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Winning Bid US $1418 First bid $1250 Quantity 1 # of bids 3 Time left Auction has ended   Started 2025-05-07 00:00:00 Ended 2025-11-21 22:35:25

RARE!!, National Arms & Ammunition Co. LTD, Model: Alexander Henry falling block rifle, New South Wales Military & police, Cal: .577/450 Martini-Henry, MFG: 1877, S/N: 587, Falling block single shot rifle, 34 1/4'' barrel.

HISTORY: in 1868 the British were having trails to replace their Snider rifles. in the trials it came down to the Friedrich Von Martinis rifle & Alexander Henrys rifle. Martini improved Henry O. Peabodys action to make his rifle, Alexanders rifle was all his own design. The trial ended with both people winning & losing in a sense. They liked the Martini action & the Henry barrel. The Martini action was simpler using only 30 parts instead of Henrys 49, the martini had no hammer to cock before firing or to get in the way of loading, & on the Henry it was possible to load the cartridge in front of the extractor. But probably the most important feature is that it was cheaper to make. The Henry was better in some aspects as it was easier to clean from the breech & was much better to hold & carry. The rifle that would come out of this is the well known Martini-Henry, but Alexander wasnt done with his rifle just yet. He would fix the extractor problem & move the hammer to the left side of the action to make loading cartridges easier. In 1870 the Australian government of New South Wales would order 2500 rifles & carbines from Henry. He would subcontract these out to Westly Richards Arms & Ammunition Co. these would be marked ''W.R.A.&A. Co.''. The rifles were chambered for the .450-3 1/4'' Henry long cartridge, & the carbines in .450-2 1/2'' Henry short. The Adoption of the Martini Henry by the British government gave a short pause to the orders as the NSW government was deciding to adopt the Martini Henry as well, or to stick with the Henry rifle. They ultimately decided to stick with the Henry rifle for the meantime & would give out seven more orders for the rifle but now they are all chambered from the factory for the .577/450 Martini Henry cartridge, the older rifles would be re-chambered to this as well. The second order was made by National Arms & Ammunition Co. LTD in 1872 & marked as such. The third through fifth orders were made by the Braendlin Armoury Company in years 1873-74-76. The Sixth order was again from National Arms in 1877 (where this rifle is from). The seventh order was from Braendlin Armoury in 1880. The eighth & final contract was from National Arms in 1880 as well. The last two orders are believed to be all carbines for the police. These were issued to many units but mostly saw use with police, guards, & support military units. The exact number of rifles produced & how much were made per contact is unknow since the records are lost to time, but experts believe around 6,000-7,000 rifles & carbines were made. The henry rifle would be replaced by Martini-Henry rifles as more became available to purchase & these were sold out of military service.

CONDITION: The two-piece straight wrist walnut stock is very good with various nicks, dings, & scratches from use/age. Wood has shrunk slightly over time & there are spots where the metal is proud the wood, especially around the toe. There is a 1 1/8'' tight crack one the left flat of the forend, emanating from the receiver. The right cheek of the stock is stamped with a ''S'' with a arrow above & below it, this mark means the rifle was sold out of military service. A National Arms roundel cartouche that reads ''BIRMINGHAM 1877'' in the middle & ''NATIONAL ARMS & AMMUNITION CO. LTD.'' Around the middle. ''N.S.W'', ''M 95''. The bottom of the wrist has two faded crown proofs. The blued metal finish on the barrel rates 75% with small scratches/dings, areas of thinning, & a couple spots starting to tone brown. The barrel has remains of a lacquer added to the metal. The receiver was left in the white & has speckled brown patina. the left side of the receiver is marked ''HENRYS'', ''PATENT'', & a small, crossed swords proof. The right side is marked ''N.A.& A.CO.LD.'', ''1877''. The left rear of the barrel is marked with two small, crossed sword proofs, ''52'', a small crown proof, & the S/N. the right rear of the barrel has the faint remains of three proofs. One more small, faded proof just in front of the rear sight. A small proof & the S/N are marked on the extension that connects the lever to the falling block. S/N is marked on the bayonet lug as well. The bore is very good. its bright & shiny with roughness. The barrel holds Martini-henry style sights, with a barleycorn front sight & a stepped base/ladder, V-notch rear sight. The base is marked 1 to 4, the ladder is marked 5 to 10. The stock carries a steel buttplate, left in the white & having speckled patina. the rifle has both bottom sling loops & has the cleaning/clearing rod. A rare & unique rifle with not many being made & having a short service life. Antique, No FFL Req. - Value: 2500 to 5000

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Price

RARE!!, National Arms & Ammunition Co. LTD, Model: Alexander He... Item # 4460 This auction is over. No new bids can be placed. Price: US $1418

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