Baker Rifle
Ezekiel Baker · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1800
Also known as: British Infantry Rifle, Baker Infantry Rifle, Pattern 1800 Rifle
Overview
The Baker Rifle is a .625 caliber flintlock muzzleloading rifle and the first standard-issue rifled long arm of the British Army. Designed by London gunmaker Ezekiel Baker and adopted in 1800, it featured a 30-inch barrel rifled with seven angular grooves making a quarter turn over its length, a folding-leaf rear sight, a brass patch box, and a raised cheek rest. Unlike the smoothbore muskets it supplemented, the rifling gave the Baker exceptional accuracy for its day, allowing trained riflemen of the 95th and 60th Regiments to engage individual targets at ranges well beyond those of line infantry.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4080 g (143.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1162 mm (45.75") |
| Barrel Length | 762 mm (30.00") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Muzzle Velocity | 305 m/s (1001 fps) |
| Effective Range | 180 m (197 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 270 m (295 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 2 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 7 |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Browned |
Calibers
- .625 Caliber Rifle Ball · primary — also known as 0.625 in, 20-bore ball, .615 carbine bore
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Rifled Barrel, Muzzle Loaded, Patch Box, Folding Leaf Rear Sight, Cheek Rest, Sword Bayonet Lug, Ramrod, Brass Furniture
Service history
Operators
- British Army (95th Rifles) · adopted 1800 · as Infantry Rifle
- King's German Legion
- East India Company
Conflicts
- Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
- Peninsular War (1808-1814)
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Production
Estimated total produced: 30,000 · Production years: 1800-1815
Roughly 2,000 rifles produced annually between 1804 and 1815; remained in British service until the late 1830s.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: Ezekiel Baker
Discontinued: 1838
Notes
Specifications are approximate and vary across the four service patterns. The standard infantry rifle was .625 caliber; a heavier .75 caliber pattern was also produced. The tight patched ball gave accuracy but a slow loading cycle of roughly two rounds per minute.
Background
Immortalised in the Sharpe novels and television series, the Baker Rifle armed the green-jacketed riflemen of the 95th Rifles. Rifleman Thomas Plunket of the 95th famously used his Baker to kill the French General Colbert at long range during the retreat to Corunna in 1809, a feat held up as proof of the rifle's accuracy.