Martini Enfield pics

[Trebor]

Here's a few pics of the Martini Enfield I just got. This started life as a Martini Henry Mk III and was rebarreled in .303 Enfield in 1896. That's when it redesignated as a Martini Enfield instead of a Martini Henry.

Notice the damage to the wood in front of the trigger guard where the metal tang is protruding from the wood. That happened after about 5 rounds fired. Guess 125 year old wood does get a bit dry and brittle.

You can see the rear sight in the upper left corner of this picture, to give you an idea where the damage is.

That's the triggerguard in the background of that picture.

 

[thatguy]

I read that these were turning up on the market. May I ask where you got yours and what the price was on it? Are they treating them as non-guns (antiques) as they predate 1898?

Bummer about the stock. Maybe a wire-wrap repair ala the Indian Enfields?

Many people don't know the Henry part of the name refers to the barrel design so if the barrel is changed it really isn't a Martini-HENRY any longer.

 

[Trebor]

Mine came out of an estate in NY state. It was brought in on consignment to a shop there (RM Vivas and Sons). The shop owner posted some pics on his LJ account and I asked about the rifle, and then bought it. I got a deal at $295 shipped.

Under Fed law it's an antique. No FFL required. Under NY state law, the shop could only ship to another FFL dealer, so I had it shipped to my transfer dealer.

I found a smith who will fix the wood. He's going to splice in a new piece. I think that's a better solution than a glass or epoxy fix. You see some old filler from a previous fix in the pics.

Most of the Martinis on the market right now are being sold by IMA (International Military Arms) and Atlanta Cutlery. They came from a huge armory in Nepal. Go to the Martini Henry forum at www.gunboards.com for more info. IMA is a sponsor at Gunboards, so if you click on the sponsor links or on their banner ad, you can go right to their page where they list the rifles.

 

[starfuryzeta]

I just got the latest flyer from Southern Ohio Gun, and they are on the front page in full and carbine lengths, .303 caliber, listed as C&R.

Temptation, temptation...

 

[Skofnung]

I want one of those sooooo bad. That, and a .455 Webley witha birds head grip.

So little money right now...

 

[Trebor]

I just got the latest flyer from Southern Ohio Gun, and they are on the front page in full and carbine lengths, .303 caliber, listed as C&R.

Temptation, temptation...

DO NOT buy the Matini's at SOG. The advertisement is wrong. They are NOT British made Martini Henrys. They are most likely "Kyber Pass" specials made by hand in Pakistan or Afghanistan. There is not good way to tell if a Kyber Pass M-H copy is safe to fire. They were handmade and the quality of the metal and the workmanship can be questionable.

A very easy way to tell if a particular example is a Kyber Pass copy is to look at the markings. A real M-H will have a mark of "VR" with a date underneath it, like this:

VR
1880

A fake Kyber Pass copy will have the markings, but they are often wrong. The "VR" stands for "Victoria Regent" and the date is the year the rifle was made. Victoria died in 1898 (I think?) and there wouldn't be any rifles marked "VR" after the date of her death. Also, you'll see Kyber Pass rifles that have markings indicating they were made AFTER the British stopped making real M-H rifles. The Brits were NOT making new M-H's in 1910, for instance.

Now, some fakes will have correct markings, but if the rifle is dated after about 1890 or so, it's a fake. (I'd have to check the date of last manufacture of M-H's. I think it's 1889 or 1890)

 

[starfuryzeta]

Ah, found a good page for all of that info. Thanks for the heads up!

http://www.martinihenry.com/faq.htm

 

[0007]

Just got back from a show in Pikesville, MD. Saw a bunch of .303 Martinis theere. Date markings ran from 1899 to 1925. Some kind of number on the left side of the receiver. Most were very clean with brass inserts on the right side of the buttstock. Not sure if they were "real" or Kyber Pass make-overs.

 

[Gordon]

I'll get out my BSA 1903 .303 carbine (was made that way!) and oh and ah you guys with one I got 30 years ago in 95%.! These things looks like relics to me. I DID sightly crack the stock at tang(really knocked off a smallchip) shooting some old Knoch ammo 20 yars ago. I haven't shot it since was waiting for value to go up.

 

[Trebor]

Just got back from a show in Pikesville, MD. Saw a bunch of .303 Martinis theere. Date markings ran from 1899 to 1925. Some kind of number on the left side of the receiver. Most were very clean with brass inserts on the right side of the buttstock. Not sure if they were "real" or Kyber Pass make-overs.

Any with a date past about 1899 were Khyber Pass specials.