British 19th Century Rifles

[Peter_Suciu]

Anyone here collect the various British Rifles of the 19th Century? Any good information on the subject?

[Gary Jucha]

.577 Martini Henry

I've seen quite a few of the .577 Martini Henry rifles about over here in England.

They have become VERY popular for two reasons ..
1) The "Rifle" from the film Zulu.
2) They are classed as "obsolete ammunition" in England, and therefore do not require official de-activation, ... which makes them a far more desirable item because you can own a rifle that has not been tampered with in any shape or form since manufacture.

..I gather that in the last few yeears .. since the last Gun Law in the UK, the price of a good example is fetching around £1250.00 GBP !!!!!!!!

There is a great website which covers the Martini Henry at :

http://www.martinihenry.com/

..... It was infact the first rifle I fired when I was 8 years old ... although it was a .22 "cadet" version ....

Gary J.

[ROBB]

Peter a good book is

British Military longarms 1715-1865 by D W Bailey
another is
Antique Guns in Colour 1250-1865 by R Wilkinson-Latham

Tap in gun on ebay and see what turns up .Rob.

[Ciaran Byrne]

A fair few of these were used by the Mujahdin during the Soviet - Afghan war in the 1980s. They were all original items, captured from the British and kept within families and still in fully working order. I have several pictures of them in use during the war.