The men in control of the 19th century's armies were, at best, a conservative bunch. Military thinking during that period always found innovation of any sort difficult and nowhere was this predilection so marked as in the area of repeating rifles. The British Army did not introduce a magazine rifle until 1888, when the Lee-Metford, with a magazine holding ten rounds, began its service life. Unfortunately the Metford's barrel was not suitable for the new smokeless ammunition then being introduced, and the rifle began to be replaced in 1895 by the Lee-Enfield, a weapon which will be familiar to many both in and out of Britain's armed forces. The Army Command was concerned about soldiers issued with a magazine rifle wasting ammunition however, so the Lee-Enfield was fitted with a magazine cut-off to allow the rifle to be loaded with a single cartridge between shots, thus conserving the contents of the magazine.
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