[BrianEnfieldMartini]

I just picked up this Carbine here in Afghanistan. Anyone know anything about them? I've done some research and have learned some cool things. This rifle is a legit British made rifle manufactured at the Braendlin Armoury. That factory seemed to specialize in making weapons for the volunteer forces of the British Empire. I'll post pictures of the bore once I get it cleaned. I am looking for the leather rear sight cover and the two wood screws that held it on. Other than that, this is a complete rifle, all serial numbers and inspector stamps are matching.

 

[Big Mak]

First off, thank you for serving!
That is a nice find! Someone will be along shortly to assist you in your quest for information.

 

[Shrek73]

Not to be a negative nancy, but the stampings look very suspect to me. The Afghans are notoriously good at replicating the stampings but the font does not seem to match with known examples. The cocking indicator also does not look like it should.

 

[Shrek73]

I think they added the stamps in Afghanistan. If you look at the pictures of the stampings the known British stampings have sharp crisp points on the end of the letters. The crown underneath the year is also crisp. If you look at the stampings on yours, they are similar, but do not match.

The cocking lever does not look original to me, it should have been a solid piece like the sketch I found. You can see the edge of a pin being exposed from grinding it down.

 

[BrianEnfieldMartini]

Does the cocking indicator stay the same on the carbines as the earlier mark 1 and mark 2 rifles?

 

[Shrek73]

For an example of the stampings, here is the barrel off my Enfield Patter 1861. It has a Birmingham stamp and 25 as the proof mark. That is all the original stamping would have been. I am not sure where they even found a civilian Enfield barrel in Afghanistan, but they stamped the heck out of it with other stamps...

 

[Shrek73]

Does the cocking indicator stay the same on the carbines as the earlier mark 1 and mark 2 rifles?

That I couldn't tell you. I read somewhere they made it smaller for the carbines because it would catch on the saddle bags or something like that.

 

[BrianEnfieldMartini]

That I couldn't tell you. I read somewhere they made it smaller for the carbines because it would catch on the saddle bags or something like that.

Yeah one pattern had the large cocking indicator and the others had the small. there doesnt seem to be much definitive information out there on these.

 

[Shrek73]

Here is a link for experts on the Martini Henry. They have a known fake along with two legitimate rifles, and point out things to look for.

http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/8046#.WW-7mqoUmUk

They point out the ICI is a common mistake. It should be I.C.1.