Snider Enfield from Afghanistan

[Anzac15]

Picked this SE up today from the vet that brought it back. I believe it's a MkIII example. 1871 dated, it seems like a pretty legit Snider. I have matching numbers on the rear sight leaf and the breech lock cover (2079) Remains of a roundel and some regimental markings. Of interest is the plugged sling swivel hole at the bottom end of the buttstock. Surprisingly good bore. Enjoy the pics, all opinions welcome!

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[browningautorifle]

Looks like it saw hard use...

[mrclark303]

Yep, steel barrel Mk3, if its got a good bore and the breech mechanism is all good and serviceable, get it gunsmith checked over first, shoot and enjoy!

I have seen plenty worse come out of Afghanistan, yours looks pretty good, after all the previous users were less firearm enthusiasts, more like enthusiastic shooters!

[bombdoc]

I have a similar example from the same source.. shoots very well!

I do wish the locals would not scrub them shiny though.. this is all done recently and is not actually wear. I tried asking them why they did it, but never got a straight answer! I suspect they thought it would make them fetch a better price..! A bit of sympathetic cold bluing does improve the appearance.. I don't have qualms about doing this as I consider the current state to be as the result of "bubbaing" by the Afghan dealers and hence modern...

I also found that not resizing the cases between shots, just gumming the bullets into the cases with lube not only improved the accuracy, but also extended the life of the cases...

[browningautorifle]

why they did it

I suspect they just see it as taking the rust off. I had a Sgt's rifle for some time and paper patched the bullets for accuracy. I was using Elwood Epps hand made cases myself.