Educate me on Martini-Henrys and Martini-Enfields

[Deleted member 67409]

Earlier this week, I was up in the north country and found either a Martini-Henry or Martini-Enfield carbine. It handled pretty nice and I liked it. Price was around $1200, so a lot more than what I wanted to spend on a whim without having done any research.

Got a few specific questions. How is the recoil with the .577/450 versus the .303s? How "safe" are the conversions to .303? How can I tell the difference between a purpose-built .303 Martini-Henry from a conversion? Variations? Also open to general info on these.

 

[308rifleman]

Earlier this week, I was up in the north country and found either a Martini-Henry or Martini-Enfield carbine. It handled pretty nice and I liked it. Price was around $1200, so a lot more than what I wanted to spend on a whim without having done any research.

Got a few specific questions. How is the recoil with the .577/450 versus the .303s? How "safe" are the conversions to .303? How can I tell the difference between a purpose-built .303 Martini-Henry from a conversion? Variations? Also open to general info on these.

A gunsmith and I had that conversation about solid, reliable single-shot actions. He saw a few converted M-H rifles and said that if in good mechanical condition, they were as safe as any other.

 

[MisterHappy]

Well, I once read that they were used to slosh Fuzz-Wuzzy, but somewhat ineffectively.

Poetry Lovers' Page - Rudyard Kipling: "Fuzzy-Wuzzy"

They're a large, heavy gun. They were made in (2) LOP variations, IIRC, to accommodate soldiers of different stature. At a guess, they're probably in the same recoil range as a Trapdoor Springfield with the original .45-70-405 ammo.

 

[sieveboy]

Full power 577-450 is a cannon compared to .303. Even more so today as modern drawn brass 577-450 cases can be filled with about 125 grains of black powder. Most of us use some filler so it’s not as brutal.

you can buy a nice original Martini Henry from International Military Antiques it will be in 577-450.

Many Martinis were converted to .303, most likely you can tell from the receiver dates. If the receiver is, for example, 1886 with a V.R (Victoria Regina), .303 didn’t exist then so it must be rebarreled.

there is a site “British Militaria Forums” with more information than one could ever want