.577 Snider Enfield

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gyates93

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Looking for a little information,

A friend's grandfather has an old rifle sitting in his basement, what I believe to be a Snider Enfield long rifle. I don't think it's a military issue rifle, because there don't seem to be any military markings on it, just "Towers" and a year. (1885, I believe.)

I gather that these rifles are antiques, not requiring registration?

Any other interesting information regarding this rifle?
 
You are correct. Antique and not requireing registration or PAL/POL. Do a google search on them. There is info out there. It is most likely military issue but the markings in the wood have been sanded off. Usually there is a circular mark 'roundel' on the right side of the butt showing maker.
1885 is kind of 'new' for a Snider. Does it have a hammer you pull back on the right side or a lever underthe grip that goes down and lowers the breach?
 
theDuck said:
You are correct. Antique and not requireing registration or PAL/POL. Do a google search on them. There is info out there. It is most likely military issue but the markings in the wood have been sanded off. Usually there is a circular mark 'roundel' on the right side of the butt showing maker.
1885 is kind of 'new' for a Snider. Does it have a hammer you pull back on the right side or a lever underthe grip that goes down and lowers the breach?
Click to expand...

It is not a Martini-Henry. I first thought it to be a muzzloader, before closely examining the flip-up breech. The hammer is most certainly there.

Would the year '1865' make more sense? Im going by memory, I know the first two digits were 18, and the last a 5. I also noticed that the cleaning rod is missing, and the rifle is very dirty, but it appears to have very little to no rust on it whatsoever. One of the first things I noticed about this rifle was the bore, it's pretty immense, especially if you look at it next to a .177 airgun barrel.
 
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1865 makes much more sense though Snider MkIII's were made into the 1880's in small numbers. I was just checking to see if it was a Martini but it is obviously not. Does the swinging bloke have a latch onthe left side taht you push in before opening it? If so it's a Mk III and will have 'Steel" marked on the left side of the barrel near the reciever.
 
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theDuck said:
1865 makes much more sense though Snider MkIII's were made into the 1880's in small numbers. I was just checking to see if it was a Martini but it is obviously not. Does the swinging bloke have a latch onthe left side taht you push in before opening it? If so it's a Mk III and will have 'Steel" marked on the left side of the barrel near the reciever.
Click to expand...

You don't have to push in on anything to open the block. If you did, I probably would have never figured out how to open it. :redface:

All I can remember about markings is "Towers" with the year - "18xx" directly below it, on the right side of the rifle, underneath the hinge for the block. I can't even remember if the rifle has three bands or two.. If you'd like, I can try to get some pictures to help with the identification.
 
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Is the stock cut off? If the furniture is brass then it is a three band or long rifle and if used in military service should have numbers stamped on the tang of the butt plate or on the left side of the butt stock and a large DC if it was in Canadian use. Roundell will tell you who made it...right side butt. Marked Tower on the lock plate???? Usually if the rammer is missing then it has seen some civilian use and may be cut down. Pics would be nice.
 
I don't think the stock has been cut down.. The rifle is LONG, I accidentally tapped it off the ceiling when I tried to get it out of the corner. I'll try to get down there soon for pictures of the rifle.
 
Well, I had a look at the rifle again last night.

It is a 3-band Snider Enfield rifle for sure, and all that is written on the side plate of the rifle is

TOWERS
1870

I couldn't find any other markings anywhere on the rifle. Although, I don't really know where to look. The rifle is clean and the parts move easily. Looks like there is very little (if any) rust on the rifle at all. There doesn't appear to be any markings on the buttstock. There is a slot for a rod, but there isn't one on the rifle.

Sadly, I had no camera with me at the time to take some pics. I'll try.
 
Most likely the markings on the wood have been sanded off. Not all that uncommonly done. The metal in the area around the reciever or 'shoe' as the correct term on a Snider is, may have small stampings.
 
The natural finish on the metal was something called 'browning' vs the modern bluing. Don't automatically dispair that the metal is rusted and in need of aggressive cleaning. That patina has taken the musket's lifetime to form.

Clean it carefully, but never use any abrasives or strong rust cutters. The old timers didn't have them.
 
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