Martini Henry
Hi,
I am a new member and have an 1888 Martini Henry rifle,
What should I do or not do, for example should I leave it in its original state or have it re-blued? The stock has initials carved in it, does this decrease its value?
All I can tell you about it is it was made by London small arms, date stamp 1888, it has been upgraded to a class III with a strengthened ejector pin, well according to the odd little stamps on the metal parts.
Is this rifle worth anything or should I just have it scrapped by the local police?
I am a new member and have an 1888 Martini Henry rifle,
What should I do or not do, for example should I leave it in its original state or have it re-blued? The stock has initials carved in it, does this decrease its value?
All I can tell you about it is it was made by London small arms, date stamp 1888, it has been upgraded to a class III with a strengthened ejector pin, well according to the odd little stamps on the metal parts.
Is this rifle worth anything or should I just have it scrapped by the local police?
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what is the rate of twist on 577-450 martini henry barrels? 0 -
certainly deserves better than the scrap pile. in the condition you describe there isn't much collector value but it could make for a nice rebuild project. what cal. and bore conditon, a lot of these were rebuilt into .303 brit. cal. 0 -
These are GREAT actions and should be held onto if possible. A great many over the years have been converted to single shot target rounds (and rebarreled of course). At one time, the NRA actually offered NRA MArtini Henry rifles for certified target competition, so you know they must be worth . While I do not live under the auspices of the South African government, I would NEVER give a gun to the police for meltdown...PERIOD! I don't care if it was a broken Daisey Red Ryder, it just wouldn't happen.
To reblue the gun would seriously diminish it's collectors value, but then again, the initials in the stock won't exactly help either. Are those initials stamped or carved? If they are stamped, that might be old commonealth designations. Usually the guns sent to New Zealand have NZ stamped on the buttstock.
I guess it depends on what you really want to do. I would NOT alter it unless it is unsafe or unshootable, in which case I would have it rebuilt and enjoy a really neat old historic tack-driver!
"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
"When I was 14 I used to marvel at how ignorant my old man was...by the time I was 21 I was truelly amazed at how much the old bugger had learned in the intervening 7 years!" Samuel Clemens
"History is written by winners"(Patton)
"You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
"There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)0 -
Originally posted by MIKE WISKEY
certainly deserves better than the scrap pile. in the condition you describe there isn't much collector value but it could make for a nice rebuild project. what cal. and bore conditon, a lot of these were rebuilt into .303 brit. cal.
Sorry for the late reply I capture injured wild animals been a bit busy.
The initials in the wooden stock are crudely carved but some moron in
the distant past.
The calibre I THINK is a 404, it is all original as far as I know it
was bought out of Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) 30-40 years ago
Sorry here you are talking to a rather ignorant female
All I can tell you is it is one hellishly long rifle that has not been
altered in any way, as for the interior of the barrel I think it looks
pretty well ok. Right now I have handed the rifle over to a police unit
I can trust to get it certified and have legal ownership, they are
getting pretty sticky here about gun ownership.
This rifle is in firing condition not that one could find ammo here
for a start, and secondly that rifle weighs about as much as I do.0 -
Originally posted by 1KYDSTR
These are GREAT actions and should be held onto if possible. A great many over the years have been converted to single shot target rounds (and rebarreled of course). At one time, the NRA actually offered NRA MArtini Henry rifles for certified target competition, so you know they must be worth . While I do not live under the auspices of the South African government, I would NEVER give a gun to the police for meltdown...PERIOD! I don't care if it was a broken Daisey Red Ryder, it just wouldn't happen.
To reblue the gun would seriously diminish it's collectors value, but then again, the initials in the stock won't exactly help either. Are those initials stamped or carved? If they are stamped, that might be old commonealth designations. Usually the guns sent to New Zealand have NZ stamped on the buttstock.
I guess it depends on what you really want to do. I would NOT alter it unless it is unsafe or unshootable, in which case I would have it rebuilt and enjoy a really neat old historic tack-driver!
"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
"When I was 14 I used to marvel at how ignorant my old man was...by the time I was 21 I was truelly amazed at how much the old bugger had learned in the intervening 7 years!" Samuel Clemens
"History is written by winners"(Patton)
"You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
"There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
Thanks I have been lazy and replied in my other post, hope you dont mind.0
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