One of the rarest Rifle No. 1 Mark III*'s made

Fellow collectors, a new rifle has arrived. A mint, masterpiece of work that in the end has a sad ending. I am posting this on multiple boards as rifles like this do not come available often.

I became aware of the rarity of these rifles too late to take advantage of their initial release so when this example came up I committed to buying her.

A little history, Nepal’s Sundrijal Armory made the SMLE Mark III and III*. The Mark III during WW I with a total production of approximately 80 rifles and the Mark III* during WW II with production of slightly over 100. So for those collectors who want a rifle made by every rifle factory here is the toughest one.

Early Mark III rifles are generally in poor shape with poor overall quality and usually have had replacement parts. The Mark III* on the other hand can be found in near perfect condition with overall excellent quality.

My “new” rifle, s/n 107 (In Nagari script) is all matching and in next to perfect condition. I have not fully disassembled the rifle but almost every part is s/n’d. From initial observation: sling swivel, safety catch, cocking piece, bolt, barrel, rear sight, fore-end, nose-cap, front and rear hand guard. Parts without serial number: magazine, outer band (which bear no marks at all).

The wood type is unknown but has an interesting grain, I would appreciate any wood experts 2 cents on it.

From what I can tell it was made and never issued.

Yes, I said there was bad news (sorry for future nightmares). It was dewated, crudely, but with the handguard on it still looks correct and proud.

Ouch, that hurts! What a crying shame.

Wellllll....at least you won't be tempted to shoot a rifle that is almost impossible to replace....congrats on tracking her down and thank you for sharing her with us!

I was not aware that rifles were made in Nepal. That's a great piece for your collection. shame it's been neutralised though.

I can't imagine setting up a factory to produce only a couple of hundred rifles. Were they shipped parts that they assembled? or did they have all the machinery and decide not to use it ?

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Originally Posted by 30Three

I was not aware that rifles were made in Nepal. That's a great piece for your collection. shame it's been neutralised though.

I can't imagine setting up a factory to produce only a couple of hundred rifles. Were they shipped parts that they assembled? or did they have all the machinery and decide not to use it ?

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I read somewhere that the royal family's personal guard could only be armed with native weapons so they copied Martini Henrys, Lee Metfords, and SMLE's along with others. All parts were made there and as for the machinery that did it, that information has been lost to history.

I first learnt on the Nepalese rifles when checking through the Faris collection. He had a No. 1 Mk.III pre-production without serial, serial number #1, #12, #10 (upgraded), #2 (pre-production, upgraded), #2 (serial production) and #1 and #24 in No. 1 Mk.III* configuration - so a total of 8 Nepalese SMLE rifles. Skennerton wrote the production was most likely less than 100 Mk.III*s, your serial being above that would make the total production a tiny bit higher. Thank you for showing us your rifle!

Too bad on the barrel. This can be fixed though. Find a replacement SMLE barrel, carefully mill off the very rear, then from the original barrel mill out the very rear and then as a sleeve put back on the original serial. This way you can save the markings and make the rifle fully functionable again. But make sure this is done by someone who had done this in the past!

Was not familiar with these. Great find!

Only one problem.
I can't unsee that.

What a shame get another barrel so you can shoot it and keep the original