1876 Henry Martin Enfield Rifles
- Thread starter boothdoc
- Start date
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Kevp
Ultimate Member
- Apr 17, 2008
- 1,874
Boothdoc,
That is a Martini Henry long lever rifle. It was produced by Enfield. They became famous in the Zulu Wars. I have a Khyber Pass copy I brought back from Afghanistan- land of the not quite right as the N in Enfield is backwards. There was a big stash of those that came out of Nepal in the last couple of years. If you intend on trying to fire them, make sure you take them to a competent gunsmith and have them checked before you do. The ones from Nepal had a disclaimer recommending not to fire them. They are nice wall hangers with a cool history. Good catch.
That is a Martini Henry long lever rifle. It was produced by Enfield. They became famous in the Zulu Wars. I have a Khyber Pass copy I brought back from Afghanistan- land of the not quite right as the N in Enfield is backwards. There was a big stash of those that came out of Nepal in the last couple of years. If you intend on trying to fire them, make sure you take them to a competent gunsmith and have them checked before you do. The ones from Nepal had a disclaimer recommending not to fire them. They are nice wall hangers with a cool history. Good catch.
Once you price the ammo you might change your mind. $5 a round or so....
I have a Nepalese and they are good to fire, the disclaimer is a legal CYA.
The Khybers, as Kevp aptly put, are most definitely not. They are found as bring backs and also sold through SOG. If your friend got them there do not think of firing them!
I have a Nepalese and they are good to fire, the disclaimer is a legal CYA.
The Khybers, as Kevp aptly put, are most definitely not. They are found as bring backs and also sold through SOG. If your friend got them there do not think of firing them!
boule
Ultimate Member
If you really want to fire this rifle, you should pay some attention. Yhere might be impurities left in the steel from the manufacturing process that now serve as weaknesses. The most sensible thing would actually be to proof-fire it with something like 30% overpressure after having it inspected by a capable gunsmith. I am not sure what the intended pressure for it was but since it is designed for black powder it cannot be too high... so a good chance you might get it to fire again.
As far as brass goes, you can neck down the .577 Nitro Express which are a blast at $3 each and you might need a custom die made for this. Finally you need really your own cast lead bullets, with the potential amount of fouling probably paper-patched.
If you need load data I can try to make a couple of inquiries.
As far as brass goes, you can neck down the .577 Nitro Express which are a blast at $3 each and you might need a custom die made for this. Finally you need really your own cast lead bullets, with the potential amount of fouling probably paper-patched.
If you need load data I can try to make a couple of inquiries.
c&rdaze
Active Member
You might try to get in touch with Jim Keenan, a local Marylander, about these rifles. Jim is a member of this board but does not post here that much. He is often on 'jouster.com' (Culver's Shooting Pages- Gun Talk) [an interesting site in itself]. Jim has helped me out on several occassions. I'm not sure of his actual background but he has been very knowledgeable of historic firearms.
BTW, I've wanted one of these ever since I watched 'Zulu' for the first time when it was first released. Great find!
BTW, I've wanted one of these ever since I watched 'Zulu' for the first time when it was first released. Great find!
metalman3006
Gun Hoarder
So, I picked up two of these from a friend for under 200.00. Rather nice condition falling block units. Really cool they are 450-577 caliber? I will see if I can get them ready to fire this winter. Looks like they already mighty close but bette safe then sorry.
That's the 1887 Long Lever Model.
LastDon
Active Member
I have one a friend brought me back from Afghanistan that I have no use for. I did a lot of research on them, and I'd recommend against firing one of the Khyber Pass copies.
Are you getting rid of said rifle? If so, send me a pm if nobody else has claimed it.
Jim Keenan
Active Member
- Aug 16, 2008
- 259
I heard my name used, so I thought I would drop in. The very best site for info on the Martini-Henry rifles is (surprise!) www.martinihenry.com; you will find there probably more than you ever wanted to know.
Just for background, the British custom at the time was to name rifles, with the name of the action designer followed by the name of the rifling designer. So the M-H was designed by Martini, using rifling developed by Henry (Alexander, not the American B. Tyler). Similarly, they had the Martini-Metford, the Martini-Enfield (rifling of a design developed at RSAF, Enfield Lock) and of course the famous Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield. So the "Enfield" in "SMLE"* doesn't mean the rifle was made at Enfield, but that it used Enfield-developed rifling. Metford rifling was dropped in England but was used by the Japanese through 1945.
Jim
*There is confusion on the meaning of that term. It can be more easily understood with commas:
Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield.
Jim
Just for background, the British custom at the time was to name rifles, with the name of the action designer followed by the name of the rifling designer. So the M-H was designed by Martini, using rifling developed by Henry (Alexander, not the American B. Tyler). Similarly, they had the Martini-Metford, the Martini-Enfield (rifling of a design developed at RSAF, Enfield Lock) and of course the famous Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield. So the "Enfield" in "SMLE"* doesn't mean the rifle was made at Enfield, but that it used Enfield-developed rifling. Metford rifling was dropped in England but was used by the Japanese through 1945.
Jim
*There is confusion on the meaning of that term. It can be more easily understood with commas:
Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield.
Jim
