Photo From:
Mark Freburg
- Album:
Rifles--Classic Military
Description: P1885 Martini-Henry "Long Lever" built at the Rawul-Pindi Arsenal in India for British Colonial Forces. the Long Lever model allowed increased leverage to aid extraction of spent cases when a rifle's chamber was fouled. three years after this model appeared, the first .303 pattern rifles began replacing the 577/.450 calibre rifles. There were .303 calibre Martinis, but the British also began issuing a .303 calibre Enfield bolt-action, and it's my understanding that the .303 Martinis were recalled and the 577/.450 calibre rifles. In the interim between the issuance of the Long Lever, the British designed a .40 calibre Martini, and at one point found themselves fielding rifles in three different calibres, which was a logistical no-no, so they dropped the .40 and continued with the Martinis in .45 for their native troops and began equipping British soldiers with Enfields, which starting around 1890 began to change at a rapid pace themselves.
The rifle pictured is one still available from Atlanta Cutlery Corp and International Military Antiques, which I believe are sister companies. Prices as of May 2013 were in the mid-sixes.
Uploaded:
5/10/2013
by Mark Freburg