Original British Pattern-1864 Gurhka Snider Artillery Short Rifle with p-56 Saber Bayonet c.1870 Original Items

Original Item: One of a Kind. This in a manner of speaking is an old friend, as we just repurchased it from one of our collector customers who had snapped this up from us in 2003. Of the 55,000 guns we purchased from the Royal Nepalese Army, 50,000 that were pre 1898, there were fewer than 50 Snider Artillery Short Rifles which took a separate Sword bayonet and there were even fewer of the Sword Bayonets.

This example was felt to be the very best we had received and was sold to one of our long time customers and has remained in his collection ever since. He is now in his ninety’s and selling us most all of his collection.

The Artillery Short Rifle has all brass mounts, has 5 groove rifling, had the wrist of the stock checkered when new as part of the design and is in virtually untouched condition having only a few storage dings. The P-56 Saber bayonet, the best of the few we received, has been fully cleaned and shows both use and it’s age but is still very presentable.

The Gurkha Army was made up of principally Infantry Battalions and some Artillery Units. Cavalry were only used for the Royal Guard. An ally of Great Britain since 1816 Nepal became essential with their continued contributions of fighting men into the British Gurkha Regiments. Consequently they developed under British Supervision a remarkable armaments industry for their own needs, and this is a prime example of their work.

Doubt if we’ll see any more of this model as they sold out in the first couple of years. The best we had and ready to display!

Jacob Snider, an American from New York, developed this breech loading system for the P-1853 Enfield, the most prolific imported percussion rifle in use by both the North and South during the U.S. Civil War.

When the British Board of Ordnance appointed a Select Committee in 1864 the snider system was swiftly adopted with the first breechloaders being issued in 1865 to British forces. Improved in 1867 by the use of Colonel Boxer’s center fire brass bodied cartridge, the rifle was used very effectively in the Abyssinian Campaign of 1868. The system utilized a hinged breech block with an internal firing pin assembly that permitted the use of a self contained cartridge of lead bullet in cardboard, and, after 1867, brass casing. This highly efficient conversion system prolonged the active life of the P-1853 rifles up until 1871 when the Martini System was adopted. Snider rifles saw continued use throughout the Empire but were officially obsolete by the late 1880s.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: c.1870
Caliber: .577 Snider
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 26 1/2 Inches
Overall Length: 45 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Trapdoor Breech Single Shot

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