Volunteer or officers Snider conversion of a fine quality .577” Minie rifle with key retained barrel with break off breech and detented lock by Beckwith.
£2250 SALE £1250
An interesting early model volunteer or officers Snider conversion of a fine quality .577” Minie rifle with key retained barrel with break off breech and detented lock by Beckwith. Border engraved detented best quality swivel lock of reduced size Patt 1853 design with scroll engraved cup faced hammer adapted to suit the Snider breech loading mechanism is signed BECKWITH. Walnut stock with horn nose cap and two barrel keys is fitted with two rammer pipes to the underside with steel furniture of military pattern with a white metal escutcheon to the wrist engraved with the owners name H C STEWART. Three groove rifled Minie barrel with ladder rear sight graduated to 900 yards has bayonet lug of patent design with forward extension and recess to latch the bayonet into place to the front right. The underside struck with Victorian London commercial proof marks with a barrel flat to the top extending from the front of the shoe to the rear sight. Scroll engraved early design Snider shoe with solid breech block stop and no spring return to the extractor mechanism is struck with SNIDERS PATENT to the breech block either side of the Snider arrow trade mark with Sniders Arrow S trade mark to the top of the receiver ring and a London proof mark to the underside. Engraved break off breech to the rear of the action and jag head clearing rod to the underside of the barrel. Built on a very good quality military volunteer rifle of slender proportions which has many features normally found on a best quality sporter of the time including a detented lock, key retained barrel, barrel flat and break off breech. The conversion was probably done by the original owner, H C Stewart who it seems was at the forefront of military technology at the time having had a small bore .577” Minnie rifle made for him very early on using barrel keys before the common band was adopted and then having his very good quality muzzle loading rifle adapted to the Snider breech early in the development of that weapon. The resulting rifle being a fine military arm that would also serve well as a sporting rifle using a cartridge that would be widely available around the Victorian empire as the standard army round of the time. In very good condition with excellent bore and mechanics, a nice sharp stock and much fading brown finish to the metalwork. A fine and interesting early Snider with an unusual mix of military and sporting rifle features.
