Martini-Henry Rifle 577/450

[ScrapMetalSlug]

I have been looking at these Nepalese Gahendra Martini-Henry Rifles at the link below;
http://www.ima-usa.com/nepalese-gahendra-martini-henry-rifle-577-450-untouched.html

It looks like an interesting gun, and something that would be fun to mess around with. Does anyone has any experience with these? The listing says they have been in storage for over a hundred years literally untouched. Is this something that I could reasonably clean up and get in working order, or is it just a collector to hang on the wall? I am not afraid of a project gun, but I don't want to ruin something with collector value. Any opinions or ideas?

 

[Gladius]

IMA posts this in the description:
"If you want to shoot it, DON’T! If you still want to shoot it, take it to a licensed GUNSMITH first. These are 100+ year-old hand made guns, be very careful, IMA sells these for display purposes only, they are not intended to be fired."
(Direct quote)

Good advice; My Snider and Martini both came with similar warnings. I do think that if a qualified gunsmith gives you the go-ahead, then, and only then, would it be okay to fire -- even so, take it easy. Light loads and such.

 

[Gordon]

These are NOT real British made and proofed Martinis!

 

[GCBurner]

There's a board dedicated to the Gehendras and Francottes on the British Militaria Forum that has all kinds of info on them, including loads from people that shoot them.
http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/forums/29/Westley-Richards-Improved-Martinis-and-Gahendras

I got an 'untouched' one from IMA, and it cleaned up nicely, but other folks have had problems, particularly if theirs came with broken parts. Unlike the British-made Martini-Henrys, these weren't turned out in a factory with mass production methods, using crucible steel, but hand forged in job shops in Nepal, with forged damascus twist barrels of whatever grade of steel was available. It's a clever design, and they were made to be pretty sturdy, but the bore diameter varies considerably from rifle to rifle, as hand crafted guns tend to do, and the Nepalese had a problem with bulged barrels on some of them when fired with the factory loaded British .577-450 ammo. Those that shoot them now are advised to slug the barrel, and use cast lead bullets of the proper diameter.The lack of standardized, interchangeable parts led the Nepalese to withdraw them from service as soon as British M-Hs were made available in sufficient quantities.

 

[ScrapMetalSlug]

So as I understand it, none of the British made parts will be interchangeable with the Gehendra rifles due to everyone of them being individually hand made.
Would one of these rifles be suitable for a restoration project, or is there a large amount of collector value I would be destroying if I restored one? Is re- barreling one of these possible if I find it to be necessary?

If i order one of these rifles I intend to shoot it if I can ensure it is serviceable. I know factory ammo is expensive and hard to get, but I would be reloading and casting bullets from wheel weights. Right now I am mainly just looking for a fun winter project.

 

[Pete D.]

Gehendra

I have not handled a Gehendra. They do not have a great reputation. I do have a British Longlever and a Martini Cadet that I assembled from parts.
Restoring a Gehendra might, in fact, be an interesting project. One of the many neat things about the Martini design is that there are not many parts. You could probably make any part that you needed to make with a file and some patience (that's about how they were made to begin with. The barrel.....well you'd need to look around or have one made. That is not as difficult as it may seem; Martini actions are routinely rebarreled to shoot modern cartridges.
Pete

 

[Ian]

Well, I actually just order one of the Gahendras to clean up and hopefully shoot. A friend of mine has a nice one he got from IMA, and they're neat guns. I'll be posting my work and progress on Forgotten Weapons, FWIW. You can see what they send me and how it works out before making a decision for yourself.

 

[ScrapMetalSlug]

Thanks Ian, I will be sure to follow how yours goes.
After doing some research on other sites and seeing what is possible, rebarreling to 45/70 sounds pretty good, for a frequent shooter. These definitely sound interesting, I may be ordering one shortly

 

[ball3006]

I, personally, would shy away from them. However, I would love to have a British rifle for my small collection. The movie ZULU, is one of my favorites......chris3

 

[GCBurner]

Do NOT shoot factory .577-450 ammo by Kynoch or Buffalo Arms in a Gehendra, it's made for the standardized British Martini-Henrys. The Gehendras tend to run a few thousandths of an inch smaller in diameter, which may not sound like much, but can be significan when firing 80 grains of blackpowder or Pyrodex. I measured the bore on mine, and it looks like cast lead bullets intended for the .45-70 will work, but I haven't loaded any up yet. Here's what the process of cleaning and restoration took:
http://olderthendirt.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=reloading&action=display&thread=2562

 

[Ian]

Yep, if I shoot mine I'll slug the bore first to confirm the size and then use handloads with .452 bullets (or whatever the slug shows to be appropriate).

 

[Pete D.]

slug

About slugging the bore.
If the Gehendra uses the Henry rifling, then normal measuring with a micrometer or caliper won't work. You will have to use a ring gauge or the old millwright's trick of spinning the slug between the jaws of the tool as you close them.
Pete

 

[Dr.Mall Ninja]

I'll be intrested to see how it goes Ian.