Sir Henry St John Halford, 3rd Baronet (9 August 1828 – 4 January 1897) was an English landowner and expert rifleman.
[1] He was born the son of Sir Henry Halford, 2nd Baronet, MP for Leicestershire South, whom he succeeded in 1868.
In its obituary, The Times of London dubbed Halford “the father of rifle-shooting”,[2] noting: Sir Henry, as he was always called, was perhaps never absolutely the best shot of his generation; a title which could have been claimed, for all-round shooting, by the famous Ross, by Mr. Humphry, and by Captain Gibbs in succession.
But, not excepting Mr. Baker and Mr. Wyatt, both of whom have breaks in their shooting history, no man could claim so long and steadily successful a career as Sir Henry Halford.He was an excellent shot and won several tournaments.
[1] He was also a member of the government Small Arms Committee which recommended the adoption in the Army of the Lee-Metford rifle.