Asking for a friend, possible new shooter. No really... Expansion era guidelines

[Robert Swartz]

If you like the "khaki and campaign-style stetson" look of the pre-1916 US soldiers shown above, you can also pursue a similar British Empire impression, from just to the North of the Medicine Line ... as can be seen in these period photos of members of the several regiments of Canadian Mounted Rifles raised for South African service during the Boer War ... which can range from the rather natty appearance of the chaps in the studio portraits to the considerably more trail-worn look of the chaps photographed in the field ... note that each of them has the .303 Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle with which the bulk of the Canadian contingents were armed ...



And here is a group of buglers of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry in South Africa ... note that they are also armed with nickel-plated .45 Colt Model 1878 Double Action revolvers, 1,001 of which had been acquired by Canada for service in the 1885 North West Rebellion ...

.......British web gear, bandoliers, snake belt buckle and puttees. Some great ideas for impressions.

[RattlesnakeJack]

.......British web gear, bandoliers, snake belt buckle and puttees. Some great ideas for impressions.

Although understandably looking rather "British", the uniforms and equipment used by the Canadian forces in South Africa had some significant differences from the kit of soldiers from the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the Empire ...

In addition to having its own pattern of khaki serge and drill uniforms (albeit quite similar to British patterns) Canada was the only part of the Empire to use the distinctive leather Pattern 1899 Oliver load bearing equipment ... most noticeable for the single large cartridge pouch worn, in most orders of dress, centered on the waistbelt in front.  It was not the most practical design, as its normal load of 80 rounds of rifle ammunition made it rather "front-heavy" ... and of course it was very cumbersome if one needed to fire from cover or in a prone position, and was entirely unsuitable for the mounted infantry which ultimately made up the bulk of the Canadian contribution, in the form of several regiments of "Canadian Mounted Rifles".  As a result, Canadian troops in the field, both regular infantry and mounted infantry, are usually seen with one or more bandoliers of rifle cartridges - either webbing or the Pattern 1888 leather bandolier I am wearing in this composite image, as well as being seen on some of the men in the photos posted above -

[Robert Swartz]

......some good stuff there. If my buddies friend decides to come play. You've given us some food for thought to guide him.

[RattlesnakeJack]

If you or your buddy (or anyone else for that matter) has any thoughts of some sort of Canadian late 19th/very early 20th century impression, you should know that What Price Glory actually offer reproductions of various components of the Pattern 1899 Canadian Oliver Equipment.

Here's another dashing impression which would incorporate the Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle and Oliver equipment: the Yukon Field Force, a provisional unit of the Canadian Permanent Militia (consisting mainly of infantry, with a few cavalry and artillery added in) which served in the Yukon Territory 1898 to 1900, through the height of the Klondike Gold Rush.

A friend (sadly, now deceased) had a Cowboy Action Shooting persona of an Officer of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantr, serving with the Yukon Field Forse ... that is him on the right of the attached composite image ...

[Robert Swartz]

.....thanks, yes this would more benefit those with the appropriate UK weaponry. WPG has done a good job with giving us impression opportunities.

[smoke]

I have to echo what RsJ has stated. The WPG gear is good quality and a good copy.  It makes a Boer war impression a lot easier.  Also the WPG Canadian WW1 7 button tunic is pretty close to the Boer war Canadian wool tunic.

One of the harder parts of doing a Brit/Canadian/Empire impression is the rifle.  Non Charger loading Lees are tough to come by and not cheap when found.  A work around on that is building your own Lee Speed or Lee officers carbine. 

https://www.rifleman.org.uk/Lee-Speed.html

There are plenty of bubba'ed SMLE's floating around to pick up.  It would not be hard to make a passible clone since there were so many patterns.  Not only did BSA make them but other British gun makers made custom rifles for officers.