Item Description
Original Item: The Two Band Short Snider Rifle was used by Gurkha Infantry Mountain troops, issued in .577 caliber and fitted with an original 26.5" barrel secured by only two steel barrel bands. Correct short pattern includes a ladder back sight with the brass furniture, overall length only 45". These scarce short infantry rifles were issued exclusively to Gurkha Mountain units in small numbers.
We have just two examples that have been expertly restored by master antique gunsmith Norm Sutton. Each is sound, with no known flaws, and has been brought back to life to appear how they must have looked the day they were issued. In the entirety of the Nepal cache find, fewer than 40 short snider rifles were ever discovered, out of 55,000 guns making these simply stunning rare rifles.
History of the Snider-
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.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world. These antique guns are not sold in live condition. They are sold as collector’s items or as wall hangers. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns. Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe.
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