.577 Snider question

[Idz]

I purchased a couple of the Nepalese .577 Snider rifles from IMA. The first required I make a longer firing pin to get it functioning. The second was more interesting in that the chamber was way oversize and off center. When I tried to unscrew the barrel not even my 12 ton hydraulic press could hold it. I could see no joint where the action screwed onto the barrel. Is it possible the barrel and action were made as one piece? (The 1st rifle barrel unscrewed easily)

Not to be deterred I found I could unscrew the tang plug and reach through the action and bore out the chamber concentric with the bore. I made a piloted boring bar with piece of 5/8" steel round stock and a reground 1/8" HSS drill as a bit. I turned down 2 1/2" of the bar to 0.585" (interesting the .577 Snider has a .586 bore) to act as a pilot. Since the barrel wouldn't fit through my lathe chuck I mounted the boring bar in the chuck and clamped the barrel to the slide. Then taking slow, light cuts and clearing chips frequently I bored it out to 3/4" diameter. I made a sleeve from a piece of 3/4" diameter steel rod with the tapered chamber and then soldered it in place with a tin/silver solder. It works well except that my taper cut chamber is 1.950" long which is longer than my compound rest can travel without getting sloppy so the chamber isn't perfect. Next project will be a taper attachment for the lathe. If I remake the sleeve I can just heat up the action and pull the old one out.

So to repeat my question: were some of these rifles made with a one piece action and barrel?

[salpal48]

The Problem with them If that every Rifle Stands alone. I have 5 . 3 short rifles 2 long Rifles. Parts from 1 generally will not work in other 3 out of the 5 shoot well. The other 2 . 1 has a broken striker the other has some sort of Sleeve in The chamber . Maybe a broken Shell
I called IMA. That was There answer . . I tried taking the barrel off on the one with the sleeve. Impossible

[John Boy]

So to repeat my question: were some of these rifles made with a one piece action and barrel?

It is a perfect pattern Snider Enfield, well built, with only minor variations from the British version. It is very well built and certainly factory or arsenal made as both examples that I have seen are very well tooled and show no signs whatsoever of being a "one-off" kind of Afgan rifle. It is chambered for the .577 Snider cartridege, rifled simalarly to the British Enfield, and well marked in what I believe to be Nepalese.
http://www.militaryrifles.com/Nepal/NSnider.htm

[Idz]

Still doesn't explain this Snider. My first Snider rifle and all the Martini-Henry's I have have a definite joint where you can see where the barrel is screwed into the action. This one doesn't. The front part of the action is rounded over as opposed to the standard photos and my 1st rifle with a machined end. With my 12 ton press crushing oak blocks against the barrel the action can't be loosened even with heating or cooling. It seems as if they forged the whole barrel and action as one piece, maybe an experimental design? Maybe the action was swaged on? The rifling is still crisp in this barrel as if it wasn't used much, which would be expected with such a screwed up chamber.

[herbert buckland]

Very early experimental Sniders had the breech block cut into the original ML barrel.You may have a very uncommon Snider,if it is possible to post pictures it would make identifying easer

[fgd135]

I own a Nepalese Snider which had to have the off-center chamber recut and an insert added. The prior owner had a gunsmith do the work. Shoots well now. Has a barrel which is screwed into the Snider "shoe", per normal.

[Idz]

Either a buddy gunsmith or a rich client. It must have cost as much as the Snider to do that work. The only apparent difference I see on this rifle is the front of the action is rounded over instead of a machined edge like the screwed on actions. Mine even has a different sn on the action than the barrel as normal. But that may be just to keep the bolt with that action. Mine shoots well now except the scratch in my chamber insert catches the case so it doesn't drop out and has to be pulled. I made the chamber to fit some Bertram cases so its slightly larger than it needs to be for 24ga cases.

[EDG]

Can you post some photos of the barrel receiver joint?

I purchased a couple of the Nepalese .577 Snider rifles from IMA. The first required I make a longer firing pin to get it functioning. The second was more interesting in that the chamber was way oversize and off center. When I tried to unscrew the barrel not even my 12 ton hydraulic press could hold it. I could see no joint where the action screwed onto the barrel. Is it possible the barrel and action were made as one piece? (The 1st rifle barrel unscrewed easily)

Not to be deterred I found I could unscrew the tang plug and reach through the action and bore out the chamber concentric with the bore. I made a piloted boring bar with piece of 5/8" steel round stock and a reground 1/8" HSS drill as a bit. I turned down 2 1/2" of the bar to 0.585" (interesting the .577 Snider has a .586 bore) to act as a pilot. Since the barrel wouldn't fit through my lathe chuck I mounted the boring bar in the chuck and clamped the barrel to the slide. Then taking slow, light cuts and clearing chips frequently I bored it out to 3/4" diameter. I made a sleeve from a piece of 3/4" diameter steel rod with the tapered chamber and then soldered it in place with a tin/silver solder. It works well except that my taper cut chamber is 1.950" long which is longer than my compound rest can travel without getting sloppy so the chamber isn't perfect. Next project will be a taper attachment for the lathe. If I remake the sleeve I can just heat up the action and pull the old one out.

So to repeat my question: were some of these rifles made with a one piece action and barrel?

[heelerau]

Mate early sniders were a conversion of Pat 53 Enfields, originally they milled and inserted a breach block into the barrel, later they used the screw on breach assembly. You may have an original of English manufacture so you will have no luck unscrewing it, as it aint screwed !! cheers and good luck

[reivertom]

If it was made in Nepal or somewhere other than a British run arsenal, anything could show up in the manufacturing. The fact that it wasn't culled and fixed before it left the "factory" might suggest it wasn't made under British contract. There were a lot of native made knock offs that were put to use throughout the Middle and Far East. Just my $.02.