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At War - Notes From the Front Lines
December 10, 2010, 1:24 pm

One Way to Retire an Old Rifle
By C.J. CHIVERS


A Martini-Henry rifle, collected by Marines in Marja, Afghanistan, had fallen into neglect.C.J. Chivers/The New York Times A Martini-Henry rifle, collected by Marines in Marja, Afghanistan, had fallen into neglect.

Earlier this year, as part of the tools of war series, At War published photographs of Taliban small arms from Helmand province, along with data on the types of firearms in insurgent use. The photographs included images of bolt-action rifles, including one, a Lee-Enfield rifle, that dated to 1915.



evidence locker - afghanistanC.J. Chivers The factory stampings on a Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle made by the British in 1915.

In spite of their advanced age, Lee-Enfield rifles, along with Soviet Mosin-Nagant bolt-action arms, have seen continued service in Afghanistan for two reasons: they offer greater range and accuracy than the assault rifles in more common circulation, and their ammunition remains available on Afghan black markets.

Many readers wrote with questions about that old Lee-Enfield. Some asked what else we might be seeing. Today we return to the collection with the publication of an even older rifle seized from the Taliban.

The rifle in question, also collected by Marines in Marja, is a standard-issue Martini-Henry rifle. The Martini-Henry predates the Lee-Enfield by a more than generation. It was first fielded in the 1870s and was carried by British colonial troops to far-flung corners of the world. Like the Lee-Enfield line, and like well-made infantry rifles generally, the Martini-Henry rifles proved sturdy and have lasted, when well-cared for, for more than a century.
The Martini-Henry rifle fires an old cartridge no longer readily available in Afghanistan.C.J. Chivers/The New York Times The Martini-Henry rifle fires an old cartridge not readily available on Afghan black markets.

Now take a good look at this particular Martini-Henry rifle, as there is a clear difference between it and the Lee-Enfield that was collected in roughly the same area. The difference is in its condition. The Lee-Enfield, and many others picked up by the Marines, were reasonably maintained and in working order. The Martini-Henry was not.


C.J. Chivers/The New York Times The Martini-Henry rifle fires an old cartridge not readily available on Afghan black markets.

Why the difference? While the former owner of the Martini-Henry was not available for an interview, one plausible explanation would point not to the rifle, but to the ammunition it fires. The Marines have often collected from caches the old .303 ammunition for Lee-Enfield rifles, which was in extensive manufacture through World War Two and beyond. The Martini-Henry rifle shown here fires an older cartridge, the .450/577. And in an email, Richard Jones, the British small arms expert and editor of Jane’s Infantry Arms, noted that this ammunition has been “out of serious production for nigh on 100 years.”

A rifle without ammunition is no better than a club. And without ready sources of supply, a weapon like this has become, for practical purposes, obsolete.

In a land where even Kalashnikovs with rusty exteriors are often oiled inside and kept in working order, a Martine-Henry, it seems, is a tool fit for a bygone time, and allowed to fall into neglect. This rifle was a mess inside and out. British .303 ammunition, while not apparently abundant, still does turn up in the field. The supplies are much smaller than in decades past, but they are not yet exhausted.

These rifles, both of them antiques, offer a lesson. Rifles and ammunition are a system, and when nations fielded them they manufactured and distributed them together. Decades on, the martial refuse of many nations litter the developing world, providing a means in volatile lands for war, terror and crime. How long does it take a class of rifles to die? In some cases, the answer might be this: When the ammunition source runs dry.

For more information on this particular rifle, the Martini-Henry line, and antique fighting tools in Afghanistan, go here.

Thanks for Cool.
It will be a long time before the Lee Enfield fires its last shot in anger around the world i think.

bob

We found a few muzzleloaders when I was in Vietnam. They appeared to be functional.

Actually, the Brits converted some Martinis to .303. Sometimes junk is just junk,due to age.

Grizz

All this talk of Afghanistan and Martini-Henry rifles causes a conflict.

Do I pop "The Man Who Would Be King" into the DVD player, or "Zulu?"

Maybe both.

quote:

Colour Sergeant Bourne: It's a miracle.

Lieutenant John Chard: If it's a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it's a short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 caliber miracle.

Colour Sergeant Bourne: And a bayonet, sir, with some guts behind.