I need some help id'ing a M-H carbine I just aquired. If anyone has any ideas about this thing let me know. Here is a description: Carbine with military sights. No manufacturers name on the reciever. 4 Digit seriel no. wrist and forend were checkered at one time. Reciever is engraved in a fleur de lis pattern. The # 24 is stamped in the forend. The letters DP and TGS are stamed on all wood. ther is a DP stamped on the front of the reciever along with a C. A 4 appears on all metal parts. There is the number 88 on both sides of the barrel in front of the 577-450. Underneath the forearm wood are a bevy of what appear to be proof marks with a one that is a crown on top with ELG in a circle below it.
Bore is in fair shape and the barrel top has, for a lack of better words, had a rib such as would appear on a shotgun with, just in front of the rear sight the words Imperial GUK???.
Any help anyone can give would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Taos: Sounds like you have some sort of Belgian Martini; checkering would indicate it was made for the sporting market, but it may well have seen service somewhere. Go to this forum and ask, as the lads there are true Martini fiends and they would love to help.
http://pub7.ezboard.com/bbritishmilitariaforums

By the way, the .577-450 "Fat Boy" is a drned hoot to shoot.

Just started loking for brass and stuff to get around to shooting it. Why do you think it may be belgian? Where are you getting your brass for one of these things? Any load suggestions? What kind of accuracy are you getting? I am almost positive that there is an elk out there that is dieing to have this rifle take it.Already been to that sight and got a little help. Great sight. Thanks for the reply Bill I really appreciate it!

Taos, sorry to take so long to reply. The crown over ELG is a pretty standard Belgian proof mark, if I am not mistaken. Brass can be very expensive for the Martinis. I still have a small stash I got from James Goodwin in England before he retired, but you can get other brass from Ballard and from Bertram. A problem with Martinis is that some have .460 or so bores, while some are closer to $470, and many Martinis is .577-450 have oversize throats. The Brits designed them to shoot non-reusable cartridges, so they didn't care about cases expanding .020 in the neck. You would do well to have a chamber cast made to see just what dimensions you are working with before investing in spendy dies and brass. I have had three or four Martinis, but none had decent bores, so I just plinked with them and cannot comment on accuracy. I don't currently own a Martini.

Currently in the same ammo search for the .577/.450 M-H round.

here's a link that might help:

http://www.ows-ammunition.com/cgi-bin/catalog25/index

do a search for 577-450...i think current OWS rounds are going $30 for 10.

[ 03-27-2003, 01:53: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

Try Rocky Mt. Cartridge Co. They also have brass. Fairly expensive but it is out there.
Thanks for the replies guys!

The Crown-ELG in a circle (oval) is a Liege, Belgium, proofmark established in 1810 by Napoleon Bonaparte, I believe. As pointed out by Bill/Oregon. This should be a fun caliber, which performs a lot like the .45/70.

[ 04-05-2003, 20:24: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

The best place to get components for 577/450 these days is from Coyote. See the "Buy, Sell and Trade" section of the ezboard British militaria forum at http://pub182.ezboard.com/bbritishmilitariaforums

The Martini-Henry is a whole different kind of animal...