We Fired the Martini-Henry | Rifle of the Zulu War

We met up with Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, to learn about a weapon that was made famous by the Boer and Zulu Wars: the Martini-Henry rifle.
During the 1860s, several European armies began to equip their troops with modern breech-loading rifles, leaving behind the now-outdated muzzle-loading musket. By the turn of the decade the British had adopted a breech-loading single-shot lever-action rifle - the Martini-Henry, named after Friedrich von Martini, a Swiss engineer and Alexander Henry, a Scottish gunsmith.
Produced at the Royal Small Arms Manufactory at Enfield, the Martini-Henry Rifle became the standard issue weapon for the British army from 1871 until 1889 and was used in campaigns across the British Empire, in Afghanistan, the far east, Sudan and South Africa.
The speed of innovation during the mid-19th Century was truly staggering. Within a few decades of the Napoleonic Wars, the British army’s standard issue weapon had evolved from a heavy, smoothbore Brown Bess musket to a deadly rifle equipped with a new breech-loading, ignition and rifling system.
The Martini-Henry rifle is still perhaps best known for being the weapon used by British redcoats during the Zulu Wars in southern Africa, made famous by the film ‘Zulu’ starring Sir Michael Caine, and in the Anglo-Boer War - both costly campaigns for the British.
During the latter conflict, the iconic rifle was actually outclassed by the Mauser Bolt-Action Rifle supplied in admittedly limited numbers to the Boers by the German Empire. Concerned with the superior performance of the Mauser, which, combined with guerrilla tactics, was inflicting heavy casualties, the British sought ways to improve the Martini Henry - leading to all sorts of innovations, some more successful than others...
In this video filmed at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, History Hit presenters Luke Tomes and Louee Dessent are given a crash course in the history and development of arguably the most iconic British Empire rifle by firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson before testing out just how effective the rifle was in the hands of novices.
Later, Jonathan Ferguson would be firing the Martini-Henry rifle at simulated flesh and bone, to assess the deadliness of the weapon and the damage it would have inflicted on the battlefield.
Check out our other firearms challenges below:
Arquebus, Brown Bess Musket and Lee Enfield Rifle - • We Fired Weapons From ...
Wild West Weapons - • We Fired the Real Guns...
WW1 Vickers Machine Gun - • Dan Snow Tests One Of ...
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#historyhit #jonathanferguson #britishempire #zuluwar
00:00 Introduction
00:39 History of the Martini-Henry
03:10 Pattern 1853 Enfield
05:42 Snider-Enfield Breech Loading Rifle
07:11 Martini-Henry Mark I
09:52 Martini-Henry Modifications
13:44 Martini-Henry Bayonet
15:47 Firing Martini-Henry
20:20 Simulated Flesh and Bone Test
24:14 More Firearms Videos!

[@HistoryHit]

Hope you enjoyed! Lots of you guys asked for this rifle in a previous video, and Jonathan was more than happy to tell us about its fascinating history! 💥 Check out our other firearms challenges here... Guns of the Old West: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4mwmaidaq-Hn7s Firing guns from the 1500s, 1700s & 1900s: kzbin.info/www/bejne/in2Zo36IjrWEe7s

[@geraintthatcher3076]

What were the Boer Rifles used at Majuba against the Martini Henry ?

[@amashinga]

Love the video, hate the completely unmatched dubstep background

[@derekp2674]

I certainly did. It was great to see you getting the chance to fire those historic rifles at the Leeds museum. In the 1970s, started my smallbore target shooting career with a BSA 12/15, which is a Martini actioned .22 rimfire rifle. Both BSA and Vickers produced such rifles for many years, but today I think all serious modern smallbore target rifles use bolt actions. I suspect that the use of Martini actions for British made smallbore target rifles was kicked off by the military uses of the Martini Henry. Butt there may also have been technical reasons why Martini actions would have been preferred over contemporary bolt actions, at least until the 1950s or thereabouts.

[@CMillz884]

@@geraintthatcher3076 Westley Richards, breech loader

[@flouisbailey]

My request to fire all of them at same time?

[@SitInTheShayd]

Gotta love good old Jonathan Furgeson. Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries in Leeds (in case you didn't know) he's gotten fairly famous in his position lately and I'm happy for him

[@ryv2484]

I want his job

[@VikingTeddy]

Found him through Ian, and he's now one of my favorite tubers. He's got a very pleasant voice, often puts me to sleep when I'm watching in bed.

[@Thisandthat8908]

Fun fact: He's registerd this as his actual full name now.

[@martinmadsen7955]

I thought it was Dr. Who

[@VikingTeddy]

@@martinmadsen7955 How do you know he isn't?

[@Rsmall103]

What a professional, ensures the rifle is cleared every time, even with a single shot.

[@michaelb1761]

Yes, I noticed how they both closed the breech before handing the rifle back to him, and he immediately opened it, as it should be.

[@BA-zy2kb]

@@michaelb1761 theyd still be doing push-ups if I was the RSO.

[@sleeplessindefatigable6385]

Was going to comment about that. That's some real professionalism there.

[@andrewgates8158]

And gets an upper torso hit in bf1 with the Martini Henry.

[@IVANGROZNEY]

Baldwin could have used one of those.

[@elxaime]

"Do you know what makes a good soldier? Not many do." "The ability to fire 24 rounds a minute in any weather."

[@christibor8821]

Now that’s soldiering

[@timonsolus]

Or 2 rounds with a Brown Bess…

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@timonsolus I think you'll find it's three rounds a minute, in any weather.

[@timonsolus]

@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 : Good luck with firing a Brown Bess in the rain!

[@residentelect]

@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 "Bite! Pour! Spit! Tap!" (Guitar riff intensifies...)

[@DataWaveTaGo]

I fired my father's Martini-Henry at a hundred yard range in the early 1960s. What struck me most was that the bullet's turbulence as it cleft the air towards the target was distinctly visible. It looked like a minature vortex of clear water swirling down the drain of a sink.

[@mirandahotspring4019]

You can see that for all bullets, in the military one way for the spotter to see here the shots are going is called, "Observation of swirl" swirl being of course the observable vortex the bullet makes.

[@johnhudak3829]

Yeah I had the same experience when I fired a 71/84 Mauser rifle. It's 11mm black powder and it was about like sending tennis balls downrange!!

[@crispinmunns6636]

Saw the same thing when doing competition shooting with full bore rifles (7.62x51). On a 1000m range if you stood behind a shooter you could watch the swirl with the naked eye for 2-3 seconds as it tracked up and down onto the target. If you were spotting for someone you got an even better view through the scope.

[@Halcyon1861]

@@mirandahotspring4019 You can't see that in all bullets. So if I fire the standard .308 at the magical 1000 yard target everyone has to shoot at, what range does the bullet usually go subsonic? Around 900 yards. Will you see a bullet wake through a spotting scope at 900 yards? No its subsonic. If you fire a .45 pistol at 800 feet per second will you see a wake? Nope

[@richarddobb6959]

@@mirandahotspring4019 p

[@danbrown7420]

I love how Jonathon seemed almost bored and indifferent while the guys were actually firing, but then absolutely came to life while describing the damage it would do to the human body 😅

[@didierdenice7456]

yeah... I myself felt quite aroused to see three gay guys together in one video ! 🥹

[@Hoaxe72]

@@didierdenice7456?

[@reasoningbrute903]

''Johnathon'' 💀💀

[@Nick-rs5if]

@@Hoaxe72 While I can't speak for him, I do believe that he was referring to the olden time word for Glad, which happens to be Gay. Old songs like When Johnny Comes Marching Home for example contains Gay under this context. Then again, I can't speak for him.

[@Hoaxe72]

@@Nick-rs5if I am aware of the older context of “gay” but in that context he used and the modern day meaning I think it’s unlikely

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Henry will never get Boered while sipping a Martini and watching this in the early evening Zulu time.

[@thomaszaccone3960]

🤣🤣🤣

[@markrainford1219]

You're a poet, and didn't know it. 😁

[@eloiseharbeson2483]

Didn't 9-Hole reviews do a M-H?

[@ArmadilloManiac]

I see what you did there 😁👍

[@victorwaddell6530]

Wooah Black Betty , Bam A Lam !

[@FyremaelGlittersparkle]

Every time I see Jonathan Ferguson in a video, I know I’m about to learn something and have a good time doing it. He even looks like one of my oldest friends which just makes it better.

[@Bulletguy07]

I've been to the Royal Armouries and they have an incredible collection of guns through the ages. The guy that showed us around surprised us when someone asked which was his favourite gun in the collection and he opened a tray full of Luger pistols. There were several more trays all full of Lugers but then he pointed to one and said "this one". He saw that we were puzzled at his choice so he explained why. It's the first Luger built.

[@ecr-9341]

Did they have one of the only two .45ACP’s ever built?

[@Bulletguy07]

@@ecr-9341 I dont know except the story behind it is it got handed into them by police who had been asked by an elderly lady to dispose of it after it had spent years amidst junk stored in her attic.

[@ecr-9341]

@@Bulletguy07 : Sounds about like the lady in Connecticut (one of the US’s most god-forsaken states) who showed up at a police station with an STG-44 that her long departed husband left in a closet. Fortunately, an honest Police officer who recognized what she had, took hold of the situation, and while thanking her for the ‘turn in’ (god help Americans wanting to turn-in guns), demanded to help her get it legally sold for what it was truly worth.

[@tacfoley4443]

@@ecr-9341 Five.

[@DaveDexterMusic]

@@ecr-9341 the statistically insignificant number of americans turning in rare and valuable firearms should in no way stymy the act of turning-in generally

[@tsoliot5913]

Absolutely thrilled to see more Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds!

[@tballstaedt7807]

As far as rifles of the breech loading era, the Martini Henry was very reliable relatively powerful and very accurate.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

reliable until that moment when it rips ofthe iron base of the cartridge,not much fun in the middle of the battle.

[@tballstaedt7807]

@@michaelpielorz9283 ejection problems are the Achilles heel of every firearm that fires a metallic case, even modern ones.

[@Nooziterp1]

@@michaelpielorz9283 Especially with the early brass foil cartridges. Add heat from sustained firing (added to the heat of colonial Africa) and soldiers were left with a rifle with a cartridge stuck in the breech with no way of removing it apart from ramming a cleaning rod down the barrel. In other words a useless rifle. Which is why they later moved to rolled brass cartridges more like modern ones. The added strength meant they had much less tendency to lose their rims. It still happened but with far less frequency.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

@@michaelpielorz9283 The iron base cartridges were only used at the very beginning of the MH service life, but clearing a case head with your clearing rod,(attached for the purpose), was no more of a problem than using a muzzle loader, when brass cases were developed the problem went away.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

@@Nooziterp1 Later brass cases were drawn brass, not rolled, and to clear a stuck cartridge case head took seconds using the attached clearing rod, still much faster than a muzzle loader.

[@Chiller01]

As someone who has repaired damage from gunshot wounds I can confirm chasing bullet fragments is not a priority unless they are in a critical place such as near the spinal cord. I chuckle when I see Old West surgery in the movies when everyone is relieved when a bullet is extracted. Actually, removing a major fragment would usually result in worsening hemorrhage because you’ve disturbed early blood clots by mucking around in a fresh wound.

[@musheopeaus4125]

Yeah okay . I’m a medic and all the frags and main must be removed usually. Else nonhealing tales place around a foreign body

[@affectionatepunch]

My dad was shot in the stomach when he was in Burma during ww2 i still have the bullet in a box lead fragments were left in his body and once or twice this was picked up during routine x rays for other ailments they were never an issue with him sadly it was heavy smoking that finished him

[@Chiller01]

@@musheopeaus4125 You stop the bleeding and get them to me. I’ll do the surgery. The patient will be better off that way.

[@92656trw]

I bet you’re super fun at parties. Actually

[@wes326]

I have a 6mmx3mm piece of a .243 jacket in my face from shooting a steel target. It was too close to a nerve to remove and hasn't been a problem for the last 44 years.

[@jamesnoonan7450]

The terrifying thing is that some of the zulu warriors at Rorkes Drift were likely at a similar range to where Jonathan was shooting from. The martini-henry is a scary weapon, and I have nothing but respect for the Zulu warriors who charged head long at its barrel !

[@eduwino151]

visited south Africa a while back and zulus had old stories of how a shot from that rifle could take out up to 5 guys , volley fires from that thing was devastating, Boers also used to decimate zulu hoardes from their wagon largers

[@jamesnoonan7450]

@Edu Wino wow really it's truly scary what a brutal a scary gun it is

[@eduwino151]

​@@jamesnoonan7450 Zulus called it the red thunder a single volley fire from 50 red coats could kill or badly injure over a hundred guys, seeing 100 of your warriors dropped instantly mid charge is enough to sap the fight out of any group

[@driftydegree5624]

@@eduwino151laagers

[@DarthAxolotl]

Closer than that, it's said that the zulus were struggling to climb the wall around rorkes drift because of the stacked bodies. They were running into melee against over a hundred of these.

[@adrianleader784]

When I was an Air Cadet, I fired the Martini-Henry Rifle that had been re-bored to fire a .22. Only the barrel was changed, everything else was original. Great fun. The best rifle for me was the 7.62 SLR I fired back in 1968. Lovely weapon.

[@Eric-vs2he]

Wait isn't the martini center-fire? How does it shoot the .22?

[@ats-3693]

The Martini Cadet rifle was made by BSA they aren't rebored Martini-Henry rifles, they were made to look like a miniature version of the Martini-Henry but have a totally different mechanism.

[@adrianleader784]

@@ats-3693 Sorry to contradict you but the rifle I fired as a cadet was identical to the original except for the barrel. The breach was the same because when a .22 round was but into the breach we had to lift it into the base of the barrel, just closing the breach would have caused a jam so we had to lift it over the lip.

[@residentelect]

@@adrianleader784 The SLR was a fantastic piece of kit. I had the pleasure of using several at Catterick with the ATC, back in the late 80s. Did you also use the L81A1? That was also a fine weapon to get you accustomed to handling and shooting long guns.

[@joelhebert4559]

For years Ithaca sold a little single shot .22 rifle that looked like a western lever action repeater, but was just a Martini action .

[@christophertipton2318]

I own a Martini-Henry Mk IV made in 1889. I also have a sword-bayonet for it made by Wilkinson Sword in 1886. I have fired a grand total of three shots from it. As the presenters said, quite a recoil. I bought it from a collector who had a Mk I that he was able to track by serial number to the 1st Bn, South Wales-Borderers. He can't get it closer than the battalion, but it was a good chance that rifle was in the Zulu War circa 1879.

[@tomjackson4374]

Where did you get the ammunition?

[@christophertipton2318]

@@tomjackson4374 From the collector I bought the rifle from. This was back in the late 1980s. Cost me $5.00/round.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

@@tomjackson4374 It is very easy to get, you just make it, 50 rounds cost no more than the black powder and primer.

[@gregj831]

That gun is powerful.

[@christophertipton2318]

@@gregj831 I believe in the book Washing of the Spears, the author wrote a comment that after the Zulu Wars there were a lot of Zulus wandering about missing an arm or a leg, or both. The MH just shattered the bones as was demonstrate with the ballistic gel and synthetic bone. There was nothing that could be done but a surgical amputation if the gunshot wound didn't do the whole job.

[@brunosmith6925]

I was a film extra at "Zulu Dawn" and had the experience of firing (blanks) during the filming of the main battle scene... While not a great fan of guns myself, I could see why this weapon did such damage to the brave Zulus back in 1879.

[@Hoaxe72]

That is pretty cool

[@allangibson8494]

The Zulus had Martini Henry rifles to shoot back - they lacked the training of the British however. The Zulus wiped out the British regiment at Isandlwana and collected all their rifles and the ammunition in the supply train. The company at Rorkes Drift differed in having a supply of ammunition to hand - in spite of being outnumbered 40 to 1.

[@timmo491]

They'd have been braver if they'd been attacking a force more than 1/25th their size!

[@Phansikhongolza]

Bruno Smith. I remember it been filmed. Was about 1978/79. I was in Form 3 or 4 at Alexandra High. Loads of my older friends and family members were drafted in as extras for the scenes shot in Maritzburg.

[@paulbradford8240]

That was interesting. I owned one of these in the early 70's. It was given to me by my Dad after my parents divorced. I found it up in the attic after he had gone. I called him and he gave it to me. He had been a keen collector of ex-military weapons, predominately pistols, but he also had a Lee Enfield from WW2. We used to go shooting at Purfleet ranges in the 1960's. I remember firing a Walther P38, which I quite liked due to the shape of the grip. He also had a Mauser C96 with the wooden holster/stock.

[@peterkoning21]

At school cadets we had weekly firing of these Martini Henrys but chambered for .22 rounds. So we knew the rifle quite well.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I used them at ATC too. (PS The only intelligent guy was the one on the right with the weapon!).

[@bronoun8884]

You lucky bugger . Weekly? Mind you our CO and hugely eccentric CO2 were champs . Had some great adventures but got to shoot pretty much just at weekend camps ( crow) and anular camps lol

[@awmperry]

That must have been in the very early days of the ATC - I’ve never heard of a Martini-Henry in .22LR, just the No 8 rifle that was brought in in 1947.

[@awmperry]

Have done some Googling. The Greener conversions?

[@stealthysaucepan2016]

Same!

[@wswift7611]

Jonathan is a walking dictionary of rifle history, love the way he talked, very humble but utterly professional, Thanks for bringing up this very interesting history of weaponry

[@h.s6352]

This was great and it's always a delight to see Jonathan on this website. I can't believe out of all the people who talk about firearms on KZbin, he ended up being the first one to go into some really nice detail and well-put explanation about the forensics of gunshot wounds. Bravo!

[@johnfish837]

A very good shot by Jonathan Ferguson! You can feel the level of skill this man has.

[@EricJMillan]

I appreciated them bringing out the Snider-Enfield as the first breach loader in the British Armed forces. As a member of the Fort Henry Guard, I did precision drill with the Snider-Enfields and as a squad we became very proficient in their use. Worth looking at our simulated battle tactics to get feel for the fire rate. We would have firing competitions and it was easy to get 7-8 aimed shots off per minute after only a few months of practice. The biggest issue was overheating of the barrels and having to do rifle exercises afterwards.

[@tacfoley4443]

The Snider WAS the first breech-loader, not the M-H. We've watched your team performing a number of times over the years, and been very impressed.

[@hansjoacher152]

Honestly wonder how it's like to be able to perform those fort henry drills, how long it takes

[@EricJMillan]

@@hansjoacher152 We were all university students so a typical season would be May-August. First year guard members would be marching in shows by July (usually in the rear ranks). The typical week would have the Squad practicing drill 3 days a week (while the Drums subunit led tours and programming) and vice versa. Performance day was always hectic and lots of fun. Individual drill could be learned decently well in about 4 weeks (not perfect, but honestly, decent enough to participate in something like the trooping of the colours). Precise squad maneuvers were always the hard part. Some of the complex wheels and "on the leading man" maneuvers were always tough and took weeks to learn.

[@gaptaxi]

7 0r 8 rounds? As an Army Cadet of 15 years old we had to fire 10 rounds of .303 inch using the SMLE Lee Enfield rifle, and hit the target in 30 seconds, I managed 9 rounds before the whistle blew to stop firing. Dead chuffed and we fired the rifle regularly for two weeks, this was in 1972 and I joined Junior RAC in 1973 over 50 years ago. I fired it first at 11 years old, it blew me back off the butts in Altcar.

[@coneypylon]

@@gaptaxi You had a magazine, they did not.

[@cycleSCUBA]

Jonathan was the gently spoken museum curator......then completely changes once he has the loaded rifle in his hands and then revels in detailing the damage!!!

[@hunterarmstrong4451]

This video does more than just show a weapon from history. It shows proper etiquette. How to be safe when handling. Beautiful work

[@ChitFromChinola]

Love the Peabody-Martini action. Clever simplicity.

[@Harkness197]

Jonathan is an absolute legend!

[@nathanielwowchuk6880]

I have a martini in 303. Apparently, my grandpa cut someone's driveway, and the guy gave it to him. Unfortunately, at some point a fudd soldered a ring to the receiver to act as a ghost sight and also ground the rear sight attachment point off. It was an old modification because the patina on those grinds matches the rest of the gun which is pretty cool to me in a way. Neat guns though

[@Hermans_IT_Insights]

This was really interesting to watch. Im a South African living in the area where these wars happened. Rorkes Drift is just a few minutes' drive from my house. You can basically see the fields where the Boer war happened from my back door. The Zulu war also happened here. The river here is called Blood River because of the Zulu bloodshed and their blood running into the river. Always interesting watching things from around here. That photo of the Boere was taken right here in my area. We have a very interesting Museum right on the spot where all this happened. Thank you for a great episode.

[@shanes-aquatic]

I love watching the videos that Jonathan Ferguson does when he reviews modern and historic video game firearms and compares them with real life analogs.

[@PeterHHodge]

We had a pair of Martini Cadets in our school armoury, the small bore version. Great fun using them!

[@agtom1329]

Enjoying this series ! Please keep it going.

[@zillsburyy1]

the continues line of fire at the end of the movie was BRILLIANT!!!!!

[@petem6226]

My grandfather fought in the 2nd Boer War with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He liked his Martini Henry so much he kept it and fought in WW1 with it.

[@HistoryHit]

😯😯😯

[@petem6226]

@@HistoryHit He was a TA Sgt during WW1, was 42 years old when called up. Irishman from Dundalk, was sent in 1916 to deal with the Easter rising, refused, (the Irish met in his mum's pub on the Ardee Rd on the way to Dublin) so they sent him to Port Louis, Mauritius. By all accounts an absolute madman.

[@CMillz884]

Can you imagine going to war with a single shot rifle, terrifying. Brilliant upload from the boys again, so enjoyable to watch

[@texasred7806]

If you're coming up against spears you'd probably feel pretty powerful to be fair Edit: armed with anything war is a terrifying experience I'm sure.

[@mats7492]

At that time, this was FAR better than what your opponent had so…..

[@alexwilliamson1486]

The Martini Henry could do terrible damage with the large round? If properly deployed it could do the job?

[@Emanmonster13]

I recently purchased a captured Martini Henry used by the Taliban in 2011, what a nightmare it would be to go into modern warfare with a single shot rifle.

[@janvesely6353]

I guess I can at the period it was introduced, Martini-Henry can be reloaded pretty fast by trained shooter, it's simple, reliable and one should realize it's a generation that came after percussion muzzle loaders, not counting needle guns. Repeaters were only emerging, initially being either less reliable, low powered or both, so it took a while for them to be largely adopted by militaries.

[@brozelmotorsports4234]

Love when my favorite history buff boys do these firearm colabs. Great job guys.

[@billythedog-309]

One of whom can't pronounce lieutenant.

[@TheSundayShooter]

@@billythedog-309 French word, French pronunciation ツ

[@billythedog-309]

@@TheSundayShooter 29% of English vocabulary are French and most have been anglicised, but you pronounce all of them like a French native, don't you. Eh?

[@TheSundayShooter]

@@billythedog-309 Not quite a matter of anglicisation, is it? Every other occasion, you pronounce lieu _loo_ *AFAIA*

[@billythedog-309]

@@TheSundayShooter Nobody in Britain pronounces lieu as loo - it would usually be pronounced as in beauty. ln the case of lieutenant that is just another anomaly of how English developed.

[@Kabrinsky1]

I could listen to Jonathan talk about guns for hours... I want a documentary.

[@Bogie3855]

Not sure why but I LOVE falling blocks and in particular the Martini Henry. I have had several over the years and currently have a Martini Cadet that was converted to rimfire about 75yrs ago. It is by far my most accurate 22 and is a delight to shoot.

[@eloiseharbeson2483]

Glad to see Jonathan display a Snider. Short lived conversion that was not built upon unlike the Allin conversion of the Springfield rifled musket that was carried over to the trapdoor Springfield.

[@SirKaldar]

I believe that's the first time I've seen Jonathan firing something and he's just as professional with that as he is with presenting the history of the pieces.

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

Not to overshadow the presenters but man do I love Jonathan and his presentations. Legend.

[@jeffjames3111]

I was lucky enough to fire this beautiful rifle in New Zealand of all places. I have fired many different types of rifles, some pistols, some SMGs and a few MGs over the years. What surprised me is how civilised a rifle it is to fire, it isn't a percussive recoil, more like a gentle push - with a lovely puff of smoke. Impressively large shells too :D

[@chrisworthen1538]

The push is indicative of most black powder firearms.

[@jimmy12347654]

Love that you re visited the rifles to cover the Henry. Total redemption! 😅

[@martinwinther6013]

Love the humble smile on the face of Ferguson, and how it show hes not really comfortable when people call him an expert

[@andywhite40]

Nice video about a proper piece of history!! My dad has got a still firing Martini Henry and having fired the weapon I can say you certainly know when you've pulled the trigger!! It's probably the favourite rifle in his collection and there's some weird and wonderful things in that collection!!

[@jharris947]

How could you not enjoy that...Excellent.

[@dragonfusilier9173]

Looking at the Lee Metford (Successor to Martini Henry) could be a good way to explore rifling. It was a good rifle (now bolt action), but the rifling and the change to smokeless powder (cordite) necessitated a change. That change came in the form of a change to Enfield rifling, making the Lee Enfield Mk.I.

[@happyhome41]

Most excellent, and many thanks to the Royal Amouries Museum !

[@thatsbollox]

When he fixed that extraordinary bayonet to the MH it somehow seemed complete. One of the more devastating single shot weapons of the era, and by all accounts very reliable in the hands of a skilled soldier. Terrific mechanism....as he said, just use a bit of authority with the lever. Luv a stick with a kick. Wonderful video cheers.

[@hogsnplanes]

The P-53 rifled musket muzzle loader was converted to the breach loading Snider Enfield, later purposely made in the MK3 as a stop gap until the Martini Henry was developed. Might want to do a video on that very important rifle in British military history.

[@stringpicker5468]

My dad used a Martini-Henry back in the mid 1920s as a hunting rifle. He said it had an almighty kick. He was a seriously great shot with a Lee-Enfield. The Mauser 1898 pattern is still used to day on hunting rifles. I have a Mauser 98 based Parker-Hale from the 60s a very precise accurate robust action with high pressure. Not fast to load though.

[@samueladams3746]

Always regret passing on buying a Martini-Enfield .303 conversion years ago. Love the action. Funny watching modern day Brits shoot.

[@TheCrunchbird]

I have an original Martini-Henry from the Zulu war period as well as a Snider Enfield. I also have ammunition for both of them. I am an old man an of 72 years of age and I am selling them along with a lot of other stuff. Reply to this comment if you have any interest. I am in Florida, USA.

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

Gentlemen, that was in no shape or form a deep dive into the Martini Henry. That said, well done on giving Jonathon Ferguson and the Royal Armouries some more visibility. It's too long since I paid a visit, but I still remember the elephant armour. A sight you need to see.

[@skildude]

Excellent video. It could be used to demonstrate weapon safety. Never point a weapon at something you don't intend to kill, Weapon pointed down range at all times, Never walk in front of the barrel ever, and most importantly clearing the breach. Well done guys

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

As a South African, this video is very interesting!

[@jaymac7203]

It is as an English man too lol

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

@@jaymac7203 ooo, an Englishman!

[@tacfoley4443]

@@DragonsAndDragons777 Rooinek.

[@yonniboy1]

Great video lads, I had the artillery carbine Martini-Enfield .303 in the late 1970s and of all the .303s I've fired (including the mk V jungle carbine) it had by far the biggest kick.

[@BK45AUS]

Father had a collection of Martini's, a couple .310 cadets, 297 Francotti, and a original Mk1 that was re-chambered to take .303 Brit, all lovely to shoot, always great fun.

[@sirridesalot6652]

The lever action mechanism of a Martini is quite strong. Many Martini Henry actions were later mated with smaller caliber barrels and made most excellent target rifles.

[@geoffpatch8255]

I had one of these conversions chambered for the very hot .225 Winchester round. Probably the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. I once headshot a rabbit with it at a measured 400 paces.

[@janslavik5284]

Hey isn't that Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, the famous GameSpot presenter and all-around a decent chap?

[@HistoryHit]

It sure is!

[@piobmhor8529]

When I was in high school in the 1970s, I had a friend whose dad owned one. One summer, his dad ordered a box of ammo that took a while to come in. I got to shoot it once with them. The recoil was pretty brutal for the 16 year old me, but what really impressed me was the smoke from the black powder. It was one of those hot summer days with no wind, so the smoke just hung in the air. I must say that acrid sulphur smoke was almost pleasant. I was quite thankful for having experienced a bit of history.

[@henrywarnell7694]

Good idea to introduce soundtrack music when the weapon is fired to make it more exciting. Genius really.

[@Official-Zulu]

Such an amazing rifle! 🙌

[@theaveragecube_]

Fancy seeing you here.. 😃

[@Official-Zulu]

@@theaveragecube_ if it’s Zulu we’re there! ❤️

[@tileux]

I had a martini-henry as a kid. I used to use it in competition shooting. Great rifle but the big problem always was that the ejector would quite often launch red hot brass up into the air and straight down the left sleeve of my shooting jacket (im right handed), which is not helpful when youre prone in a competition shoot.

[@salamanca1954]

You guys are after my own heart. Well done!

[@paulaltamore318]

How Johnathan doesn't smack these two every time they say "bullet" but mean "cartridge" is a miracle...

[@ukmediawarrior]

The rate of fire at Rorkes Drift was so high the barrels of the rifles got to hot to hold. The soldiers wrapped rags around their hands or the rifle barrels so they could continue to use them.

[@realbroggo]

Heat is an issue even for relatively modern weapons. My uncle was an M60 machine gunner in Vietnam and has told me about the need to control heat to avoid warping the barrel and facing the risk of either misfiring or worst case breach explosion. They use to pour oil, water and anything else on the barrel to help with cooling. Some gunners were even issued with an asbestos glove. Have a great day.

[@ukmediawarrior]

@@realbroggo You ever seen 'We were soldiers' with Mel Gibson? There's a scene in there where the mortar team has stopped firing and Gibson, as Colonel Moore, asks them why. They explain the tubes are to hot to fire, a mortar shell could go off in the tube, so he has them piss over the tubes to cool them down. According to the book the movie was based on that actually happened :)

[@realbroggo]

@@ukmediawarrior Yep! I've heard similar stories. As they say - sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

[@astondriver]

The shorter 303 calibre Enfield carbine is on the trolley but not discussed, introduced for horse based cavalry, it was quick to fire and easy to handle on horseback but less accurate at longer range due to the shorter barrel. Also note the snapshot of ZULU, in the movie Long Lee's were used to substitute Martini's which were rarer at the time, and some bastardisation of bayonets used alongside for the purpose of having enough firearms.

[@PaulP999]

Glad you mentioned Zulu, that still shown here had me freeze framing to try to figure out the upper action on the standing men's weapons - you've likely answered my questions.

[@allangibson8494]

The reason they went to shorter barrels was because they found absolutely no difference in range. The longer barrels were because the British used three ranks on the front line with single shot rifles and the muzzle had to be in front of the front rank for safety. The universal short rifle was adopted when that practice was abandoned as a bad idea after the Boer War - because firing in ranks just gave the Boers a bigger target to shoot from behind cover - one bullet, three wounded or dead from 500 yards range.

[@astondriver]

@@allangibson8494 noted, I'm just quoting the literature in the national army museum, Waiourou which I recall said they were less effective and accurate due to the shorter barrel.

[@allangibson8494]

@@astondriver The Lee Metford rifles with the long barrel were actually less accurate than the Lee Enfield with the shorter barrel with smokeless powder. Horses for courses. There were four different barrel lengths trialed and the SMLE was the best compromise as it achieved full combustion of the smokeless powder load where the longer pattern was over expanded. Carbine length Lee Enfield’s on smokeless powder had significant flash and lower muzzle velocities - which didn’t matter much in jungle warfare however (hence the No 5 and No 6 Jungle Carbines). Metford used polygonal rifling to cope with black powder fouling but it wore out rapidly under the greater heat and pressure of smokeless powder. The conventional land and groove rifling of the Lee Enfield proved better long term.

[@jonathanstrong4812]

There was a similar single shot rifle that the 7TH Cav they had a single shot like the Martini-Henry It would be the Springfield single shot that General Custer and his 264 men had which to would get and the constant firing would heat it up and make them useless like Custer the men that would be firing continuously and they would pack up and that then of June 25 1876 and what happened in South Africa in January 1879 happened three years earlier

[@danielcurtis1434]

I love how the first guy used the lever so slow that he actually didn’t even engage the ejector with enough force to get the round out. And then he seemed to think that was how it works!!! The gap in hands on knowledge can create funny situations!!! No pressure I would look way way worse trying to say take apart a car!!’

[@animalblundetto8440]

I love how the UK basically bans kitchen knives and yet Jonathan Ferguson has access to every firearm ever made

[@murphymmc]

Jonathan showed great patience with guys who were pretty much intimidated by the rifle. A lesson in sight alignment and trigger press would help a bit with the pistol range accuracy. Good to see the lads getting to have some fun. I suspect the Spencer carbine could have been a game changer had they made a deal for them. Then there's the Henry lever action in .45 Colt, later in .45-70. British military's reticence to depart from tradition cost them much.

[@johnbryant5338]

Repeated with the sa80. 🤦‍♂️

[@ronalddavis]

there was no henry lever action .45 colt or 45/70 . the henry used a weaker .44 rimfire cartridge

[@ronalddavis]

the spencer used a 56-50 cartridges loaded in the butt of the rifle and was loaded with the loading lever but required a seperate cocking of the hammer

[@MoonyPoet]

Jonathan has the job that I wanted as a kid, but I wanted to play with swords instead of guns. Jonathan would make the type of professor that I would have wanted to study under and have advise me.

[@leesp2]

Great video, informative and close up with a great expert 👍

[@timw6928]

I have this exact rifle but dated 1879 , beautiful simplicity all matching military stamps mk1 in full working order .

[@TheCrunchbird]

Me too. I am selling mine. I live in Florida, USA. I also have a fair amount of ammunition for it. Reply to my post if you have an interest. PS: I also have Snider Enfield and ammunition for it.

[@itsnotrightyouknow]

I read that the solders at Rorks drift had their shoulders so bruised from the kick of the rifle, they swapped their firing shoulder, when this became to painful they fired from the hip.

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

Erm, I think no. The lads at Rorke's drift were trained soldiers, butt of the rifle is held firmly into the shoulder, that way you get a solid push when you fire, not a punch. That's what I was taught firing the SLR, or L1A1. Yes a sore shoulder after a day at the range but not bruised. Can't see Colour Sergeant Bourne putting up with firing from the hip. Most unsoldierly.

[@sandiedyer7958]

​@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 p99

[@TheCrunchbird]

@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 I own a Martini-Henry hat is dated to the Zulu wars. I also have ammunition for it and I can attest that the think kicks like a mule. I shot a deer with it and it made a mess of it. I m selling it if you have an interest as I am 72 years old and unloading a lot of stuff before I push up the daisy's. Reply to this comment if by chance you have any interest in it. I also have an original Snider Enfield with ammo.

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@TheCrunchbird Hi, 60 years old here and looking at retirement, thanks for the offer but I think right now my better half would be giving me the evils if I was looking at man toys rather than sorting the practicality's of mortgage, car etc. Best of luck with unloading stuff before you wander off into the night. I am tempted though, ball park figure?

[@TheErickDH]

would be a neat video for this series if they did a video firing the main service rifle for each of the major powers of the First World War for a comparison.

[@chrisk_nfl4120]

I second this!

[@beepboop204]

A RIFLEMAN GOES TO WAR is an American dudes memoir about fighting with Canada. has some real interesting insights, even if you just read some of the summary.

[@victorwaddell6530]

Before the US entered the Great War we built a lot of P 14 Enfield rifles chambered in .303 Enfield for the Brits . We entered the war with our nicked-off copy of the K 98 Mauser designated the M1903A3 Springfield chambered in 30-06 . When US troops needed more rifles than Springfield Armory could produce , other makers produced P 14 Enfield rifles chambered 30-06 designated the model P 17 . I'd like to see a video comparing these five weapons . Enfield , Mauser , Springfield , P 14 , P 17 .

[@realPromotememedia]

First timer, didn’t expect to last til the end but the video ended too soon! Nicely done ✅ thank you

[@robashley8216]

I appreciate Johnathan bringing up the Boer war. That was a very important time for us South Africans that's usually overshadowed by everything else

[@TheCrunchbird]

The Boers certainly kicked a lot of pompous British arses in that war!

[@mediapartners9950]

I’d love to see these guys refer to a junior officer of the British Army as a “Lootenant”…they’d only do it once! 😂 Other than that, good video.

[@mettrisscomputeque8238]

and on similar note Boer is pronounced like Bore (because it's Dutch)

[@SafetyBriefer]

There were reports from the Zulu war where a Martini-Henry bullet would pass through three Zulus and stop in the fourth.

[@dominic6634]

O I thought it was the Iklwa passing through three British soldiers and stopping at the fourth.

[@SafetyBriefer]

@@dominic6634 The bayonet was superior to the spear chuckers' spears.

[@billallen4793]

Seeing 👀 all those belts used in the factory 🏭 is incredible! So cool to see how machines were powered back then!..from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠

[@mikeygilmour4635]

I've actually had the privilege of firing one of these in the original .577/450 Martini Henry cartridge, well, blanks anyway. At the time I had no idea of their rarity. I also fired a Snider Enfield trapdoor carbine. Very smokey but so much fun.

[@st.baldwin1560]

Ah, yes, Jonathan Ferguson the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armories Museum in the UK.

[@zwenkwiel816]

I liked the part where he went "it's keeping time"

[@HistoryHit]

Who else but Jonathan.

[@fruhotchiliman]

Can you do a Mauser 98 comparing the WW1 and the WW2 carbine versions? That would be sick. It's a legend for sure, as well

[@josephberrie9550]

sick ???????

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@josephberrie9550 I believe it's a modern usage of the word, meaning good. I generally defer to the Mem Sahib for translations of modern terminology, she's a decade or so younger than me. HTH.

[@neilholmes8200]

Jonathan looks so proud as he wheels in the rifles, he's genuinely gait to show them off

[@mikehenthorn1778]

nice video , it is great to see these old firearms in action. i also noted he checked each arm as it was handed back to him even though he knew how much ammo was on the range and what they shot. great to see the safety rules followed no matter what.

[@grahambamford9073]

The lads must of gotten a safety briefing from Jonathan as they were not to bad, muzzle awareness and keeping fingers off the trigger until ready to fire. Of course with a safe eye from Jonathan and him checking and clearing the rifle after each use.

[@garrybrischke53]

My Martini Henry was made in 1880, rebarreled in 1883, had a hard life corrosive 303 ammo ,came to me with badly pitted barrel which I replaced with a #1mark 3 barrel . Yes she a "mongrel " but she still shoots after all those years , if only she could talk. 143 & still going strong , they don't make them like that any more Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺

[@wereham]

That's amazing I really want one

[@arkhamasylum8382]

@@wereham not theeee David Hayter I presume,?

[@wereham]

@@arkhamasylum8382 I'm used to Heckler and Koch and assault rifles. It's gonna be a learning curve getting used to a single shot rifle.

[@sw96]

That's pretty damn cool, yeah she's not original or "numbers matching" as they say in the automotive world, but she still works and is functional and in my mind that trumps an 100% original display piece (at least that's how I look at my cars :D).

[@allangibson8494]

It would have been rebarrelled more than just once. The 303 British cartridge entered service in 1889 so it couldn’t have been rebarrelled in 303 in 1883 - rebuilt from a Mk1 to later variant perhaps.

[@alext8828]

Excellent expert opinion here. A knowledgeable guide through the labyrinth.

[@fin-ed6oj]

So much respect to everyone at Rorke's Drift, to be on the receiving end of a Martini Henry round looks horrific. Also, respect to the Brits for managing to fire so many rounds in one night. Many of the survivors at Rorke's Drift were reported to have broken shoulders from firing hundreds of rounds

[@AlternityGM]

It’s interesting to see how unfamiliar with firearms modern British guys are. I suppose the vast majority of Brits have never handled a firearm.

[@d33b33]

10:48 It might not work well but whoa! The steampunk sidesaddle Haston magazine is amazing! There's one that Ian @ forgotten weapons missed, eh ;) Great video, guys. You boys' stance and results are looking better too.

[@PaulP999]

JF seems to be on good terms with Ian so maybe he will draw attention to it - have you seen those similar bulky ammo "dispensers" made to attach to a Krag-Jorg magazine?

[@robjames4491]

I have fired the Martini with full power black powder loads as well as many other heavy calibre nitro rifles here in Africa. If you don't want bruises to your shoulder keep your upper arm parallel with the ground, the "red coat" in the title picture of the video has it more or less right. Glad to see everyone seems to me putting their thumbs on the chequered recess on the receiver where it belongs, if you put your thumb over the wrist of the stock on a Martini you are likely to get a painful blow to the chops!

[@TheCrunchbird]

If you have an interest in owning an original Martini-Henry from the Zulu war period, I have one here in Florida, USA that I bought forty years ago. Reply to my comment here if you have an interest. I also have ammo for it but it is likely forbidden to ship it from the US to Africa.

[@robjames4491]

Sorry for the slow response but I just saw this now! Thanks for the offer but it would probably be a nightmare to import the weapon, also they are very plentiful here as a result of our various wars with the Brits and the Zulu's amongst others.

[@ianmunro4995]

What an incredible job you have done bringing this marvellous gun back to life beautiful

[@spervuurproduksies]

The advantage of the German Mauser was that it used smokeless cartridges, so it was very hard for the enemy to trace the direction of fire.

[@pierremauboussin3527]

One of the major advantages the Germans had going into the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the fact that chemistry was a much more highly developed field there. The expense of imported natural dyes and unavailability of local equivalents stimulated an intensive study of organic chemistry in Germany.

[@thebasedspectre3048]

the Mauser used 11×60mm Mauser which is black powder

[@fireman3857]

As a South African, this weapon was so iconic it made it into our history books. And was taught to me through out my school career. Before the ANC and the terrorist mandela destroyed our history.

[@russbarker2727]

Another great video guys. I remember as a 15-year-old, when I was in the Air Cadets at my school, we went on the Oxford University firing range, We were equipped with .22 Martinis I think. Well, it was 40 odd years ago! We all thought we were in the film Zulu!

[@Sm-ne8ff]

My Grandfather fought in the Boar War, thank you to show this, very interesting.

[@Sailor_McNemo]

I would love to see a video on how the conservators at the Royal Armouries Museum go about cleaning these artifacts afterwards. I have my methods, but what is their standard procedure?

[@eloiseharbeson2483]

Ballistol pre-mix at 4 parts water to one part Ballistol is the ticket for black powder. Been using the stuff almost 60 years on everything, though 10:1 is fine for corrosive priming.

[@allangibson8494]

Traditionally it was boiling hot water poured down the barrel to wash the mercury and potassium salts and sulphur out followed by a patch to dry it and then oil the bore. Black powder leaves a lot of unburnt sulphur behind. Boiling water melts it. Very few people use original black powder anymore - and they weren’t here either because first you could still see them after they shot the first round and mercury salts are toxic as hell, so you wouldn’t fire corrosive ammunition indoors. The British military used black powder into the 1900’s (including in the Lee Metford 303 rifle (the Lee Enfield was the first specifically designed to use smokeless powder)).

[@eloiseharbeson2483]

@@allangibson8494 boiling water is not necessary. I think the logic behind boiling water was that it was an excuse to brew up tea. Used tap water and Ballistol for years to clean black powder residue.

[@allangibson8494]

@@eloiseharbeson2483 What I was reporting was the standard method used by the British Army in the 1870’s. Ballistol didn’t yet exist - but every soldier in the army had the equipment to brew tea. Modern “Black Powder” substitutes bear very little resemblance to 18th century black and brown powder - and no-one loads cartridges with compressed black powder anymore (because they don’t have the equipment required). The traditional black powder mills would just be too dangerous to meet modern health and safety standards for the operators. Crappy powder needs far more aggressive cleaning techniques - and the British army used them. Not many people today would shove a bronze bore brush into their muzzle loader regularly.

[@eloiseharbeson2483]

@@allangibson8494 true that part about no Ballistol. 1905 was its year of development. I did shoot the real stuff in my Hawken replica and Ruger before substitutes were on the market. Pyrodex was available but not highly regarded. My loads in the Ruger were FFF compressed as hard as the loading rod would load them under a solid conical bullet. Would usually blow at least 3 of every 6 percussion caps off into the action.

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

The very first rifle I fired was a Martini breach loader. It was also the rifle the killed me. A shooter who had not followed the safety protocol, dropped their rifle on the firing point with a live round in it. The breach closed and discharged the round which brushed past my ear as I swapped targets. That was the last time I shot at that range.

[@wadewilson8303]

I'd sure like to work with a Henry Martini Rifle. It's been one of my fantasy rifles to shoot for a long time.

[@TheCrunchbird]

If you want to buy an original from the Zulu war period, reply to this comment. I am in Florida, USA. I also have a Snider Enfield and ammunition for both guns. All the very best, Dave. * * *

[@Trusteft]

Good video, my favorite was his last bit of info about wounds. Thanks for sharing.