623:London
496:Canada
416:Mauser
193:walnut
181:Hawick
112:Spouse
61:Hawick
295:China
690:ISBN
656:ISBN
369:clip
185:Galt
167:and
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147:and
84:Galt
73:Died
43:Born
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