Help with Martini Carbine

W

Willy Tincup

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An aquaintance of mine has a nice old Martini Henry Calvary carbine [I guess] that has a side lever to operate the action.....apparently so it could be operated with 1 hand while on horse back. The barrel diam indicates .45 cal but the 577-450 is to large to chamber. It is marked No 1 Carbine. He has not done a wax casting yet but plans on doing that one of these days.
2 questions:
1-any ideas on what the calibre is?
2-what is its proper name for identification ......to research for more info on it.[or where can one find info]
Thanks for any info......wTc
 
Without cartridge dimensions, we would be guessing wildly. Also I have never heard of a side lever martini; photos are virtually a necessity for any sort of identification.

cheers mooncoon
 
With a side lever it sounds like it might be a Field's action carbine. There was a .450 No1 1 1/2" straight case ctg and a .450" No1 Carbine ctg 1 9/16" BN case. Pics would help greatly.
 
The lever on the side was a sort of safety. You could #### the piece without opening and closing the lever. So, you could have one in the chamber without having the piece cocked all the while. If it is a full sized Martini action then I would have expected it to be 577-450! The fellows at British Militaria Forum would be your best bet as many are very expert at the identification and history of the more obscure Martini actions. Sounds like a very nice piece and may well have been for civilian use rather than military. I llok forward to photos. Dave
Sounds like "Green" has the inside poop.....
 
Thanks guys. Its not mine and its not close by and don't know if the owner has a camera but will inquire.
Green: The Fields patent idea sounds interesting as this thing is marked on the barrel 'No 1 Carbine'. I'll do a google search and see what turns up or if you can point me in the right direction that would also be appreaciated.
I just saw this thing briefly --with no chance to really examine it. It is a nice ole piece and very interesting so just trying to add to the education factor.
Thanks for now.......wTc
 
Interesting rifle the swineburn , I was wondering if the action dropped out like the francotte pattern??

I sure would love to see some pictures
 
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