Morris Tube Question

[Cyrano]

The Morris Tube is a British invention. It's a sub-caliber barrel installed in a rifle (don't know whether they made them for shotgun or pistol) that shoots a short 25 caliber low pressure, low velocity round for target practice, mostly indoors.

My question: is the Morris tube a semi-permanent installation, or can it be removed easily?

 

[Cyrano]

Well!! Doesn't ANYONE know ANYTHING about the Morris Tube?

 

[A10]

I've seen Morris dancers, does that count?

 

[Onomea]

Here is some info: http://22rifles.djpc.net/history.html "The inception of sub-calibre services rifles to enable training to take place on miniature ranges was brought about on 14th November 1883 by the approval of a removable rifled 23" calibre Morris tube for the Martini Henry .450" service rifles." They thus appear to have been removable.

What seems to be a knowledgeable discussion is here: Morris Tube. - Miscellaneous - Great War Forum

One appears to be for sale here: British Martini-Henry Subcaliber Trainer Morris Tube ima-usa.com

 

[timn8er]

I remember a cat named Morris...

 

[Cyrano]

Thanks, guys; big help. I'm investigating the Siege of Sidney Street. The police scrounged up a few of their weapons for the event, including some Martini Henrys, calibr unknown. they had Morris tubes in them, for 25 yard indoor (with black powder?!) shooting, and the policed did not remove the Morris tubes. If detachable, I wonder why.

 

[Class III]

Don't know if you'd call it a "Morris Tube" or not, but I've seen full length smooth bore tubes that where fitted to SxS shotguns allowing for the firing of sub gauge shells. I've even seen an antique set of rifled tubes (With a London Best sidelock SxS SG) that was chambered for BP metallic cartridges. That set of tubes was chambered from 22RF up to maybe 12.? mm. I know it had three sets of rifled tubes fitted to the smoothbores, all contained in one fitted case. I do remember that the tubes where fitted to the individual gun and left tube/right tube.

Sub-gauge/caliber tubes are removable from what I have personal knowledge of.

If that's what you're talking about, then yes, I know what you're talking about.

Edit: Thinking about it, I even remember a "McMillan and Wife" episode where the bad guy used a full length sub-caliber barrel insert to shoot someone. BG claimed he didn't own a pistol in that caliber, but Susan Saint James (Be still my lustful heart) figured it out.

BG hid the "Tube" in plain sight on the lamp shade support arm coming off the shade between the finial and the harp.

Class III

 

[2152hq]

The Morris Tube insert was detachable in either the Martini-Henry style or the Lee-Metford/Lee Enfiled Rifle or Carbine style.

The M/H style has a separate chamber insert that is dropped into place in the breech, then the insert bbl itself is placed down the M/H bbl from the muzzle and screwed into that chamber insert by hand to tighten the 2 together.
The muzzle end of the bbl has a larger dia brass end and leather washer to tighten up against the muzzle of the M/H bbl.

The Lee Metford/Lee Enfield edition required the bolt of the rifle to be removed. Then the one piece Morris Aiming Tube was placed inside the L/M bbl from the breech.
The muzzle end of the Morris Tube extends approx 3/4" beyond the L/M bbl. A separate larger dia round brass 'nut' w/leather washer is threaded for that extension and is hand threaded onto the the M/T to tighten it into the Lee bbl.
A small separate extractor is rivited to the side of the Morris Tube and works off the rifle bolts extractor to pull the special cartridge from the tube.
Made in 'Carbine' lengths for the Lee Metford and Lee Enfield Carbines.I don't honestly remember if they were made for M/H Carbines or not.

The L/M & L/E versions don't come apart that easily. You have to take the brass nut off,,then push the protruding end of the insert bbl against something (like a door or wall) to get it started out.Then push the insert the rest of the way out of the rifles bbl by using the rifles clearing rod very carefully against it's muzzle face.
They don't as a rule just fall free of the bore,,at least the few I've seen
and the disassembly instructions originally given with these describe the procedure that way.
So I gather it was common that they took some effort to takedown.

Both use the .297/230 CF cartridge. A BP cartridge w/a lead bullet of around 35gr or so.

Though the purpose of the insert was to be able to convert to and then restore the rifle back to it's original caliber again for battle use.. many rifles with worn bbls and other small unservicable features were permanetly withdrawn from service and converted to Morris Tube Rifles for training purposes. The M/T conversions were installed and the the rifles boldly stamped "M.T." meaning for Morris Tube use only in severalplaces in the metal and wood.

All pretty much obsolete by 1904 when 22rf versions were adopted.

 

[Cyrano]

Thanks, 2152HQ, these were Metropolitan Police (London) Martinis, probably in .303. They were scrounged up for the Sidney Street emergency, and had the Morris Tubes inserted. I don't know why they didn't remove them, perhaps they didn't know how. Couldn't have done much good against modern firearms. I'm trying to get something together for Aiuto Mag, the journal of the National Automatic Pistol Collectors' Association, on the famous and infamous users of auto pistols in the past.