He was born the son of
Sir Henry Halford, 2nd Baronet, MP for
Leicestershire South, whom he succeeded in 1868. He was educated at
Eton College and
Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1849. On his father's death he inherited
Wistow Hall in Leicestershire, where he thereafter lived. noting: {{Blockquote |text=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.|title="Death of Sir Henry Halford" He was an excellent shot and won several tournaments. In 1877 and 1882 he was captain of a team of eight who shot against an American team at
Creedmoor Rifle Range in New York. In 1867 he was engaged in testing rifles as part of the Committee's open trials for a new breech-loader. A Carter and Edwards bolt-action rifle suffered a premature ignition while closing the bolt, badly injuring (or amputating) his right thumb. This serious accident to someone so prominent did not advance the case for bolt-action rifles in Britain and was influential in the
Martini-Henry and its
falling block action being selected instead, putting the adoption of bolt-action and
repeating rifles in the UK years behind other countries. ==Family==