Item Description
Original Item: The price is affordable; the history is priceless. IMA is proud to offer this rare sturdy gun as an affordable clean it yourself untouched rifle!
The Martini-Henry Gahendra was based on an 1869 Westley Richards patented design, this unique and extremely rare early breech loading military rifle 577/450 Martini-Henry calibre was produced under the direction of General Gahendra Rana in the 1880's to provide Ghurka regiments with what appeared to be the latest British Military Rifle. An ingenious design, it really surpassed the standard Martini in that its entire action was removable as one unit for ease of servicing or exchange.
Production, however, caused massive logistic problems and by 1894 the Ghurkas were dangerously short of viable .450 cal. breechloaders to face ever growing threats from the east. Finally the British came to the rescue with a delivery of several thousand Martini short lever rifles in late 1894 and even more long lever Martini Rifles in 1908. The over complicated Gahendra rifle was thereafter basically shelved, the void in up-to-date arms having been met.
Always considered the rarest Martini variation of all, the Gahendra rifle has a characteristic curved loading lever but in other respects closely resembles the standard Martini externally.
This is a chance to obtain an extremely rare historical antique rifle that was a close relative of one of the most successful rifle systems of all time for an UNBEATABLE price!
What different about this gun and the other Gahendra we sell? These are smoothbore and have a different backsight. They are also much rarer. In total we purchased thousands of Gahendras from the Government of Nepal and fewer than 30 smoothbores.
What does Untouched Condition mean? OK, this is exactly what we are offering: Genuine pre-1898 Nepalese manufactured Martini-Henry Gahendra Rifles that have laid undisturbed for well over 100 years in far from perfect storage conditions in the Old Palace of Lagan Silekhana in Katmandu, Nepal. Our DVD of "TREASURE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT" shows these very weapons as we found them and the story behind them.
What you will get:
Action
Lever
Trigger
Stock [May have Cracks, Missing Chunks, Old repairs, Wood Rot]
Barrel
2 Steel Barrel Bands
Cleaning Rod (might be newly made)
Butt Plate (might be broken)
What you might not get:
Screws [Butt Plate, Sling Swivel, etc]
Sling Swivel
Sight Leaf/Slide
Other minor bits
Typical Condition:
Will show rust & pitting
Will be covered in filth
May not operate
May be incomplete
May have Cracks, Missing Chunks, Old repairs.
May be frozen in grime
May have cracks and/or rot in wood
However, EVERY Gahendra WILL BE 100% GENUINE!
We ask you to look closely at the photographs, the example photographed here is a typical gun that could expect to receive, read reviews, both good and bad, and only then place an order understanding what you are likely to receive. We want Educated Aware Customers. If it isn't what you expect, that is fine, return it (before you attempt any restoration) and the full gun purchase price will be refunded to you, however the customer will pay shipping both ways. We can not exchange guns and will not get into an exchange situation, so please do not ask.
We are not trying to sell you an incomplete weapon and then sell you the missing parts. We will do our best to make sure it is complete as possible. One day we will also sell replacement parts, but that is in the distant future.
We are not trying to frustrate you; we are trying to fill a void in the marketplace for genuine but affordable rare and unique antique weapons so that collectors and historians of all backgrounds can enjoy a genuine part of history. These should be viewed as project guns, work on it with your Son or Grandson, clean it up, hang it over your mantle, or don’t clean it, they are impressive anyway you seem them. The price is affordable; the history is priceless.
If you want to shoot it, DON’T! If you still want to shoot it, take it to a licensed GUNSMITH first. These are 100+ year-old hand made guns, be very careful, IMA sells these for display purposes only, they are not intended to be fired.
Please buy our products, but do read the reviews and descriptions first. We feel you will agree that the recovery of old weapons from Nepal was a milestone for the collecting fraternity and we hope you enjoy a genuine antique weapon that has never been touched by any other collector than you.
NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
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. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon