Original British Martini-Metford .303 A.C.III Artillery Carbine by Enfield dated 1881 Converted in 1894 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The Martini-Metford was effectively a Martini-Henry Mk III rebarrelled to .303 and with a new extractor installed. These conversions started in 1889, and used Metford rifled barrels, which were more than suitable for the first .303 cartridges, which used black powder as a propellant. However, the Metford rifling wore out very quickly when fired with cordite/nitrocellulose cartridges (introduced in 1895) and so in 1895 the Enfield rifled barrel was introduced, which was much more satisfactory and suitable for use with “modern” (smokeless) ammunition.

Only produced for a limited time, these were essentially only service from 1889 to 1895, and were quickly supplanted by the Martini-Enfield for colonial forces. They are quite hard to find, and this is one of the only examples we have ever had.

The original manufacturer information, would be stamped onto the right side of the action, while the left side would have information regarding the conversion. This example is marked on the right action with original maker information:

(Crown)V.R.ENFIELD1881.(Lock Viewer Mark)III.

1

The left side is marked with the conversion information:

(Crown)
V.R.
ENFIELD
1894
(Lock Viewer Mark)
M.M. ‘303.
A.C. III

This started life in England as a .577/.450 Martini MARK III in 1881, made by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, just in time for the Egyptian campaign and the Battle of Tel-el-Kabir in 1884. In 1894, again at RSAF Enfield in England, it was reconfigured into a Carbine and was converted to .303 caliber as a Martini-Metford A.C. III Artillery Carbine.

It bears a brass marking disc on the right hand side of the butt stamped with date 6 / 1895 over 5 RGA standing for the 5TH ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY. The action and barrel are now all painted black as was common, and the carbine shows NO EVIDENCE of ever leaving England’s shores. A Scarce Carbine to find today.

When company director Christian Cranmer was a boy in the 1950’s, England appeared to be awash with these Martini Carbines, but at that time Napoleonic Flintlocks were plentiful too. How things have changed!

This example cycles correctly and dry fires, and does have clear rifling in the barrel. However there is also some oxidation and pitting in areas, so it was used and not cleaned in a timely fashion at some point during its life.

A wonderful piece of British and Firearms history! An antique, already over 135 years old and ready to research and display!

The Martini action, adopted by the British in 1871 was one of the strongest ever developed and saw military service in England and the Empire, in one form or another for almost seventy years. The most famous action of course being the defense of Rorke’s Drift in Natal, South Africa in the 1879 Zulu War. They saw extensive use all over the British Empire.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1881 – converted 1894
Caliber:  .303 British
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 21 Inches
Overall Length: 37 Inches
Action type: Falling-Block
Feed System: Single Shot