express rifle

American  

noun

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

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express rifle British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of express rifle

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

Both are armed with a double-barrelled express rifle, revolver of heavy calibre, and sheath knife.

From Haviland's Chum by Mitford, Bertram

Leonard fired into one of these herds with an express rifle, for they wanted meat, and a prodigious snorting and bellowing told him that his shot had taken effect.

From The People of the Mist by Haggard, Henry Rider

"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)