express rifle

American  

noun

1. a rifle designed for firing at game at short range.

---

express rifle British  

noun

1. a high-velocity hunting rifle for big game shooting

---

Etymology

Origin of express rifle

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

express rifle

His white hunter will take him where the game is, stand by with an express rifle in case he misses.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the same time I stepped from behind my boulder, drawing one of my revolvers that I might conserve the more precious ammunition of the express rifle.

From Pellucidar by Burroughs, Edgar Rice

The man carrying the blankets dropped them and seized a heavy express rifle that some Englishman had left in the country.

From Bears I Have Met—and Others by Kelly, Allen

"He's a real man-eater," whispered the agent, handing his employer a loaded express rifle.

From Where the Strange Trails Go Down Sulu, Borneo, Celebes, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Cambodia, Annam, Cochin-China by Powell, E. Alexander (Edward Alexander)

To the long-bow the cross-bow was the express rifle.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard