1888 British Henry Martini pistol

[Ditchtiger]

My son sent a Martini action single shot, .303, 5 1/2" barrel, 1888 Enfield stamped on the right side. Is this real or an antique Buba? I will get pictures posted shortly.

[mainmech48]

My guess would be the latter. FWIW, I'd also guess that it falls under the 1935 Firearms Act, even though the receiver is marked with a pre-1895 date. If you or your son don't have the tax stamp and federal license, what it really is is Big Time Trouble as it sits.

IIWY, I'd pull that 5 1/2" barrel off there ASAP and pitch it. Then I'd look around for a nice 18-20" replacement and build myself a nice legal carbine.

[Jim March]

What he said. Bigtime.

[Jim Keenan]

I don't recall if any pistols were made in England for that action, but there were certainly some made in the Khyber Pass (Darra) region, as I have one in .303. It is a pistol, not a cut down rifle, and was made from scratch. (Yes, I have fired it, with a light load. Nothing spectacular.)

Also, the SBR/SBS rules don't apply to antiques, so it depends on when the gun was made whether it falls under the NFA.

Jim

[mainmech48]

Must've been experiencing a "senior moment" when I didn't think of Peshawar, Darra et al in this context. I've only had the chance to examine a couple of actual specimens personally (SMLE No.1 Mk. III and .455 Webley copies) and did not fire either. FWIW, while I have more-than-a-little of The Elephant's Child in me, I'd have some serious reservations about shooting either, even with mild handloads.

While the build quality appeared to be remarkably good when one considers the way they were manufactured, I'm not savvy enough in the "who, where and whens" of the regional makers when it comes to metallurgy to gamble on it when parts of my Personal Favorite Body are involved. Chicken? You bet! Too much exposure to "National Geographic" in my impressionable youth, no doubt.

If it is indeed a Pakistani/Afghan item, I'd retract my advice to make a working carbine out of it, too. I'd trust an old Brit, or even Ishapore-made Martini .303 action, if it checked-out okay, but never a handmade knock-off of questionable provenance.

The NFA comment was a guess, as I said. Given the BATFE's "whimsical" nature when it comes to classification changes and level of selective zeal in their enforcement policies du jour, my reservations remain as to the relative wisdom of possessing even a curio/wallhanger of a configuration described anywhere in the NFA unless it was DEWATed and/or chambered for an extremely rare cartridge. Even then, I'd be very wary of "advertising" the fact to the world at large. The lower your profile, the less potential for drawing hostile fire, and all that.