Extreme Curio & Relic

Holy Allah-blaster!

That's a heck of a thing. Any numbers on it anywhere? Black powder cartridge I expect? Same as a Martini?

One shot, one kill.

That's what I think of when I hear "Khyber Pass pistol"; the workshops in Pakistan and Afghanistan are STILL making copies of Martinis.

Where in the world did you find that? At one or your pawnshops?

I want one.

I'd be willing to bet that your wife will love it and be happy that she'll be the first kid on the block to have one!I hope you get to track down it's origins.

That is a so-called "Khyber Pass" or "Darra" gun, made in that area of Pakistan or Afghanistan. The tradition of gun making in that region goes back centuries, and men consider owning guns an absolute necessity. FWIW, I doubt the gun is made from a rifle; more than likely it was made as a pistol and (for any legal questions) no one could possibly prove otherwise. It is an interesting novelty.

I have a pistol that is almost identical, except that the markings are circles ("o") instead of "V"; apparently they used whatever stamp they could get hold of. Mine also has no other marks. The caliber is .303 British; FWIW, I have fired it with a light load. It works.

Jim

FWIW, I doubt the gun is made from a rifle; more than likely it was made as a pistol and (for any legal questions) no one could possibly prove otherwise.

Click to expand...

Nor could they prove it was made after 1895, which I doubt anyway.

Odds are good that the federales don't even consider that to be a firearm.

Still, fascinating!

Muslim Martini

I wonder what they would think about the name it they knew it came with an olive floating in it?

While I have no doubt that a .303 would take care of a tiger, those M-H pistols were not made for that purpose. The "howdah" pistols, made specifically for protection against tigers were large caliber (usually .577), and had two or four barrels. They were English made, and of very high quality.

I have little doubt that the M-H pistols under discussion here were not intended for use on tigers. For one thing, they were made and used in the mountains, not in tiger country. They were probably made so the natives could carry a powerful pistol concealed when anyone carrying a rifle would have been arrested by the [British] authorities.

FWIW, a couple of pics of mine, below.

Jim

Wow, that is VERY cool.So unique, strange and ugly that its back to being beautiful again...
I would LOVE to find one of those somewhere, especially at that price.

It reminds me of something you'd see a prisoner cobble together in his spare time...

You should post the pic on the Martini Henry forum over at www.gunboards.com They'll probably get a kick out of it and might be able to provide some info. There's a sticky on "Kyber Pass" rifles there.

I paid $7.50 for mine, and it came by mail, pre-1968. Navy Arms had bought a lot of junque from somewhere and were selling the stuff dirt cheap. FYI, I will show a couple of pics of a Webley Mk IV copy that came from the same place. I think it was $9.00.

The second picture shows the markings. The "PIKINGHAM & LOND" mark is actually pretty well done, but I guarantee neither it nor the Webley trademark is authentic.

Jim

So, when do we hear the range report?

I have one too

I have pretty much an exact same handgun. There are some very small differences, but it's basically the same. Mine is stamped with 8's. Here's what I know about it: It was purchased in Vancouver, BC in 1970 from Lever Arms Service. Lever stated that it is a .303 calibre, one shot with a 140 mm barrel. I know this because it's typed out on an RCMP Restricted Weapon Registration Certificate. It is classified as a Martini-Enfield, but a few years ago I took it to the RCMP & they sent photos back to a firearm technician who works for the Canadian Firearm Registry. He stated: "The firearm subject is of the Martini-Henry family, the pronounced shoulder at the back of the receiver/frame denote a Martini-Henry IV model originally chambered for 577/450 Martini-Henry caliber. If your handgun is chambered for such caliber it qualifies under the Antique regulation therefore registration is not required in Canada."

I like that...very cool! If you ever need a "pistol-sitter" let me know.

Doc2005