1879 Martini Henry .22LR Conversion by Alex Henry

1879 Martini Henry .22LR Conversion by Alex Henry

1879 Martini Henry .22LR Conversion by Alex Henry. The Mark IV Martini–Henry rifle ended production in 1889, replaced by the Lee–Metford. With the decision to make general issue of the Martini Henry MKII & MkIII to the militia and Volunteers in January 1885 and the impending new .303” calibre and the suspension and ultimate cancellation of the .402” bore Enfield Martini in June 1887, it was decided as a short term measure to convert those 65000 .402” Enfield Martinis already made into a useable .577/450” arm. The new rifle was to be designated the Martini Henry MkIV at a cost to convert those arms was expected to be 6s 6d per piece.

The 64,634 .402″ arms manufactured up to that point were then converted to Martini-Henry Mark IVs.

The converted E-M Mark Is are referred to as “A” and “B” pattern Martini-Henry Mark IVs. The “C” pattern Mark IV was made from mostly new parts, and some interchangeable parts from the Enfield-Martini .402. When converted to “A” and “B” pattern Mark IVs, the short lever was removed, the operating lever retaining cup hole was plugged with wood, and a long lever was installed. Thus, “A” and “B” pattern Mark IVs are easily identifiable by a wood plug on the underside of the buttstock (assuming the stock is original to the weapon).

Also, “A” and “B” patterns will typically have the “V” character stamped off centre, to the right of the “I” character on the Sovereign’s Cypher (as E-M Mark I’s, they bore a single “I” designating the Mark. When converted to Mark IV, the “V” was added to the existing “I”).

This is a very nice 1879 Martini Henry rifle converted to .22LR by Alex Henry of Edinburgh in 1894. Martini-Henry rifles were converted to .22LR primarily to train soldiers and civilians in markmanship following the Second Boer War, where superior Boer shooting skills highlighted a need for better training. These conversions repurposed obsolete, surplus .577/450 rifles into affordable, low-recoil, small-bore trainers for clubs and cadets.