Deactivated Martini Henry MKII 1888 Rifle by LSA Co.

A Martini Henry MKII under lever rifle. This Martini Henry was originally manufactured in 1888 by London Small Arms Company (L.S.A.Co.) as a British military weapon. It was chambered then for .577/450 ammunition. Below the "II" (MKII) designation is a single "I". This denotes that it was a first class weapon and would have been issued to front line troops only. In comparison to BSA & Enfield, LSA produced the fewest Martini rifles owing to having limited production capacity. With the introduction of the bolt action rifle and the .303 cartridge, the Martini was eventually retired from service, many were then sold off into private ownership. CG Bonehill specialized in converting these perfectly serviceable firearms into .22 target rifles. This is one of those conversions. Barrels were re-sleeved or changed for .22 and peep hole sights were added for increased accuracy. This example still retains its original military markings, sling swivels and bayonet lug, often these markings and parts were removed. During WWII Home Guard units were armed with these Martini's. They were, and are still are excellent shooters. Deactivated with a working action it can be cocked, stripped and dry fired.

Of considerable interest; we recently deactivated a similar .22 Martini Henry rifle that was discovered in a store room. This rifle was used by rangers at the Elan Valley dams during WWII whilst top secret trials of the legendary "bouncing bomb" invented by Barnes Wallis, took place.