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Not the usual post here... .577/450 Martini Henry?

2K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Flopian 
#1 ·
For some reason, I've recently been bitten by a bug to find an "untouched" .577/450 "Martini-Henry" rifle to restore and shoot (if safe).
(I use the Martini-Henry name in quotations, because my budget really only allows for taking a chance on a Francotte or Gehendra (sp?); either of which is technically a different design.)

I can do the work myself. I can inspect it as necessary and make the safe/unsafe call myself. And, I can form and load my own ammunition. (No worries about stuffing "late era" British ball into an early, tight-bore Francotte.)
I guess I'm just here to see if there may be someone else here to drum up some discussion....

Anyone else mess with this cartridge?
Have any Martinis of your own?

Advice?
I have picked up that the Francottes are basically just a step above Khyber Pass copies, with Gehendras barely an improvement upon that (and a few steps backward in some ways) - making both designs fairly suspect - but that's all I can really afford. I can't drop $700+ on a British Mk IV, only to still have to take a chance at it being incomplete and/or unsafe to fire.

Random thoughts or opinions?
 
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