1869 3 band Snider mark 3 rifle

[tacfoley]

As you note, sad indeed to see. but not beyond recovery. It is a MkIII - an all-steel rifle that was MADE as a Snider, and not converted. Spare firing pins are available from Peter Dyson - you might need one after you filmed yourself dry-firing it, something that the soldier of the day would have done only once, and earned a week's stoppages. Also the extractor spring from Dyson, as well as proper cleaning rods. Don't be too downhearted about the lack the lack of a a bayonet lug - I have two of them - a short rifle as well as a three-band, like yours - and only the short rifle has a bayonet lug. All the markings are good, and the use of an early lock is of interest, but not much.

Take a look at Rob's series about the snider on britishmuzzleloaders on Youtube. He's a hoot, as well and nice guy, and hugely knowledgeable about the Snider as well as a lot of others. Do you intend to shoot it? If so, please PM me for details, unless, of course, you are already fully up to speed. You can see me shooting mine on Youtube - tac's guns Snider.

BTW, the Snider three-band rifle was NOT made for the civilian market, although many in India were converted for officers to use on shikar - having a sporting gun that used the same cartridge as the issue was a good idea, doncha know?

[Huttles94]

Thanks for the info, Ah yes I did film myself doing something I should of not. Wont happen again

I dont plan on firing it anytime soon as I dont have an FAC. Would love to do so one day though.

I have stripped it down and found that it must have had contact with water at some point. A lot of the brass has a greenish material on it. The trigger mechanism is covered in the stuff so I dont think its had an easy life. Now I am just trying to get the breech block removed so that I can take that apart and clean it. Once that is done I shall clean the barrel and see what I am left with.

[loiner1965]

does the latch work ? as they tend to stick and can be a pain to free up.
i have 3 x snider mk 3 and they are easy to work on.
when you get the breech off stick your finger in the chamber and check for rust as you tend to find it at the 12 oclock position......hard to remove lol...but possible.
it needs doing as you might not be able to chamber the brass.....and if you dont fully remove rust the first time you fire a strong load to fireform the brass it will stick in the chamber and you have to whack the breech to open...dont ask how i know.

[Huttles94]

does the latch work ? as they tend to stick and can be a pain to free up.
i have 3 x snider mk 3 and they are easy to work on.
when you get the breech off stick your finger in the chamber and check for rust as you tend to find it at the 12 oclock position......hard to remove lol...but possible.
it needs doing as you might not be able to chamber the brass.....and if you dont fully remove rust the first time you fire a strong load to fireform the brass it will stick in the chamber and you have to whack the breech to open...dont ask how i know.

I have got it all in pieces. The latch on the breech does work, though the extractor is stuck.

As for rust.....well there is no way around it. The entire bore is covered in rust I cant get a photo but in the ones I do have you can see the breech has a lot of rust in it. I tried a snap cap and yes, it will not go in all the way. I have some cleaning equipment coming.

I have no idea how the bore will be once cleaned. Though, the breech trench which was equally rusty has cleaned up good so fingers crossed. Though I suspect the rifling will not have survived.

[loiner1965]

bung the muzzle up with a tight fitting bung ....stand upright in a bucket and fill from chamber with caustic soda mixed with warm water.....white vinegar is good but will take bluing off.....after a few days empty barrel and use a loose fitting brass cleaning bore brush with some strands off those pound shop stainless steel pan scubbers wrapped around and give it a good brushing.....then repeat with caustic soda etc.....

[Huttles94]

bung the muzzle up with a tight fitting bung ....stand upright in a bucket and fill from chamber with caustic soda mixed with warm water.....white vinegar is good but will take bluing off.....after a few days empty barrel and use a loose fitting brass cleaning bore brush with some strands off those pound shop stainless steel pan scubbers wrapped around and give it a good brushing.....then repeat with caustic soda etc.....

Aye thats sounds like a good idea. Ill do that then. I have the breech block and other bits soaking to help free them up.

Now I just have to look at getting the stock repaired. The break is rather simple and I might have a go myself.

Cheers

[Huttles94]

Someone has been asking about their snider on imgur. Here are the pictures: https://imgur.com/gallery/1jn3N

He says that it was brought back from Afghanistan. Looks real to me (or a very well made fake, I am no expert) but has been heavily polished and engraved which I think is typical of afgan guns. Was probably a captured British rifle.



Oh also, anyone know what the crown over x inspection marking is? I understand that a crown over E is the inspection marking at the Enfield factory but what does X mean?