Forget everything you think you know about the Martini-Henry Rifle

About 25 years ago I was visiting the museum in Brecon and being the only visitor there , got into conversation with the curator. He took me in the back and allowed me to hold one of the Martini -Henrys they have ,complete with bayonet that was used in the Zulu wars . He put a Pith helmet on my head for good measure . 🇬🇧

Me!... Me!...... I've fired one! 😀 Great to see you have Neil on the Channel, Chris!

I’ve had the honour of firing one of these majestic things. Couple of observations 1) the recoil is astonishing and you definitely get a light bruise after a few rounds 2) it is so easy to operate and doesn’t take long to get very good at rapid fire 3) the accuracy is much better than you would expect 4) the rounds make a seriously big hole! Would not like to be on the end of one of these. Thanks for the fantastic interview. I shall be at the exhibition tomorrow. Will pop over and say hello if I see you.

It's the size of the round that makes me smile. I used to shoot in competitions when I served in the British Army, and we shot our SLRs out to 600 metres using iron sights. It wasn't easy and the targets were about 1m x 1m. I also used to shoot a Number 4 Mark 1 Lee Enfield out to 300 metres using the micrometer sight - a far easier task. To think that British squaddies were firing a rifle with a black powder cartridge, which was accurate out to 500 metres in the late 19th century, is quite amazing.

This fellow never skipped a beat in all his lesson. Brilliant

I have a fine pair of 1889's. I purchased these around 2010 when a few thousand came into the US. They were in much neglected condition. Both having a thick cake of cosmoline and hard set dust. They cleaned up beautifully and are some of my most prized pieces in my collection. True machinists works of art!

Gonville Bromhead VC grandson lives in our village .A great age now , but a wonderful old chap .

I collected MHs for 25 years. That quite a good collection. And in the early ‘90s, I hunted wild boar in the mountains of western North Carolina with my Mk II. It never failed me.

This fellow never skipped a beat in all his lesson. Brilliant. This fellow never skipped a beat in all his lesson. Brilliant.

Very good video. For what it's worth, my take on Islanwhana is simple; contempt for the enemy and VERY bad deployment. Trying to cover a long front with far far too few weapons. I've not shot an actual Marini-Henry, but I have shot Martini action cadet rifles and found them accurate and easy to use. But ejection of .22 lr could sometimes be an issue. it wasn't' ammunition supply. or hard to open boxes, or stuck cases that lost the day. It was just Chelmsford splitting his forces, bad deployment, AND, and let's not forget this one, sheer bloody bravery on the part of the ZULU.

As a former soldier (Australian Army) I had the experience of handling one of these weapons (though not firing it). In addition I've seen the film 'Zulu" more times than I can count! A very knowledgeable and thorough video! Well done indeed!

I bought one some years ago, and had to make my own .577/450 ammunition for it from brass shot shells. It is a joy to shoot, and is still quite accurate.

Really good expert, who clearly knows his stuff and, most importantly for a video, conveys his knowledge really well.

Joshua Slocum in his 'Voyage of the Spray' always kept a Martini-Henry ready for the 'visits' of the Fuegians.

Fantastic interview! What a well versed and expert guest. Great questions also. Thank you! ❤

We know for a fact that the ammo boxes were opened by rifle butts at Iswalsonada because the archeologists discovered hundreds of the soft bronze security bolts twisted and sheared on the battlefield. I have seen a demonstration using a Martini Henry and a brand new unissued ammo box held at the Royal Armouries, by following the instructions in the field manual on where to strike the box with a rifle butt, it took 2.5 seconds to open the box including peeling back the inner foil cover with the rip handle that was attached to it (interestingly, the forerunner and inspiration behind the beer can pull).

If you read the reports following the battle at Rorks Drift, the men fired so many cartridges that both shoulders were so badly bruised from the recoils, they ended up firing from the waist

There's a Martini Henry in the Royal Army Dental Corps museum. Why? Because it was the first proper issue weapon with the modern cartridge instead of the bite the bullet, pour the powder type used in muskets. The modern cartridge was a massive improvement in dental health, as men no longer got gunpowder in their mouths which rotted teeth.

Great video mate, thankyou - this guy really knows his stuff. In cadets at school in the 1980s in Australia we still had the .310 cadet martini. We used to love firing the lever action coz it reminded us of winchesters in the wild west, despite the single shot. But I went to a friend of my dad's when I was about 12 who lived on a farm and he had the real thing - a colonial weapon that had been in police service. I was scared of it and instead of leaning into the shot I was sort of holding it out nervously. It pounded my shoulder knocking me over and ended up behind me. The adults all got angry coz it was an antique... no-one seemed to care about my shoulder!

I've had the pleasure of firing these in 303 caliber many times at the range. Great rifle and a lot of fun and yes simple to use and strong action.