Gahendra pics at last

Greetings all. At long last I have a working camera to share pics of the Gehendra carbine I've had for a while now...but still haven't cleaned. For those not familiar with the firearm and haven't been following the continuing saga of the Nepal cache, here is a brief summary. Towards the end of Gahendra production there was a change to design that included a much improved main spring and use of a mono-tube barrel (not lap welded like most). Towards the end of that production Nepal made a few carbines. Various numbers have been speculated on based on serial numbers and such, but they range from a low of 12 to a high of 17....so let's just say less than 20. Of those made and included in the Nepal cache, they all went to the UK, where IMA maintained a counterpart operation. Now those remaining have been moved to the IMA operation in the US....of which there were exactly 8, as in e-i-g-h-t! So there are only 8 in North America. While I have often poked fun of the use of "rare" on the boards for firearms made in the thousands, I think 8 on the continent officially qualifies as rare.

The sole issue I've found with the carbine is a missing bottom tang wood screw. Not exactly earth shaking and I assume a standard Gahendra screw will fit...so I should be able to find one in my parts pile somewhere....although not likely in the un buggered up condition as the rest of the screws. My only hesitancy on that point is the fact that this is of the improved Gahendra action style and I’ve never compared parts between the two.

A couple of things I've noted before cleaning. First it has a butt sling swivel, but no place for a corresponding one. Was it used to tie into a scabbard??? I’d be interested in comparing notes with the others buyers on this point. Second you can see how light the wood is under the gunk….and that appears to be original finish and not bare wood. While there doesn’t appear to be any “folk art” under the gunk, only cleaning will tell.
At least this one appears to be close to unused regarding the mechanical. The bore is free of any sign of use (which is the only thing I’ve cleaned so far. The wood is a little bit loose, but might be just the missing tang screw. However the wood is very hard with no sign of softness or rot.

Now on to cleaning sometime this week.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...e3a62805-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...c752cfcf-1.jpg