For example, for years I have treasured my very-good condition Mark II Martini-Henry rifle. Let's face it, until recently these things-in any kind of shape-were difficult to come by. Imagine now, if you will, walking into a huge storeroom where Martinis of various models and in different stages of preservation (most of them quite good, I might add) are stacked to the ceiling, wall-to-wall. This scene is repeated time and time again with such things as Pattern 1853 Enfield, Sniders, Pattern 1842 muskets, boxes of bayonets, stacks of swords, piles of kukris, bags of flints, pyramids of cannon barrels-it just goes on and on. Unfortunately space limitations don't allow me to talk about everything I saw there, but I'll try to touch on the high points and describe some of the more interesting and abundant items. Bear in mind, now, that I'm a real British Colonial buff so I might have a tendency to get a bit hyperbolic-but I'll try and remain as balanced as possible. The Arms Pattern 1853 Enfields, Sniders: Probably the most interesting arms to the American collector, especially Civil War buffs, would be the P'53 Enfields. This was one of the most widely used rifle-muskets during the War between the States, and it was Britain's mainstay longarm for decades. Later, many would be converted to breechloaders via the Snider system invented by New Yorker Jacob Snider. all of the P'53s and Sniders I saw at IMA were of the early pattern with barrel band springs. Most of the locks were unmarked, and all indications point to the fact that they were manufactured in India. Quality was quite good, and the condition of samples I pulled from the stacks was just fine. They are very nice guns, generally, in .577 caliber. Bayonets are available. Pattern 1839, 1842 Muskets: Prior to the introduction of the P'51 and P'53 Enfields, the Pattern 1842 (and earlier Pattern 1839 flintlock conversions) were the workhorses of the British Army.The Nepalese P'42s and P'39s at IMA were in very presentable condition. all were of the East India Company style, featuring spurred trigger guards. Lock markings usually had EIC insignia, but some had private contractors' names, as well. The P'39 shown here, for instance, was put up by Manton of Calcutta-one of the preeminent makers on the sub-continent. Bayonets are available, and all the guns I viewed had the India pattern bayonet catch. As well as standard muskets, there are a few of the scarcer Sapper & Miners Carbines, again, EIC marked, but with the Hanoverian spring catch. The guns are in .73 caliber. Bayonets are available for all of them-even the scarce S&M sword bayonet. Martinis: I spotted three basic types of Martini-Henrys-"Short-Lever" Martini-Henrys of varying models, Mark IV "Long-Levers" and the Nepalese-manufactured Gehendra rifles, which were built on the Westley Richards pattern. Probably the most interesting of the batch from a design standpoint, the Gehendras had some functioning problems, so the British, at various times, sent over the other two models to supplement them. All Martini-Henrys I saw were ex-British military issue and were decorated with the proper "VR" and crown cipher, as well as the model number and date. Most had stock markings indicating they had been sent from Indian arsenals. Condition ranged from basket cases to some in excellent shape. Most were just fine, and if you're a fan of the film "Zulu," you could do much worse than having one these Mark Us in your collection. They are in .577-450 caliber, and bayonets are available. Sharps Rifles, Carbines: These were certainly the most interesting arms I looked at. Both the rifle and carbine are built on the 1853 Slant Breech pattern and include the Lawrence pellet primer. The ones examined had no markings whatsoever, and general quality, while not bad, was not up to the standard Sharps product. Carbines had brass fittings (to include a patchbox) and long sling bars. Barrels measure 22''. Sights were of a couple of styles, one similar to earlier Sharps carbines and others looking much like those on P'53 Enfields. The rifles are quite long (4O'' barrels) and fittings, to include a spurred fore-end cap, are of brass. A large rear sling swivel takes the place of the standard lever pivot. Christian tells me that he had the stock wood analyzed and that it is Honduran mahogany-quite interesting. There are no records of these arms anywhere in Nepal or Britain. While the quality hints at indigenous manufacture, IMA's researcher in England states that "an American connection cannot be ruled out." While the guns are dinged and dirty from storage, condition is generally quite good, indicating that they saw little or no use. The guns appear to be around .54 caliber. No bayonets have been found. Brown Bess Muskets, Baker/Brunswick Rifles: all the Brown Bess muskets were pretty much in pieces, and looked unsalvageable. The good side of this is that there will be plenty of spare Brown Bess parts available, including some very nice locks. Research seems to indicate that the guns themselves were made in India, but that the locks were manufactured in England and stamped with Nepalese markings. Despite earlier reports no Baker Rifles were brought back from Nepal, though there were a number of Brunswicks-both standard models and smoothbored Indian patterns. I only saw one example of the latter, and it was in good shape. Brown Bess, Baker and Brunswick bayonets are available. Knives, Swords: Probably the greatest treasures in the blade category are the high-quality early (19th century) kukri knives. There are also some later ones. The blades are marked with Nepalese writing, and all seem to be in excellent condition. Heretofore it's been difficult to get a real issue kukri at a reasonable price. No longer-these are a good deal and highly recommended. As well, I saw piles of British military swords of varying styles, as well as Indian tulwars-some with pretty fancy decoration. Those Brit swords with hilts decorated with royal ciphers seemed to lean heavily toward the George V period (post 1911) and had "GRI" ("George, Rex Imperator"-George, King Emperor) indicating Indian Army origin. Artillery: Frankly, this was some of the most fascinating material in the trove. To begin with, IMA/Atlanta Cutlery brought back several Bira Guns. These are double-barreled, Nepalese-made-and-designed mechanical machine guns based on the Gardner principle. Chambered in .577-450 Martini-Henry, they are nothing if not imposing. From their huge boxy steel receivers through their gigantic drum magazines and massive field carriages, they are undoubtedly the strangest looking automatic arms ever built-and they're also really neat. There were tons (literally) of other artillery pieces from stubby little mortars to some pretty heavyduty brass howitzers. I was particularly impressed with some Russian guns that looked similar to those in photos taken during the Crimean War. More than likely they were captured in the Crimea and eventually sent surplus to Nepal. Who knows, they could have been in the batteries that fired upon the Light Brigade! There were a large number of brass Napoleonic-period guns that had been converted to breechloaders, as well as a British nine-pounder muzzleloading field gun of Zulu War vintage that had been altered to breechloading and fitted with a recoil mechanism. The earliest piece noted was a Russian brass cannon cast with the arms of Catherine the Great, though there were some mortars that looked as though they could predate that. Other stuff: As noted earlier there are just too many different items to cover them adequately. Noted in passing and recommended are MartiniHenry combination tools and oil bottles, as well as Brown Bess flints and musket balls. Cont. So there you have it, this century's first-and perhaps last-great firearm treasure hunt. The nice thing about it is, unlike much material brought up from the Caribbean or North Atlantic, the riches can be purchased by the average enthusiast. History on such a grand scale, has rarely been so affordable. For more information, contact Int'l Military An tiques (Dept. AR), 1000 Valley Road, Gillette, NJ 07933; (908) 903-1200; www.ima.com; or Atlanta Cutlery, (Dept. AR), Box 839, Conyers GA 30012; (800) 883-0300; www.atlantacutlery.com. by Garry James, Executive Field Editor Copyright National Rifle Association of America Aug 2004