RARE 1872 Martini Henry MKI Trials Rifle

This is a very rare early production trials Enfield made Martini Henry MKI under lever rifle dating to September 1872. Rifles used during the development of the Martini Henry from January 1871 through to October 1872 were purely for trials. This rifle is dated on the barrel 9/72 = September 1872 and presumably was part of those trials after which it was accepted into military service. The rifle has matching serial numbers of A4500 to barrel and receiver that are from Enfield's first ever batch of rifles who were allocated serial numbers A1000 to A99999, which means that this rifle is number 3,500th ever made!!!! As with the vast majority of these early rifles it was subject to further upgrades whilst in military service and was upgraded to a MKII. In late 19th century this rifle was in service with colonial forces and bears the Nepalese arsenal makings dated 1894.

The Martini rifle came to great notoriety during the Zulu War and most famously used at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in 1879, when against seemingly overwhelming odds around 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors.

As weapons technology improved and with the introduction of the bolt action rifle, the Martini was phased out with existing stocks used to arm British colonial forces. The various markings on the stock of this Martini show it was issued many times during its service life.

The bore is still in good condition with good strong rifling throughout, and the action is crisp and smooth. It can be cocked, stripped and dry fired.

This lovely rifle is chambered in an obsolete calibre (.577/450) and can therefore be owned live without any form of license.