Morris Tubes

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

First things first. A BARREL per-se is a firearm in its own right, as defined in law as a thing capable....... blah blah blah and so on. Whether it fits inside another rifle or fits into a 25 pounder or MOBAT or WOMBAT (to act as a 'bang maker' ) or whatever shell case for whatever reason is purely academic. If the barrel falls into the category of 'obsolete calibre' then by default AND definition it is, of itself an obsolete calibre firearm in law. You can't have a 'half' a firearm......... It is or in this case, it isn't one requiring a certificate. You - or the vendor - can make it as simple or difficult as you like

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Peter is quite correct the item in question can only chamber a recognised obsolete cartridge and therefore can be owned under section 58(2) the fact that it will fit into a .303 barrel is of no consequence at all. If however it is intended for use then a variation would be required AND it would need to be sent to the proof house to be proof tested before use, this requirement is ALWAYS pointed out when selling any section 58(2) firearm.
To prove a point I own a .577 450 Martini Henry rifle, I also own the 297 / 230 Morris Tube for the same rifle, they are both section 58(2) however if I wanted to shoot them they would both need to go onto an FAC AND be proofed if either or both of the items were to be used on public / private ranges, what people do in there own back yards is down to them.

On the subject of Morris tubes, here's a Martini Carbine example I had a few years back with its accompanying .303 Martini Carbine.

I had a couple of inert cartridges with it too, the long and short examples. I took the opportunity to take detailed photographs of the tube at the time as it makes a rather interesting study.

What a beautiful thing - did they make them in common calibres like .22 LR?

The aiming tubes carried on after the Morris round was discontinued in .22lr, I seem to recall made by AJ Parkers?? I would assume manufactured specifically for Lee Enfields by that point, as there would have been no official requirement for a Martini version, unless AJ Parkers made any purely for civilian sale perhaps?

I think surviving original Morris tubes are rare today, due to their obvious fragility and the carbine length example I owned are even rarer. I never found out if the carbine examples were manufactured as such, or base workshop converted from full length examples, anyone know???

Mine went off to a Martini collector, to raise money for another shooting project, like so many previous items from my collection, I really wish I kept it now!

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Originally Posted by mrclark303

I really wish I kept it now!

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I wish I had a pound for every time I've thought that, too! I bet a few others on here do as well!

How true Roger, now I have an L12A1 conversion kit, the Morris Tube would have made an interesting comparison.

Plus side is it went to an advanced Martini collection and that's the best place for it, we are after all only temporary custodians of these things.

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Originally Posted by RobD

What a beautiful thing - did they make them in common calibres like .22 LR?

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You would have needed a different breechblock with an offset striker, (or the other trick of altering the mechanism so that the block didn't rise so far). It would have been more cost-effective to alter the rifle permanently, as so many were altered for sale via the SMRC.

Well, it sold for £301, hammer price, so add roughly 25% again for the total price. I did put a bid in, but was beaten by "a small margin" of £150.

I have read that the Northwest Mounted Police had Morris tubes that fit their 1876 Winchester carbines that were chambered in 45-75 WCF. Has anyone ever seen one or own one? I would love to find one for my collection of NWMP carbines and artifacts.

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Originally Posted by harry mac

Well, it sold for £301, hammer price, so add roughly 25% again for the total price. I did put a bid in, but was beaten by "a small margin" of £150

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With the commission and VAT added the purchaser paid £391.30. Quite a lot considering it was missing the brass front locking nut and the threads appeared to be damaged....