My newest toy and some 19th Century Gun Porn...

[WOLF257]

My Snider/Enfield showed up today and it looks like it's gonna be a shooter.
The rifle is in excellent condition overall with shiney, slick bore and strong rifling from the muzzle to the breech.
Here are a few shots of it and my other old wrecks.

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I'll be glad when I can take it to the range.

Jim

[WARD O]

Jim, thanks for the pictures - always fun to look.

Why not take a moment and tell us what they are....

ward

[WOLF257]

They are all Nepalese built.
The top one is a P-1853 Enfield that I basically left the way they sent it to me, it is a more or less "untouched" rifle.
Despite the rough looking condition the gunsmith has given it a clean bill of health and I've carried it to the range a number of times.

The second one down is also a P-1853 but it's one that I built using a broken parts rifle and a reproduction stock.
I carry this one to the range fairly often, it shoots better than the top one and I'm getting close to coming up with a combination it likes.

The third one is the P-1864 Snider/Enfield conversion, it turned out to be in very good condition and looks to be a very servicable rifle.
I bought another Snider but it has some issues that'll make it at best a wall hanger.

The bottom one is a M-1878 Francotte Pattern Martini Henry, it's also in very good condition.
As soon as the brass shows up I'm going to make up some low power test loads and see if it's as servicable as it looks.

I bought all these from a place called Legendary Arms which is just outside of Atlanta.
Actually, I got the Snider from an individual but it came from the same place.
I wanted a musket ever since getting a couple of reproduction Civil War era cap and ball pistols but I knew a real Enfield or Springfield would be far outside my means.
I also found out that the reproductions are seriously pricey as well but a friend suggested looking into the Nepalese weapons and the prices were just too good to pass up.
I bought all my rifles for much less than the price of a real British Enfield and only a few hundred more than one of the Italian reproductions.

Jim