MkII Martini Henry
I know this is hardly a current model, but they are available, more so now that Worldwide Arms brought several container loads in from Nepal. The rifle itself is an obsolete calibre, so exempt from FAC unless you wish to fire it.
The one I bought is a MkII infantry rifle and when I got it I was amazed at the condition of it. It looked like it had gone in to storage after a very short service life and very little use.
The bluing is faded, but definately still present, no rust on any of the metal work and the bore was as close to pristine as you're likely to get on a rifle dated 1878.
The wood was dirty, but Worldwide arms had cleaned off the storage "gunk". When I cleaned it up further and rubbed in some linseed oil diluted with mineral spirits and gave it a quick buff it came up even better.
The ammo is purely a handloading proposition (black powder or substitute) and components and dies are not cheap. Lee do a LARGE set of dies in this calibre, but as supplied they have issues you may want to rectify.
I also managed to get a bullet mould which casts a bullet of the correct type and use these with a paper patch.
I FAC'ed mine and use it quite regularly with a Pyrodex load as I don't have the license for black powder. I can achieve sub 4" groups at 100 yards and have managed to place first in an HBSA comp at Bisley with this rifle.
Looking at the latest WWA catalogue, they no longer list the MkII, but they do have the MkIV available, and from what I've read on American forums these are generally in even better condition than the MkIIs. If you order one of these for shooting make sure you ask WWA to sort you one with a good bore. I did, and was very happy with what I got.
There is also a company in America selling these called IMA (International Military Antiques) who will export to UK. If you go this route you will be charged import duty when you pick it up and if you're not happy with the rifle you get you will still have to pick up the return shipping charges. IF this happens it quickly cancels out any saving you made by buying from overseas. The company does have a stellar reputation though for customer service.
I hope this revue has been interesting and useful for somebody.`
The South of England has 2 good things, the M1 and the A1. Both will take you to Yorkshire.
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Originally Posted by harry mac
I know this is hardly a current model, but they are available, more so now that Worldwide Arms brought several container loads in from Nepal. The rifle itself is an obsolete calibre, so exempt from FAC unless you wish to fire it.