I've commented on a few of your videos but it's a crying shame you don't have more subscribers. The information is exact, without emotion and carefully delivered. The work you put into your shooting is clearly evident and your research impeccable. I've never fired a gun and never owned a gun and find your videos fascinating. Many thanks.
+Duncan Taylor Thank you very much Duncan. I hope then, that I can bring you a bit of the fantastic experience of shooting these fine old rifles, through the channel.
+Duncan Taylor I agree. The quality of content is high and the information rarefied enough that this channel is literally the best single source for this kind of info, anywhere.
+Duncan Taylor I can't agree with you moire Duncan this is I believe the best firearm history channel on youtube next to capandball which I also enjoy.
I work in the Fort Henry Guard in Kingston, Ontario, and we spend four months every summer drilling and performing with Sniders. I know the manual of arms inside and out and I've fired hundreds of our blanks, which are if I recall correctly just crimped shotgun shells with 20 grains of black powder, but I still have no idea about the majority of *actual* firing and reloading practices and I've never even felt the slightest amount of recoil. All that to say, I'm living vicariously through this video and it's great to see such a high-quality historically minded breakdown of the rifle on RUclips. I'm looking forward to more videos! On a side note, that's a gorgeous rifle. The FHG has ~50 or so but a few are pretty beat up from 70 years of continuous use and I know people who have seriously bruised or cut their hands 'chopping' (exactly what it sounds like) the block when it gets jammed up during a show. It gave me a visceral sense of satisfaction to see how smoothly yours opened.
+Napoleon Bergeron Good to hear from you and very happy that you enjoyed the clip... By the way, (nerd point here).... it's the "Manual Exercise" or "Platoon Exercise", not the "Manual of Arms" (an American term).... :-)... semantics aside, I imagine that those rifles would see a lot of use... What is your cleaning regimen? How long have you been with the Guard? I first saw the performance back in the mid 80s. Certainly made an impression on a young kid. Yes, there certainly are differences between the actual use of the weapon and it's use in a theatrical production such as found at the Ft. Chopping at the breechblock should definitely not be required and abuse of the weapon over time would certainly damage it, begetting the need for yet increased levels of abuse. I recall watching a clip a while ago and cringed every time the rifle butts were slammed, or allowed to drop with a crash, onto the square... You guys do a great service for Canadian history by doing what you do. I have some nerdy questions regarding some of the practices at Ft Henry. Let me know if you'd be interested in such a discussion. It's a shame that you are not able to actually shoot the rifles, maybe at an annual camp or something. You would not be disappointed. Stand by for an intro to the Short Rifle coming up soon. Incidentally, I did a Manual Exercise series for the Enfield a while back. Don't know if you saw them or not, but you might find it interesting as the movements are the same. Part One (ruclips.net/video/UctCTf0fYPA/видео.html) Part Two (ruclips.net/video/FLVejk58Z0Q/видео.html) Again, great to hear from you and I hope that this upcoming season is a successful one for you. Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Thanks for the heads up on the semantics! The Guard has been around long enough that it's acquired a unique melting pot of terms and drill as curators come and go and performances and drill change. Just last summer we changed our 'stand at ease' posture twice on the orders of the current curator. I appreciate little facts like that because since we're primarily paid performers for an audience sometimes details like that can be lost internally since the culture is a bit more like a sports team than reenactors. The bulk of the guard is comprised of university students making minimum wage, and we don't service our rifles at all ourselves outside of oiling and de-oiling them at the start and end of every day. We have a dedicated QM staff that deals with all the rifle malfunctions and maintenance, but I don't know the particulars of what they actually do. I've only been in the Guard for one summer, but I'm about to start a second in a few months. Within the drill squad we're each assigned a rifle for the summer that has internal fort marking on the butt-plate. They all have reputations and all behave a little differently, some have perfectly smooth breeches and others refuse to move unless you hit it. Personally I've never had to do it, but I've seen the results. The theatrical production certainly does call for some pretty heavy abuse of the rifles. Probably the most destructive is our order arms, where we're taught to throw the rifle into the ground after bringing it across our body to get a nice crisp snap when they all hit the parade-square at the same time. Older generations of guard practically threw it from the shoulder straight to the order. Plenty of stocks get chipped that way. I'm probably one of the biggest history nerds currently at the fort and I can't stop talking about it to anyone who's listening if any kind of tangentially related topic comes up, so I'd love to answer as many nerdy questions as I can! I did watch your Manual Exercise videos and was impressed by your drill! There's only a few details that are different from what we do, mostly in the timing and cadence of the movements. For all static rifle drill we use a MOVE-two-three-MOVE cadence, i.e. position one - beat - beat- position two. It's drilled into us pretty hard at the start of the summer but pays off when the whole squad is moving perfectly in unison. On the march we just make every movement on successive left feet - move - right - move - right. We also fix bayonets without looking, eyes front the whole time, and are totally forbidden from putting our hand over the muzzle while we do it. Also, we generally don't use a lot of the movements. We spend the vast majority of our time at the shoulder during shows and don't use positions like the support, secure, or trail since we don't actually use those in our sunset ceremonies. Sometimes if a Serjeant wants to mess with a rookie, he'll order them to mark time and march around at the support. Anyways, thanks for the response and I look forward to any questions you have!
+Napoleon Bergeron Thought you might find those drill clips interesting. Snider drill saw the addition of only a few minor changes like Sloping from the Order and the elimination of the steadying right hand when Shouldering from the Slope. The drills I demonstrated were right from the text, in the movements that were prescribed. Some movements are simply not separated by a pause. Lowering the right arm after shouldering is one such movement. The right arm is lowered immediately after the rifle is brought to the shoulder, not after a 2-3 pause....It is quite clear in the text. More like a timing of "One, (two-three), One, Two" than "One, (two-three), One, (two-three), One". You mentioned that someone changed your "Stand at Ease"??? To what? The Shoulder was used for more formal occasions, parades and the like... Field movements, advancing/retiring, etc, were done at the Slope. I haven''t seen a clip of that position being used. I have some thoughts about the way the soldiery of the 1860s is portrayed by the Guard. What's your take on it? Have you done much studying of drill books and documents? I should like to hear your opinion. Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Should have specified, I have no doubts that you did all the drill to the letter, anything we do differently is probably for ease of instruction and 'theatrics', plus the aforementioned adjustments to drill that have happened over the last 70 years. I know that some old guard used to do later Victorian drill than was accurate and would do the stomping thing with their feet all the time (crack-step?) probably because a lot of the early Guard were veterans who had been taught that way in the Army. The 'stand at ease' wasn't substantially changed, it was very slight, I think we were told to put our weight on a different/both legs and our foot positions were changed. Subtle, but important since the impressiveness of our display depends on everyone being perfectly identical. We use the slope occasionally, usually when marching from our barracks to the spot where we form up to march out and when we're out in our '2s' practicing instead of our '1s' and parading. One thing about being at the shoulder is that we're *constantly* being told to pull back on the butt, so all our rifles are perfectly straight up and down while we march and it looks good. The tendency for new recruits is to let it slide, some so badly that it may as well be the slope anyways. As a history buff who wasn't very well versed in this era of history before I started working at the fort, I think we do a decent job for what we are. The emphasis, internally, is mostly on performance and less on history. We're taught how to do specific drill movements, but not how they would actually be applied in the field. We're taught the movements that have been chosen for a given year's performance, and anything that isn't in the performance is something we'll only do if we ever have some down-time and the Sgt. Maj. is happy with where our current level of performance is at. Towards the end of last summer we got to try counter-marching and fire and advance, but only a few times each and never in a show. The fun part is that the show sequence is whatever the officers pick that year, but its usually pretty consistent. Anyways, we're typically given very little historical context for the movements and if we want to read the drill manuals it'll be on our own initiative. For one day last year we brought it down into the barracks it it was fantastic! I learned about all sorts of movements that we don't do and other concepts that just don't apply to us like battalion drill and urban combat practices. But that was, at most, an hour going over a manual and it was the only time. Typically the ones giving the orders will be much more familiar, though, and they will have had several years experience of the drill we're doing. I think what we show the public is a fine representation of formal drill from the era, we often joke that we probably do it as well or better than the real soldiers because it's ~all~ we do, every day, for four months. Internally there's generally a lack of curiosity outside of what we need to know - there's a lot of science, engineering, music students etc. who see this more as a summer job and less as a dream job - and while I love giving tours, which is the other half of our job, I know some people who aren't as enthusiastic about it. I'm sure there's more I could say that just isn't coming to mind right now, but I'd be very interested in your thoughts on the fort, anything I hear from you will be something I'm bringing back with me this coming summer.
+Napoleon Bergeron Great post! Puts things in the right context. Personally, it rubs me the wrong way to hear that "the show" comes before "the history"... simply because the show is "supposed" to represent history.. The accompanying commentary says so, the impression the Guard gives is so, and it is marketed so.... Now, that doesn't mean I take exception to your thoughts on the matter. So don't take what I have said as anything but historical musings... Here are my thoughts on the subject. The evolution of drill can be traced in film back to the late 1890s and you can tangibly see the way things have changed from the modern day.... Like any evolution, you can extrapolate beyond the 100% known, into the somewhat unknown. In this case we can do this backwards in time... Drill in the 1860s was not "formal" or "non formal".... it was all the same... It was the way the army moved and fought. Indeed you can apply that concept right up to the 1890s and even, in some ways, up to the Great War after which, drill becomes purely for training and ceremony. There was no flash, no modern-esque, robotic movements. Drill was functional, utilitarian, and efficient. No stamping, no smashing, no whip-cracking head movements,.... none of the things that are attributed to modern drill. To illustrate the point I'll take the most formal situation where drill would be practiced,.. public duties... Trooping the Colour, Changing the Guard, etc... Presumably, the drill conducted at these kinds of functions would be "The Best" effort in smartness and of the highest standard of it's time.. Take the modern iteration... Full of arm swinging, foot stamping, sharp turns, bent knees and all the little things that make ceremonial drill what it is to the modern eye.... ruclips.net/video/F6VIWTVxtMU/видео.html Have a look at an example from the 80s... Much the same, no? ruclips.net/video/ryzXWLw6s1c/видео.html Now have a look at the 50s... Things are a little less robotic.. The forms, not so crisp and formalized, the arms swung not so high. Still, pretty flashy... ruclips.net/video/aP2amH6DOsM/видео.html Look at the 30s... Arm swinging much more relaxed, the stamping is very minimal and more like "a firm placement" of the foot rather than the knee raising, crashing style of the later 20th century. ruclips.net/video/iTD2vuCBKFM/видео.html The 20s... Hardly any arm swinging at all. No stamping. You can see the "utility" in the drill just beginning to leave here.. ruclips.net/video/Rk5ZdbwFVaU/видео.html Now have a look at the 1890s... Men looking around... watch the halt as the Guard comes into the forecourt at St James. It's almost as if they were surprised by the command... Arms swinging gently while marking time (not done at all today). There is very little in the way of formality in the drill... It is simply "a way to get there"... When the officers and NCOs have to change position, they simply "go there".. no flashy turns or pivots... ruclips.net/video/5zZUJ_WhFsw/видео.html Another from the same reel.. The slow march looks like a Sunday stroll... Men looking around... ruclips.net/video/rzPXQttmYpU/видео.html These are all examples of what would be considered "the pinnacle" of foot and arms drill. Public Duties. When the men must be at their best.... BUT you have to put things in the right context.. To take the drill and bearing of the 1920s or 1890s today, it would be considered slack and idle by todays standards. Here are some more examples of 1890s/early 1900s... Troops of the Boer War era... This one starts with "The Charge" made by Indian Troops.... any robotic movements there? ruclips.net/video/QZqWLrkb_-o/видео.html This one shows at 03:00 a Cavalry Regiment dismissing from parade... what about the turns? pretty "organic" and not sharp at all... simply "facing the new direction..." although they are executed with the correct movement of the feet for a right turn (face) if you watch closely. Look at the marching... again, almost like strolling... This is followed by a march past by the Life Guards at 03:45. For a household Regiment, dismounted or not, not at all what we'd consider to be sharp today... very utilitarian. ruclips.net/video/7yjD8ofAfd4/видео.html Here are the Gordon Highlanders departing for South Africa in 1899... It's hard to watch closely, but again, note the marching and overall bearing of the troops... no robots here... ruclips.net/video/rvQ9z2kEuXo/видео.html Now watch some sentries at Windsor Castle. (1920s).. again, public duties..... Note the marching, the halting and evolution of marching a beat... very un-robotic... what about the changing of the Sentries? almost no formality at all... "get it done" more like... ruclips.net/video/AGfrOQB-C2Q/видео.html So, if you trace a line back from that first video of the Trooping last year, through the early 20th century and back into the 19th, where does that point moving backwards in time? I would move that it does not point to more robotic qualities but rather less flash, less formality, less show, and more utility, more efficiency... Why? Because we are seeing the latter part of an evolution of drill from battlefield necessity to ceremonial nicety... The earlier part of this evolution was there but, of course, is not on moving film... There simply is no place for shooting the foot out when executing a turn on the march or lifting the knee up high when marking time (this point is clearly written as not happening in the text) when you are manoeuvring in the field and, resultantly, on the square... Crashing the butt of the rifle on the ground DAMAGES the weapon for crying out loud. A man would have been charged for damaging his rifle like that.... Here is a picture of British troops at Niagara Falls in 1864(ish)... These are the exact same men (save a couple of years) that the Ft Henry Guard exemplifies yet, do they have a robotic bearing like they are putting on a show? They are rumpled, but obviously well equipped with Enfields and marching order. Look at their hands... They should be flat against their sides, no? They aren't, yet they are at attention... No flash, no needless excesses... civilwartalk.com/attachments/british-63rd-regiment-niagara-jpg.67813/ I have said all this, not to dump all over the Guard and it's members but rather as someone who enjoys military history and wants to see it portrayed appropriately when the opportunity arises... The Ft Henry Guard is one of those organizations that has that opportunity over and over again... "IF I WERE IN CHARGE!!!" he says with a grin.... *WHEW* that was long... whether you agree with me or not, this has been good as I have finally written down my thoughts on the subject... something that I have been meaning to do for a while, just needed an excuse. Thanks!
I visited the Halifax Citadel for the first time today. They use Snider-Enfield Mk.III's, and I fell in love with the rifle after seeing the live fire demonstration
This is by far one the most enjoyable firearms channels I've found. Excellent production and information. Its a shame you don't have as many subscribers as some other firearms channels but they will come. Keep up the good work!
+THEKINGOFMETROPOLIS "British military firearms of the Victorian era" is admittedly a bit of a niche... :-)... Very glad you enjoy things, here. Thanks.
Oh dear... I've just recently come across your channel... and the videos are so amazing I've spent the whole of the evening and way into the wee hours of the morning watching the back catalogue... I cannot tell you enough how amazing they are !!! Subscribed for sure...
I remember hearing about this thing. I think you can sum this up as Britain's trapdoor springfield for Americans and the trapdoor springfield is America's snider-Enfield rifle for people in the UK. They were both developed for the same reasons. They need to upgrade their rifles haha. I don't like the extraction process though. Nice antique none to less. Great hobby sir. Hats off to ya.
Another great job. New rifle and new info. This was the granddaddy of all metallic cartridges. Thanks again for all your hard work and excellent info. Looking forward to rest of it.
One of my favorite videos that you've done....l really like the Snider Enfield. ...it has the cool look about it but with a metallic cartridge...so now it's a super cool piece with a more dependable firing system
Probably not, but I would like to know if there is any way to find out what regiment it was issued to. The area where I grew up was protected by a local militia during the fenian raids along the border. I am wondering if it may have belonged to a local man and stayed in the same village since. Great video btw!
Great video Rob, wonderfull to see the venerable Snider get more exposure. It was the first rifle I ever bought 8 years ago & it has been a lot of playing with loads, bullets to come up with the best possible combination. Especially since I didn't know what I was doing half the time. A great rifle & much easier to learn how to load on with it's straight cartridge than the Martini & its bottleneck case. Keep up the good work. I am very much looking forward to seeing what gives you the best results in your Mk.III.
+Peter Martini Thanks, Peter. I am just as eager to find what works as you are!... You are right about the ease of loading for it though. Much simpler. Cheers.
I agree with Duncan. As I said before, your presentations are without peer. Your channel is by far my favorite. I grew up as a hunter and sport shooter that focused entirely on modern firearms. I credit your channel with introducing me to the joys of historical military firearms. Your channel inspired me to obtain my own Baker Rifle, which has almost entirely replaced all my other firearms at the range.
Another excellent and fascinating presentation. I only knew of the Snider-Enfield and not its role as the intermediate long arm between muzzle loader and a custom designed military breech loading rifle. Great stuff - keep it up.
I love these videos. It is so cool to see these old rifles and techniques. I watch every one of these and being an Anglophile anyway, it's a blast to see these old rifles being used the way Whitehall intended. Reenactors for the win! I believe I have mentioned in the past that I run Dade Machine Products speed loaders in an N frame S&W M27-9 .357, or Seidler Jet-Loaders in my Ruger GP100, both using the Federal Law Enforcement Center reloading style from the early 1970s, just because that's how it was done back in the day :) .
Nicely presented and factual video. Complete with uniform makes for a historical documentary on the subject We have duplicated the Mk IX cartridge with 'Type 7' bullet which has a base plug and nose cavity.With this cartridge, have managed 1 1/2-1 3/4" at 100 yards at Bisley with a DC issue Mk III Sergeants-Short rifle with and without bayonet fixed, and have published it on RUclips. If you want, a picture of the target and bullet can be posted.Our main interest are needle rifles such as the Carcano, Chassepot and Dreyse systems which are a challenge to hand load, which as you say, is the fun of it allKeep the informative videos flowing.Guy and Leonard A-R-West
It's a cold, snowy February day, and I just loaded my first eight .577 rounds yesterday evening. Man I am looking forward to firing my .577 soon. THANK YOU for your interesting and informative videos!
after watching a majority of your videos I can tell the passion you have for military history and it's firearms. As a side note you are very well spoken and I enjoy the fact that you are presenting facts in an unbiased and non judgmental way. keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video. I'm always learning new things from your channel.
I’ve always wondered where “boxer primed” came from. Great information; definitely a huge fan of this channel. It’s got history, it’s got guns, and military stuff. All good stuff, and thank you sharing this knowledge with us.
Once again your feed came up on my phone and I enjoyed it very much. The detail is fantastic. But what impressed me this time was the rear view of you as you were fired. Your body does not budge or waver or move or anything. It basically looks like a solid unit That stands in literally one position even with loading and firing. Is most impressive. Not sure if you practice this kind of thing. But I watched twice to see. Congratulations. I actually noticed this 1st on the endfield video. That is the modern 303. I have never seen anybody absolutely duplicate their stance with every shot.
Just revisiting some of your back catalogue Rob, each and every one of which is a gem. A beautifully simple and elegant weapon that continued on in Indian service for some time. I'm not sure if you'll see this comment but your work is quite simply a joy. Bravo.
It awes me to consider the harshness of breech-loading fading away... a whole new generation of privates who will never know how hard it is to ram a fouled barrel over and over and over... I do not know either but I can guess! great video, very interesting images. Especially the 78th.
Excellent videos and very interesting and educational. It seems the British and Americans came to the same conclusions and began producing breach loader, full cartridge rifles by the mid 1860's. Some differences but still all very effective and functional, and way ahead of muzzle loading.
The snider enfield continued to serve in second line service like militia and rear line duty right up to the First World War particularly in the Indian Army that shows how loved the snider really was
Extremely interesting and informational video. I thoroughly enjoy content like this about historic firearms. This is a rifle I didn't know much about but it is very interesting. Thank you for this content.
I have a 3 band Snider coming soon. Bought it fairly cheap at auction, I am excited to see what the overall condition is like. Yes I bought it unseen, apart from a couple of photos the auction house uploaded, but for the price I cant complain. Either I get a dog that is a wall hanger or I get a diamond in the rough. The ad did state "worn and pitted throughout" though from the pictures it did not look too bad. As long as the bore is good I will be happy.
I was just listening to you talk about the Snider on Milsurp World. I had to come, and see your Snider series. I'm going to look up the Battle of Ridgeway next.
Many -- perhaps most -- significant military powers went through a period of converting their muzzle loaders to breech loaders. In the context of the time, it made perfect sense. When the transition was made to smokeless powder, the older rifles were usually deemed insufficiently strong for the new technology and that's when we began to see wholesale adoption of new "built-from-scratch" types of military rifles instead of conversions or adaptations of existing patterns.
Most Countries made purpose built breechloaders before the arrival of smokeless powder, magazines and small bore. Notably, the Americans kept a "conversion" as their service rifle until the aforementioned paradigm shift...
@@britishmuzzleloaders I may have stated that poorly. Yes, most countries made purpose-built breechloaders but that was often preceded by converting their muzzleloaders. When smokeless powder became a thing, they mostly didn't convert their black powder breechloaders to the new technology. Of course, that coincided fairly closely with the introduction of practical repeaters so it probably made the most sense to make both changes at once.
To expound on the ammunition. If you can't find brass / or do not have hand loading equipment to handle the original snider round you can subsitute with a 24 guage hull cut down to 2in with 60 grain of 2FG; i personally use .595 caliber ball seated in the hull on top of the powder. Following that i seal the round with bore butter or the like.
+spaxspore Thanks! Not a problem for me though... I'm well looked after in that department!... Once you've fire formed the brass, don't need any equipment... just a scale/measure for the powder. Ammo video will be along some time!
+britishmuzzleloaders interesting.. may look into that down the road. A couple of months ago i had never a shot a snider before.. now i have two. These things are addictive.
I all ways enjoy your videos, great info any good footage. I look forward to see the ammo reloading process. thanks for the upload. Best regards Johannes
My Dad had one of those. I believe it was a Mark III as well. We tried using Civil War Minis with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately he traded it away years ago.
More please, can't get enough of these high quality show and tell videos. A Mk III is top of my list to buy....but do I go for a 3 groove long rifle or a 5 groove short Mk III rifle.....I've also met several people who cannot get theirs to shoot well....what the secret? No doubt we'll learn more as you work up an accurate load. Again, many thanks, Kieran.
+kieran wheelman Glad you enjoyed it! Any particular reason why a Mk III?... The only reason I ask is because you really shouldn't hamstring yourself by writing off particular Mks if they are going to be good shooters. The secret, I am no expert yet, is a groove diameter bullet, not a ".577" minie.... (Shhh,... I'll let you in on a little secret. In my Mk II* Short Rifle, I have got 10 round groups in the neighbourhood of 3-4 inches at 100yds. Again, with the X-Ring .600 bullet used here... Videos to follow)
+britishmuzzleloaders Many thanks for reply. I'm intend to shoot the rifle quite a bit (as I do my Springfield 1874 and M/H MkIV) so I thought a steel barrel and MKIII latch would hold up slightly better. My interest is the transition period from about 1866-1896 (BP cartridge to early 'smokeless').. Your comparisons between the short and long rifle will be very interesting, so I'll be looking forward to that later in the year I hope. Many thanks, Kieran.
+kieran wheelman No problem. I wouldn't worry about any longevity issues... Plenty of shooting left in any shootable Mk II or I... The lock on the breechblock is a bit of a red herring... It was instituted due to ammunition problems rather than an inherent weakness in the action. As any ammo that you will make nowadays will neither be rolled brass foil cartridges nor assembled by child labour at the Royal Laboratory, there is no risk of any issues. Cheers.
Frankly I wouldn't feel under armed with this rifle in any situation short of an all out war, with sufficient training and practice it would be a perfectly serviceable weapon.
+britishmuzzleloaders Even self defense against dangerous predators would be a perfectly reasonable use, I don't doubt it could stop a bear or charging boar.
Another great job there Rob. I must admit, I do enjoy shooting my Mk:III even though I don't hit much with it at the moment...........Come the Spring however perhaps a bit more application !!
No,prone was correct for the lying down position as shown,supine is on the back with head resting on suitable object and rifle between legs,a position favoured for long range shooting as it offered more stability and use of a longer sight plane.
You did not understand what it was I said, Christopher. I said that "loading from the Prone, or rather Supine, position was common the era of the muzzleloading rifle..."..... This is correct as the "Loading" was indeed done while lying on the back. There is video about this on the Channel.
My heartfelt apologies,I did misunderstand what you said,whilst watching I was mentally visualising those old drawings from Samuel Baker''s treatise on rifle shooting.I only recently discovered your channel which I immediately subscribed to,the content is outstanding for its quality,research and enthusiasm.
Thank you Christopher!. No problems at all. Glad to have you along and happy you see something you like here. Mentioning Baker, have you seen the Baker " Firing Positions" video?
Great rifle and shooting and awesome stache. Subscribed. I noticed that there's almost no gas leak from the breech and in this respect it seems clearly superior to the Dreyse I once fired. I needed a quarter of an hour to clean my face after some 10 shots and for about a week I had gunpowder specs in my eyes.
There would be no more gas leak in a Snider than from a trapdoor or a martini. The brass obdurates like any other breechloader...... :-).... Thanks for the subby!
If you ever happen upon a Dreyse in firing condition, take my word for it and wear glasses. After 10 shots or so, it shoots back in your face. It seems trapdoors and sniders sealed the breech more effectively than primitive bolt actions such as the Dreyse.
I have a Mk II, 40 cases of Jamison brass, and a bullet mold from CBE that I'll be trying to work with in the spring. As with many others, I look forward to your loading videos and will pay particular attention to how you deal with case neck expansion. Thanks
+Dan Ellis Hi Dan. In short, I don't... Once fire formed, the reloading is done with a Mk I thumb... No resizing at all... just clean, re-prime and load.The .600 bullets are a slip fit in the cases and are basically held in the case by the tackiness of the lube. Works well enough... Check out post No 72 in this thread for just how well... britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/19325/And-So-the-Journey-Begins?page=4 What size is your mould? Is it the bumblebee? Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Thanks for the link. I have CBE's 590-480 flat bottom bullet mold and have not done any casting from it yet. I'll be looking to the spring before I do.
I know you've mentioned it before but we're did you get your rest from? Also that group is way better than what most get as many just take a .577 minie ball and try to make that work. Anyway great work and can't wait to see the final results!
+murpheysmuskets Hi Murph. I made the rest... there are dimensions in the "Shooting Kit of a Victorian Rifleman" video... As for the bullet, I have stood on the shoulders of those who have out a lot of time an energy into getting their Sniders to work well... The bigger bullet is really the way to go. Cheers.
Love the new video Rob, its great to see that gorgeous Snider in action. Sniders were very common here in NZ, and I would love to someday shoot one, ideally the shortest variant that saw use in the bush here by the AC. I hope someday that someone will do a repro one, as I am too nervous to shoot my originals. Keep up the good work! =)
+Xavier Temple Unless your originals are in poor condition you should shoot them... They can't be any more "original" than mine... :-)... I can't say that there will ever be a repro..... but there are lots of Sniders out there for prices that are very competitive with a brand new Pedersoli P53... for comparison..
They were in very poor condition when first purchased, lumps of rust, now restored nicely, though the Mk III long rifle like yours needed a whole new stock. I suspect the inside of the barrels are in poor condition. At work we have a Mk I or II carbine converted in Sydney, that is being allowed to corrode into a pile of rust, it is heart breaking.
Yeah I begged to be allowed to restore it, and have it mounted on the wall of the office. But no. It was an evil gun and therefore sentenced to death. =(
Good evening, please let me congratulate you on an other excellent video, both interesting and informative. An other beautiful rifle, where do you find them!!!! Not only have you produced many other excellent videos but you have taken the time answer questions and reply to posts, you are sir, a gentleman.
+Justin Blundell Thanks Justin. For me, the discussion is just as interesting as making the videos... As for the Snider,... I found it at the Snider Store. Don't you guys have one over there? All kidding aside, there are a few good vendors that seem to deal in better quality examples. I always look for the "shootability" vs the collectability so immediately, that takes all the high end, well marked, high provenance examples off the list... Then you can spend money on good bores and good wood. This Mk III is nothing special, markings wise... Just a run of the mill Snider with a great bore... Cheers.
I had one of the Mark III equivalents from the Nepal cache, and just couldn't get it to shoot to my satisfaction, so I sold it in a package, along with the dies, brass and some ammo. But, now you've gone and made me regret it...
+Tom Herbert If it makes you feel any better, the Nepalese Sniders are of notoriously poor construction. Wouldn't compare to a Govt issue or trade pattern Snider. The are out there.. Cheers.
+JohnyG29 I've had it for a while... but had to get the ammo components together... What's more, it has seemed to have spawned a little brother... Stand-by... :-)
This must be my first time here ? We now have 2 Snider-Enfields , Bertha- 1870 3 ring , and Bert ( her son ) 1871 carbine with no rear sight ? apparently it was a prison guard's rifle ? We shoot them till we ran out of bullets ! No .578 cast bullets till after October. Both are extremely accurate , I hit the berm every time , never a miss. Wifie actually hits the targets .Of note , I get my 24 gaa. brass from Rustywood in British Columbia , and .578 bullets from JET bullets in Alberta, both have websites.
Very Good, Sir. Well done. I have a passion for old mil rifles and I am just starting to put some time into it. Your videos have been encouraging and enlightening. Where to you shoot? The scenery looks like my part of the country in BC. Do you have a website? (and who are these 2 dislike people? I would wager they are French).
In your experience with both the Snider and the Martini Henry do you feel there is a vast improvement between the two? To my untrained eye it seems as if the Snider has a similar rate of fire? I can't imagine the British spending so much resources on what seems like a marginal upgrade to the Martini Henry? I am interested in your thoughts. Oh, and great work on your videos!!
+BurkeSchneider Ballistically, the Martini is far superior being 45cal..... Flatter trajectory, higher velocity, greater effective range, etc,.... In places where the enemies of "the Queen" were generally lesser armed, it wasn't much of an issue.. The Indian Army used the Snider for much longer, in keeping with the policy of issuing "one down" firearms technology, used since the Mutiny. Though I haven't yet done a comparison to truly measure it, rate of fire seems, as you observe, to be somewhat similar, if slightly lower, with the Snider. Cheers.
I like your high quality pictures and how you play the part in uniform. I have to ask how much re-enacting do you do and how many different uniforms do you use
I have participated in re-enacting events exactly twice. Both with the Diehards (there is a video about my last trip on the Channel, if you are interested). I prefer to call what I do, Historical Shooting. No live fire in re-enactments... :-) As for kit, I'll leave that to you to peruse through the "Kit" series also on the Channel.
I got my snider and now start the road to getting it ready to fire. I have to take the breach block off first the ejector is stubborn and doesn't move in either direction without some pushing. I have a question, the pin or lug that secures the breech closed that's actuated by the lever on the outside mine is almost a cm long with only the slightest of tapers at the end. The breech block fit is super tight (which pleases me) but it means I have to push the lever to both open and close. I have noticed that you can flip yours closed and that the pin is considerably shorter with a taper. Is that how yours came or is that a modification you made? Thanks!!
Mine has no modification that I know of. Just 150 years of wear. Glad to hear that you are on the road to getting your Snider up and running. You'll have a great time.
I have a Snider Enfield rifle similar to yours but mine does not have the wooden grip extending to the end of the barrel. It is a flintlock style action, but drops a hammer onto a firing pin instead of black powder/flint. I can see P.G Zulu faintly engraved on the barrel and 1220 on the underside. How might I date something like this? Also, how might I go about checking if it’s safe to fire? Everything looks very solid except for a few hairline cracks in the stock. As for ammunition, what can I use in a rifle like this? I’d love to make this rifle sing again and you seem very knowledgeable in its history, any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
best on the snider I've seen on here, seems that a Minnie ball might work as well, definitely beats the trap door action! while i'm thinking of it, a question keeps popping in my head when I see vids on these old war horses and maybe you'd know the answer, did the Brits view pistols as a secondary weapon? it seems they always had a fairly potent rifle load but a pathetically weak pistol load especially when compared to commercially available loads? even the .455 Webley seems to be about 60% of the .45 schofield? at least on paper let alone compared to the .45 colt.
+keith moore HI Keith. Sniders are notoriously poor performers with .577 minies. They shoot out the barrel well enough, but having them in the casing upon firing seems to hinder their function somewhat. The Snider is a similar concept to the Trapdoor, but lacks the spring actuated extractor. Pistols... Officers bought them for personal use and the Cavalry got them later in the era. Earlier, Lancers were the only troops so armed.. they used big muzzleloading brutes, two of them being carried, on either side of the pommel. You couldn't say that they viewed them as secondary, as nobody was armed with them... (save those already mentioned)... as for the power... they may have been somewhat lesser powered, but they seemed to have been successful enough at the ranges they were intended to be used at. I don't own any, but I have fired Webleys. There is a clip from one of the "Alberta shoot" videos were I am shooing one... (and others are too). Cheers.
britishmuzzleloaders I wasn't talking about the horse pistols but revolvers after the colt's it seems that all the paper on these rounds show they're not the strongest. the only firing with a Webley I've done is with moon clipped .45 a.c.p. so I know the .455 couldn't be that strong. personally i'm of the school of thought that it's better to throw a freight train than a moped when it comes to a pistol , anyway I was just wondering about that thanks
Fantastic video as always. Your attention to detail , knowledge and passion for your subject is just superb. Have you watched any of capnballs videos?They are like yours of very high quality . It wouid be great to see you guys get together somehow for a collaboration.
+Terry Wogan Oh yes, I have. I think that we'd both be into it, if it weren't the fact that we are half a world away from each other... When I visit Hungary, watch out!
The Snider is a very interesting rifle. The main issue with our Trapdoor Springfield models were that they used a copper case with a weak rim. They often broke leaving the remains of the cartridge in the breach. Do you think that may be the reason that the Snider cartridge had that paper wrapping?
I'm sure that the paper was just a residual feature left over from earlier construction techniques.. It also would have assisted to keep the foil from unwrapping. Apart from the Mk I cartridge, all Snider rounds had iron rims.
Just found your channel, nice to see this being fired wearing period knapsack equipment. Dare I ask do you know of a manufacturer of the earlier expense pouch? Looking for someone to manufacture one in brown for RN use.
Hi there. Glad you enjoyed it. There are a couple I know of... the first one is probably your best bet for a brown one. www.vmaleather.com/Product-List/Expense-Pouch/ www.lepierreleathers.com/1855-british-infantry-expense-pouch Mine is from heritageleather which is no longer trading (not to be confused with the current company by the same name.)
I'm wondering what rate of fire you have achieved in one minute? I'm trying to find a realistic number since i'm writing a training manuel for my work place.
If you look in the Snider/Martini Rate of Fire video, you can see how fast 10 rounds were fired and can estimate from there... Rates of Fire historically were not the kind of thing that people like to focus on today... Sure, in trials it was a factor but you won't find any reference to rates of fire in the Manual.... speaking of which, what are you doing?
britishmuzzleloaders I work in a museum in Winnipeg MB, where we have a few guns on exhibit and since there is currently no information on them in any of our training books/manuals and since I'm an amateur military historian I'm writing some training material for our staff.
I assume that you are looking for info on the Snider, specifically? If so, I might recommend the book Arms and Equipment of the British Army 1866 (www.abebooks.com/9780947898434/Arms-Equipment-British-Army-1866-0947898433/plp). It has the Manual and Firing Exercise for the Snider for 1867, as well as some useful info on kit and the like for the late 1860s...
It's good to see these antiques firing ! But what are the infantry tactics when they have breech loading rifles ? (about late 19th century ) Do they still use line tactics like American civil war ? With the accuracy and a better firing rate , I find it suicidal . Please reply , and thanks .
I'm really interested in putting together a historical shooting kit. I've found all the pieces of kit/uniform besides the shirt you are wearing. Where did you source it?
+Braden Robertson The grey back is from India... Replicators. Stan Dolan at Regimental Quartermasters out of San Francisco also has them.... Just google "British Army grey back" and you'll get there.
Good stuff! I am very much looking forward to learning more about all the cartridges. I'm particularly interested in those hollow nose bullets. I have a theory as to how they were made (which is likely misguided) but I can't imagine why it would have been worth the effort? Ballistic stability?
+RabidMortal1 The bullets were swaged, to the best of my recollection. (must've been a multi step process) The cavity in the nose was either filled with wood or left hollow and some residual lead was "spun" over the hole. They really were extremely destructive rounds.
Interesting! So terminal ballistic performance? I think you need to set up a Patreon account to fund some ballistics gelatin (and some original bullets :)
I've commented on a few of your videos but it's a crying shame you don't have more subscribers. The information is exact, without emotion and carefully delivered. The work you put into your shooting is clearly evident and your research impeccable. I've never fired a gun and never owned a gun and find your videos fascinating. Many thanks.
+Duncan Taylor Thank you very much Duncan. I hope then, that I can bring you a bit of the fantastic experience of shooting these fine old rifles, through the channel.
+Duncan Taylor I agree. The quality of content is high and the information rarefied enough that this channel is literally the best single source for this kind of info, anywhere.
+RabidMortal1 Thank you.
+Duncan Taylor I can't agree with you moire Duncan this is I believe the best firearm history channel on youtube next to capandball which I also enjoy.
+RabidMortal1 yup. living history ...plus the guns are sweetttttt
That is a properly excellent moustache.
+TheSteelEcho Thank you, sir.
You're very welcome.
In some of your other videos, you've even applied mustache wax. Most befitting of a gentleman.
That's a MANstache...know the difference.
I work in the Fort Henry Guard in Kingston, Ontario, and we spend four months every summer drilling and performing with Sniders. I know the manual of arms inside and out and I've fired hundreds of our blanks, which are if I recall correctly just crimped shotgun shells with 20 grains of black powder, but I still have no idea about the majority of *actual* firing and reloading practices and I've never even felt the slightest amount of recoil.
All that to say, I'm living vicariously through this video and it's great to see such a high-quality historically minded breakdown of the rifle on RUclips. I'm looking forward to more videos!
On a side note, that's a gorgeous rifle. The FHG has ~50 or so but a few are pretty beat up from 70 years of continuous use and I know people who have seriously bruised or cut their hands 'chopping' (exactly what it sounds like) the block when it gets jammed up during a show. It gave me a visceral sense of satisfaction to see how smoothly yours opened.
+Napoleon Bergeron Good to hear from you and very happy that you enjoyed the clip... By the way, (nerd point here).... it's the "Manual Exercise" or "Platoon Exercise", not the "Manual of Arms" (an American term).... :-)... semantics aside, I imagine that those rifles would see a lot of use... What is your cleaning regimen? How long have you been with the Guard? I first saw the performance back in the mid 80s. Certainly made an impression on a young kid.
Yes, there certainly are differences between the actual use of the weapon and it's use in a theatrical production such as found at the Ft. Chopping at the breechblock should definitely not be required and abuse of the weapon over time would certainly damage it, begetting the need for yet increased levels of abuse. I recall watching a clip a while ago and cringed every time the rifle butts were slammed, or allowed to drop with a crash, onto the square...
You guys do a great service for Canadian history by doing what you do. I have some nerdy questions regarding some of the practices at Ft Henry. Let me know if you'd be interested in such a discussion. It's a shame that you are not able to actually shoot the rifles, maybe at an annual camp or something. You would not be disappointed. Stand by for an intro to the Short Rifle coming up soon.
Incidentally, I did a Manual Exercise series for the Enfield a while back. Don't know if you saw them or not, but you might find it interesting as the movements are the same.
Part One (ruclips.net/video/UctCTf0fYPA/видео.html)
Part Two (ruclips.net/video/FLVejk58Z0Q/видео.html)
Again, great to hear from you and I hope that this upcoming season is a successful one for you. Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Thanks for the heads up on the semantics! The Guard has been around long enough that it's acquired a unique melting pot of terms and drill as curators come and go and performances and drill change. Just last summer we changed our 'stand at ease' posture twice on the orders of the current curator. I appreciate little facts like that because since we're primarily paid performers for an audience sometimes details like that can be lost internally since the culture is a bit more like a sports team than reenactors.
The bulk of the guard is comprised of university students making minimum wage, and we don't service our rifles at all ourselves outside of oiling and de-oiling them at the start and end of every day. We have a dedicated QM staff that deals with all the rifle malfunctions and maintenance, but I don't know the particulars of what they actually do.
I've only been in the Guard for one summer, but I'm about to start a second in a few months.
Within the drill squad we're each assigned a rifle for the summer that has internal fort marking on the butt-plate. They all have reputations and all behave a little differently, some have perfectly smooth breeches and others refuse to move unless you hit it. Personally I've never had to do it, but I've seen the results.
The theatrical production certainly does call for some pretty heavy abuse of the rifles. Probably the most destructive is our order arms, where we're taught to throw the rifle into the ground after bringing it across our body to get a nice crisp snap when they all hit the parade-square at the same time. Older generations of guard practically threw it from the shoulder straight to the order. Plenty of stocks get chipped that way.
I'm probably one of the biggest history nerds currently at the fort and I can't stop talking about it to anyone who's listening if any kind of tangentially related topic comes up, so I'd love to answer as many nerdy questions as I can!
I did watch your Manual Exercise videos and was impressed by your drill! There's only a few details that are different from what we do, mostly in the timing and cadence of the movements. For all static rifle drill we use a MOVE-two-three-MOVE cadence, i.e. position one - beat - beat- position two. It's drilled into us pretty hard at the start of the summer but pays off when the whole squad is moving perfectly in unison. On the march we just make every movement on successive left feet - move - right - move - right.
We also fix bayonets without looking, eyes front the whole time, and are totally forbidden from putting our hand over the muzzle while we do it. Also, we generally don't use a lot of the movements. We spend the vast majority of our time at the shoulder during shows and don't use positions like the support, secure, or trail since we don't actually use those in our sunset ceremonies. Sometimes if a Serjeant wants to mess with a rookie, he'll order them to mark time and march around at the support.
Anyways, thanks for the response and I look forward to any questions you have!
+Napoleon Bergeron Thought you might find those drill clips interesting. Snider drill saw the addition of only a few minor changes like Sloping from the Order and the elimination of the steadying right hand when Shouldering from the Slope. The drills I demonstrated were right from the text, in the movements that were prescribed. Some movements are simply not separated by a pause. Lowering the right arm after shouldering is one such movement. The right arm is lowered immediately after the rifle is brought to the shoulder, not after a 2-3 pause....It is quite clear in the text. More like a timing of "One, (two-three), One, Two" than "One, (two-three), One, (two-three), One".
You mentioned that someone changed your "Stand at Ease"??? To what? The Shoulder was used for more formal occasions, parades and the like... Field movements, advancing/retiring, etc, were done at the Slope. I haven''t seen a clip of that position being used.
I have some thoughts about the way the soldiery of the 1860s is portrayed by the Guard. What's your take on it? Have you done much studying of drill books and documents? I should like to hear your opinion. Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Should have specified, I have no doubts that you did all the drill to the letter, anything we do differently is probably for ease of instruction and 'theatrics', plus the aforementioned adjustments to drill that have happened over the last 70 years. I know that some old guard used to do later Victorian drill than was accurate and would do the stomping thing with their feet all the time (crack-step?) probably because a lot of the early Guard were veterans who had been taught that way in the Army.
The 'stand at ease' wasn't substantially changed, it was very slight, I think we were told to put our weight on a different/both legs and our foot positions were changed. Subtle, but important since the impressiveness of our display depends on everyone being perfectly identical. We use the slope occasionally, usually when marching from our barracks to the spot where we form up to march out and when we're out in our '2s' practicing instead of our '1s' and parading. One thing about being at the shoulder is that we're *constantly* being told to pull back on the butt, so all our rifles are perfectly straight up and down while we march and it looks good. The tendency for new recruits is to let it slide, some so badly that it may as well be the slope anyways.
As a history buff who wasn't very well versed in this era of history before I started working at the fort, I think we do a decent job for what we are. The emphasis, internally, is mostly on performance and less on history. We're taught how to do specific drill movements, but not how they would actually be applied in the field. We're taught the movements that have been chosen for a given year's performance, and anything that isn't in the performance is something we'll only do if we ever have some down-time and the Sgt. Maj. is happy with where our current level of performance is at. Towards the end of last summer we got to try counter-marching and fire and advance, but only a few times each and never in a show. The fun part is that the show sequence is whatever the officers pick that year, but its usually pretty consistent.
Anyways, we're typically given very little historical context for the movements and if we want to read the drill manuals it'll be on our own initiative. For one day last year we brought it down into the barracks it it was fantastic! I learned about all sorts of movements that we don't do and other concepts that just don't apply to us like battalion drill and urban combat practices. But that was, at most, an hour going over a manual and it was the only time. Typically the ones giving the orders will be much more familiar, though, and they will have had several years experience of the drill we're doing.
I think what we show the public is a fine representation of formal drill from the era, we often joke that we probably do it as well or better than the real soldiers because it's ~all~ we do, every day, for four months. Internally there's generally a lack of curiosity outside of what we need to know - there's a lot of science, engineering, music students etc. who see this more as a summer job and less as a dream job - and while I love giving tours, which is the other half of our job, I know some people who aren't as enthusiastic about it.
I'm sure there's more I could say that just isn't coming to mind right now, but I'd be very interested in your thoughts on the fort, anything I hear from you will be something I'm bringing back with me this coming summer.
+Napoleon Bergeron Great post! Puts things in the right context. Personally, it rubs me the wrong way to hear that "the show" comes before "the history"... simply because the show is "supposed" to represent history.. The accompanying commentary says so, the impression the Guard gives is so, and it is marketed so.... Now, that doesn't mean I take exception to your thoughts on the matter. So don't take what I have said as anything but historical musings...
Here are my thoughts on the subject. The evolution of drill can be traced in film back to the late 1890s and you can tangibly see the way things have changed from the modern day.... Like any evolution, you can extrapolate beyond the 100% known, into the somewhat unknown. In this case we can do this backwards in time... Drill in the 1860s was not "formal" or "non formal".... it was all the same... It was the way the army moved and fought. Indeed you can apply that concept right up to the 1890s and even, in some ways, up to the Great War after which, drill becomes purely for training and ceremony. There was no flash, no modern-esque, robotic movements. Drill was functional, utilitarian, and efficient. No stamping, no smashing, no whip-cracking head movements,.... none of the things that are attributed to modern drill.
To illustrate the point I'll take the most formal situation where drill would be practiced,.. public duties... Trooping the Colour, Changing the Guard, etc... Presumably, the drill conducted at these kinds of functions would be "The Best" effort in smartness and of the highest standard of it's time..
Take the modern iteration... Full of arm swinging, foot stamping, sharp turns, bent knees and all the little things that make ceremonial drill what it is to the modern eye....
ruclips.net/video/F6VIWTVxtMU/видео.html
Have a look at an example from the 80s... Much the same, no?
ruclips.net/video/ryzXWLw6s1c/видео.html
Now have a look at the 50s... Things are a little less robotic.. The forms, not so crisp and formalized, the arms swung not so high. Still, pretty flashy...
ruclips.net/video/aP2amH6DOsM/видео.html
Look at the 30s... Arm swinging much more relaxed, the stamping is very minimal and more like "a firm placement" of the foot rather than the knee raising, crashing style of the later 20th century.
ruclips.net/video/iTD2vuCBKFM/видео.html
The 20s... Hardly any arm swinging at all. No stamping. You can see the "utility" in the drill just beginning to leave here..
ruclips.net/video/Rk5ZdbwFVaU/видео.html
Now have a look at the 1890s... Men looking around... watch the halt as the Guard comes into the forecourt at St James. It's almost as if they were surprised by the command... Arms swinging gently while marking time (not done at all today). There is very little in the way of formality in the drill... It is simply "a way to get there"... When the officers and NCOs have to change position, they simply "go there".. no flashy turns or pivots...
ruclips.net/video/5zZUJ_WhFsw/видео.html
Another from the same reel.. The slow march looks like a Sunday stroll... Men looking around...
ruclips.net/video/rzPXQttmYpU/видео.html
These are all examples of what would be considered "the pinnacle" of foot and arms drill. Public Duties. When the men must be at their best.... BUT you have to put things in the right context.. To take the drill and bearing of the 1920s or 1890s today, it would be considered slack and idle by todays standards.
Here are some more examples of 1890s/early 1900s...
Troops of the Boer War era... This one starts with "The Charge" made by Indian Troops.... any robotic movements there?
ruclips.net/video/QZqWLrkb_-o/видео.html
This one shows at 03:00 a Cavalry Regiment dismissing from parade... what about the turns? pretty "organic" and not sharp at all... simply "facing the new direction..." although they are executed with the correct movement of the feet for a right turn (face) if you watch closely. Look at the marching... again, almost like strolling... This is followed by a march past by the Life Guards at 03:45. For a household Regiment, dismounted or not, not at all what we'd consider to be sharp today... very utilitarian.
ruclips.net/video/7yjD8ofAfd4/видео.html
Here are the Gordon Highlanders departing for South Africa in 1899... It's hard to watch closely, but again, note the marching and overall bearing of the troops... no robots here...
ruclips.net/video/rvQ9z2kEuXo/видео.html
Now watch some sentries at Windsor Castle. (1920s).. again, public duties..... Note the marching, the halting and evolution of marching a beat... very un-robotic... what about the changing of the Sentries? almost no formality at all... "get it done" more like...
ruclips.net/video/AGfrOQB-C2Q/видео.html
So, if you trace a line back from that first video of the Trooping last year, through the early 20th century and back into the 19th, where does that point moving backwards in time? I would move that it does not point to more robotic qualities but rather less flash, less formality, less show, and more utility, more efficiency... Why? Because we are seeing the latter part of an evolution of drill from battlefield necessity to ceremonial nicety... The earlier part of this evolution was there but, of course, is not on moving film... There simply is no place for shooting the foot out when executing a turn on the march or lifting the knee up high when marking time (this point is clearly written as not happening in the text) when you are manoeuvring in the field and, resultantly, on the square... Crashing the butt of the rifle on the ground DAMAGES the weapon for crying out loud. A man would have been charged for damaging his rifle like that....
Here is a picture of British troops at Niagara Falls in 1864(ish)... These are the exact same men (save a couple of years) that the Ft Henry Guard exemplifies yet, do they have a robotic bearing like they are putting on a show? They are rumpled, but obviously well equipped with Enfields and marching order. Look at their hands... They should be flat against their sides, no? They aren't, yet they are at attention... No flash, no needless excesses...
civilwartalk.com/attachments/british-63rd-regiment-niagara-jpg.67813/
I have said all this, not to dump all over the Guard and it's members but rather as someone who enjoys military history and wants to see it portrayed appropriately when the opportunity arises... The Ft Henry Guard is one of those organizations that has that opportunity over and over again... "IF I WERE IN CHARGE!!!" he says with a grin....
*WHEW* that was long... whether you agree with me or not, this has been good as I have finally written down my thoughts on the subject... something that I have been meaning to do for a while, just needed an excuse. Thanks!
I visited the Halifax Citadel for the first time today. They use Snider-Enfield Mk.III's, and I fell in love with the rifle after seeing the live fire demonstration
Nothing live about that fire… blank, yes…😀
This is by far one the most enjoyable firearms channels I've found. Excellent production and information. Its a shame you don't have as many subscribers as some other firearms channels but they will come. Keep up the good work!
+THEKINGOFMETROPOLIS "British military firearms of the Victorian era" is admittedly a bit of a niche... :-)... Very glad you enjoy things, here. Thanks.
Watched video on flintlock maintenance, especially frizzen hardening. Fabulous. Thanks for helping Othias, really first class
Yes,.... he really is a first class guy! Glad you enjoyed the clip. Cheers.
Oh dear... I've just recently come across your channel... and the videos are so amazing I've spent the whole of the evening and way into the wee hours of the morning watching the back catalogue... I cannot tell you enough how amazing they are !!! Subscribed for sure...
+Mac Anix Thank you for your very kind compliment. I hope that the videos in the future will hold your attention in the same way! Cheers.
Another little gem of a video. One of my all time favourite channels
+Simon Thompson Thanks, Simon.
Another great presentation. Very well done
+cdsadler SO glad to see that you put up another, yourself... As I mentioned to you at Waterloo, you guys are the reason I started all this... Cheers.
I remember hearing about this thing. I think you can sum this up as Britain's trapdoor springfield for Americans and the trapdoor springfield is America's snider-Enfield rifle for people in the UK. They were both developed for the same reasons. They need to upgrade their rifles haha. I don't like the extraction process though. Nice antique none to less. Great hobby sir. Hats off to ya.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Another great job. New rifle and new info. This was the granddaddy of all metallic cartridges. Thanks again for all your hard work and excellent info. Looking forward to rest of it.
+Hugh Batesel Me too! Thanks for that, Hugh.
Brilliant, I've been waiting for you to do a video on the snider. I was not disappointed
+Snider tom aye, so was I. Well done
+Snider tom Very happy not to have disappointed! It is just an intro but there will be more to follow. Thanks.
One of my favorite videos that you've done....l really like the Snider Enfield. ...it has the cool look about it but with a metallic cartridge...so now it's a super cool piece with a more dependable firing system
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers.
Glad you joined the snider club. Great rifle!
+spaxspore It was only a matter of time... :-)
I recently bought one of these Snider's from an estate sale at a border town in southern Quebec. Marked with L.A. Armoury. Glad to find this video.
Nice! There is more about Sniders on the channel too... Will you be firing it?
Probably not, but I would like to know if there is any way to find out what regiment it was issued to. The area where I grew up was protected by a local militia during the fenian raids along the border. I am wondering if it may have belonged to a local man and stayed in the same village since. Great video btw!
Great video Rob, wonderfull to see the venerable Snider get more exposure. It was the first rifle I ever bought 8 years ago & it has been a lot of playing with loads, bullets to come up with the best possible combination. Especially since I didn't know what I was doing half the time. A great rifle & much easier to learn how to load on with it's straight cartridge than the Martini & its bottleneck case. Keep up the good work. I am very much looking forward to seeing what gives you the best results in your Mk.III.
+Peter Martini Thanks, Peter. I am just as eager to find what works as you are!... You are right about the ease of loading for it though. Much simpler. Cheers.
I agree with Duncan. As I said before, your presentations are without peer. Your channel is by far my favorite. I grew up as a hunter and sport shooter that focused entirely on modern firearms. I credit your channel with introducing me to the joys of historical military firearms. Your channel inspired me to obtain my own Baker Rifle, which has almost entirely replaced all my other firearms at the range.
+tw203809 I am humbled... and..... very glad that there is another Baker Rifle shooter in the world!... our numbers are small but very dedicated..
Another excellent and fascinating presentation. I only knew of the Snider-Enfield and not its role as the intermediate long arm between muzzle loader and a custom designed military breech loading rifle. Great stuff - keep it up.
+John Brooks Glad you learned something from this, John. Thanks very much.
I love these videos. It is so cool to see these old rifles and techniques. I watch every one of these and being an Anglophile anyway, it's a blast to see these old rifles being used the way Whitehall intended. Reenactors for the win!
I believe I have mentioned in the past that I run Dade Machine Products speed loaders in an N frame S&W M27-9 .357, or Seidler Jet-Loaders in my Ruger GP100, both using the Federal Law Enforcement Center reloading style from the early 1970s, just because that's how it was done back in the day :) .
+mauwalker Umm... You mean, "Historical Shooters" for the win!,.. Right?.... :-)
+britishmuzzleloaders yeah!
mauwalker Haha...
Nicely presented and factual video. Complete with uniform makes for a historical documentary on the subject We have duplicated the Mk IX cartridge with 'Type 7' bullet which has a base plug and nose cavity.With this cartridge, have managed 1 1/2-1 3/4" at 100 yards at Bisley with a DC issue Mk III Sergeants-Short rifle with and without bayonet fixed, and have published it on RUclips. If you want, a picture of the target and bullet can be posted.Our main interest are needle rifles such as the Carcano, Chassepot and Dreyse systems which are a challenge to hand load, which as you say, is the fun of it allKeep the informative videos flowing.Guy and Leonard A-R-West
Great to hear from you. Wow, the Mk VII! How did you do it? That's great shooting. Watched some of your clips before, great work and great results.
Provide your e=mail so that we can communicate information.Guy and Leonard A-R-West
I have a carbine version of one of these that I got for about $300. Love this little thing.
Snider Carbines are certainly handy!
From start to Finish,
a fantastic video demonstration.
Thank You and Bravo Sir...🇺🇸
Thank you James!
Excellent informative videos.......keep up the great work👍🏻
Thank you!
It's a cold, snowy February day, and I just loaded my first eight .577 rounds yesterday evening. Man I am looking forward to firing my .577 soon. THANK YOU for your interesting and informative videos!
You are most welcome!
LOVE your videos! When asked about my Snider-Enfield, I just email this link and say "watch this".
Thank you!
after watching a majority of your videos I can tell the passion you have for military history and it's firearms. As a side note you are very well spoken and I enjoy the fact that you are presenting facts in an unbiased and non judgmental way. keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video. I'm always learning new things from your channel.
+galbas78 Thank you very much for your kind words. ....Very happy that there is something on the channel that you enjoy! Cheers.
Another fine video featuring a very fine old rifle. thank you sir for doing a great job of keeping history alive.
+longslide My pleasure... :-)
You Sir deserve a medal for the work you are doing . Excellent stuff.
+Steve Smiley Only if the medal is made of lead so I can melt it down to make more bullets... :-) Cheers.
I’ve always wondered where “boxer primed” came from. Great information; definitely a huge fan of this channel. It’s got history, it’s got guns, and military stuff. All good stuff, and thank you sharing this knowledge with us.
Most welcome!
Once again your feed came up on my phone and I enjoyed it very much. The detail is fantastic. But what impressed me this time was the rear view of you as you were fired. Your body does not budge or waver or move or anything. It basically looks like a solid unit That stands in literally one position even with loading and firing. Is most impressive. Not sure if you practice this kind of thing. But I watched twice to see. Congratulations. I actually noticed this 1st on the endfield video. That is the modern 303. I have never seen anybody absolutely duplicate their stance with every shot.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Just revisiting some of your back catalogue Rob, each and every one of which is a gem. A beautifully simple and elegant weapon that continued on in Indian service for some time. I'm not sure if you'll see this comment but your work is quite simply a joy. Bravo.
Very kind. Yes, I get notifications on comments and thank you for leaving yours!
It awes me to consider the harshness of breech-loading fading away... a whole new generation of privates who will never know how hard it is to ram a fouled barrel over and over and over... I do not know either but I can guess! great video, very interesting images. Especially the 78th.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks.
I love your videos I watch them at school keep up the good work I would like a snider of my own, keep up the amazing work.❤
Cheers!
reminds me of the Trapdoor Springfield
They certainly are born of the same stop gap mentality... only the Trapdoor remained the service arm for far longer.
Excellent videos and very interesting and educational. It seems the British and Americans came to the same conclusions and began producing breach loader, full cartridge rifles by the mid 1860's. Some differences but still all very effective and functional, and way ahead of muzzle loading.
Thank you! Stop gaps were indeed common about the world at this time as Nations made the transition to "small bore" (45-ish cal).
You are producing some of the best historical firearms videos available. Please keep up the good work.
+MrRedbeard762 Thank you for your very kind words.
The snider enfield continued to serve in second line service like militia and rear line duty right up to the First World War particularly in the Indian Army that shows how loved the snider really was
It had a long life, yes.
I have an original P53 Enfield but I love this conversion....it's a beautiful piece
They have their own charm, don't they?
Extremely interesting and informational video. I thoroughly enjoy content like this about historic firearms. This is a rifle I didn't know much about but it is very interesting. Thank you for this content.
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers.
At last! The long awaited Snider. Another great video! That's a beautiful example of the type, what a sweet sounding report. Keep up the great work 👍🏻
+Matt Armstrong Yup. It's a real pleasure to shoot.
Man, many thanks from Brazil!
You're welcome!
Excellent presentation.
Thanks!
I have a 3 band Snider coming soon. Bought it fairly cheap at auction, I am excited to see what the overall condition is like. Yes I bought it unseen, apart from a couple of photos the auction house uploaded, but for the price I cant complain. Either I get a dog that is a wall hanger or I get a diamond in the rough. The ad did state "worn and pitted throughout" though from the pictures it did not look too bad. As long as the bore is good I will be happy.
Best of Luck! Let me know how it turns out!
I was just listening to you talk about the Snider on Milsurp World. I had to come, and see your Snider series. I'm going to look up the Battle of Ridgeway next.
Hope I didn't put you to sleep. I did go on a bit.....
Brilliant video as usual. Keep it up!
+Anon Hunter Thanks for that.. :-)
Many -- perhaps most -- significant military powers went through a period of converting their muzzle loaders to breech loaders. In the context of the time, it made perfect sense. When the transition was made to smokeless powder, the older rifles were usually deemed insufficiently strong for the new technology and that's when we began to see wholesale adoption of new "built-from-scratch" types of military rifles instead of conversions or adaptations of existing patterns.
Most Countries made purpose built breechloaders before the arrival of smokeless powder, magazines and small bore. Notably, the Americans kept a "conversion" as their service rifle until the aforementioned paradigm shift...
@@britishmuzzleloaders I may have stated that poorly. Yes, most countries made purpose-built breechloaders but that was often preceded by converting their muzzleloaders. When smokeless powder became a thing, they mostly didn't convert their black powder breechloaders to the new technology. Of course, that coincided fairly closely with the introduction of practical repeaters so it probably made the most sense to make both changes at once.
Yes, right you are.
I love the background music of all your videos
Cheers!
I love this video....I've always wanted a snider.....Thank you very much...
These are fascinating videos. Thanks for posting.
+Brian English Glad you approve! Thanks.
Another Brilliant Video Many thanks
+ICBM.PIRATE Cheers!
Loved it . cant wait for part . 2 ?
+mrbikehunter Excellent! Thanks. There'll be a whole series on the Snider... Stay tuned.... :-)
I love this channel! so Informative
Glad you enjoy it!
Cracking stuff! Great, informational, entertaining presentation.
Thank you!
To expound on the ammunition. If you can't find brass / or do not have hand loading equipment to handle the original snider round you can subsitute with a 24 guage hull cut down to 2in with 60 grain of 2FG; i personally use .595 caliber ball seated in the hull on top of the powder. Following that i seal the round with bore butter or the like.
+spaxspore Thanks! Not a problem for me though... I'm well looked after in that department!... Once you've fire formed the brass, don't need any equipment... just a scale/measure for the powder. Ammo video will be along some time!
+britishmuzzleloaders interesting.. may look into that down the road. A couple of months ago i had never a shot a snider before.. now i have two. These things are addictive.
Another outstanding video. Thank you.
+Badwolf75 You are welcome!
went to a museum today and nobody could understand why i got so excited by one of these old rifles compared to the newer stuff..i blame this channel
Excellent!
Yet again a very good and interessting video! Thanks for the upload...
+Berner Bär You're welcome!
I all ways enjoy your videos, great info any good footage. I look forward to see the ammo reloading process. thanks for the upload. Best regards Johannes
+jgn69 It'll be along in a while... Not at all difficult, thankfully. Thanks.
I assume you'll do a video on it anyway but I'm looking forward to a .577 Snider reloading video. Your videos for .303 and .577/450 are great.
+mrsamhood In time, it will arrive... Haven't yet found "the load".... when I do, then I'll use it as the basis of the reloading video..
you were the reason i got my martini henry and man its epic! great videos by the way some of my favorite.
+Jacob Kracinski The world needs more Martini shooters, for sure. And more Snider shooters, too.... nudge, nudge...
oh iv had my eye on one for some time.
My Dad had one of those. I believe it was a Mark III as well. We tried using Civil War Minis with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately he traded it away years ago.
+MrThomass281 They are notoriously poor performers in the Snider... hence the larger .600 round. Cheers.
Great video and weapon, very interesting breech loading / unloading (cartridge case ejection) system; kind regards.
+Film & TV Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks.
I got one of those molds from X-Ring you recommended for my newly acquired Martini Henry, very nice.
Glad to hear of another satisfied X-Ring customer!
More please, can't get enough of these high quality show and tell videos. A Mk III is top of my list to buy....but do I go for a 3 groove long rifle or a 5 groove short Mk III rifle.....I've also met several people who cannot get theirs to shoot well....what the secret? No doubt we'll learn more as you work up an accurate load. Again, many thanks, Kieran.
+kieran wheelman Glad you enjoyed it! Any particular reason why a Mk III?... The only reason I ask is because you really shouldn't hamstring yourself by writing off particular Mks if they are going to be good shooters. The secret, I am no expert yet, is a groove diameter bullet, not a ".577" minie.... (Shhh,... I'll let you in on a little secret. In my Mk II* Short Rifle, I have got 10 round groups in the neighbourhood of 3-4 inches at 100yds. Again, with the X-Ring .600 bullet used here... Videos to follow)
+britishmuzzleloaders
Many thanks for reply. I'm intend to shoot the rifle quite a bit (as I do my Springfield 1874 and M/H MkIV) so I thought a steel barrel and MKIII latch would hold up slightly better. My interest is the transition period from about 1866-1896 (BP cartridge to early 'smokeless').. Your comparisons between the short and long rifle will be very interesting, so I'll be looking forward to that later in the year I hope. Many thanks, Kieran.
+kieran wheelman No problem. I wouldn't worry about any longevity issues... Plenty of shooting left in any shootable Mk II or I... The lock on the breechblock is a bit of a red herring... It was instituted due to ammunition problems rather than an inherent weakness in the action. As any ammo that you will make nowadays will neither be rolled brass foil cartridges nor assembled by child labour at the Royal Laboratory, there is no risk of any issues. Cheers.
I would love to see you do the same type of introductions for your Enfield rifle muskets. Please please
I'll get to that eventually!
Frankly I wouldn't feel under armed with this rifle in any situation short of an all out war, with sufficient training and practice it would be a perfectly serviceable weapon.
Sure, it shoots a big enough bullet that you could use hunting, but plinking and semi serious target shooting is not out its realm.
+britishmuzzleloaders Even self defense against dangerous predators would be a perfectly reasonable use, I don't doubt it could stop a bear or charging boar.
Very nice rifle. Add another to the list of pieces that I want to own. Also makes me want to finally start loading ammo for my Martini and 71/84.
+Francis Borek Load away!!! You won't be disappointed... Cheers.
Another great job there Rob. I must admit, I do enjoy shooting my Mk:III even though I don't hit much with it at the moment...........Come the Spring however perhaps a bit more application !!
+Duncan Andrews Look forward to seeing more of your results, Duncan!
No,prone was correct for the lying down position as shown,supine is on the back with head resting on suitable object and rifle between legs,a position favoured for long range shooting as it offered more stability and use of a longer sight plane.
You did not understand what it was I said, Christopher. I said that "loading from the Prone, or rather Supine, position was common the era of the muzzleloading rifle..."..... This is correct as the "Loading" was indeed done while lying on the back. There is video about this on the Channel.
My heartfelt apologies,I did misunderstand what you said,whilst watching I was mentally visualising those old drawings from Samuel Baker''s treatise on rifle shooting.I only recently discovered your channel which I immediately subscribed to,the content is outstanding for its quality,research and enthusiasm.
Thank you Christopher!. No problems at all. Glad to have you along and happy you see something you like here. Mentioning Baker, have you seen the Baker " Firing Positions" video?
great stuff..........................thanks
+thornwarbler You are welcome!
I like this channel
I like this comment.
Great video thank you.
Very welcome!
Great rifle and shooting and awesome stache. Subscribed.
I noticed that there's almost no gas leak from the breech and in this respect it seems clearly superior to the Dreyse I once fired. I needed a quarter of an hour to clean my face after some 10 shots and for about a week I had gunpowder specs in my eyes.
There would be no more gas leak in a Snider than from a trapdoor or a martini. The brass obdurates like any other breechloader...... :-).... Thanks for the subby!
If you ever happen upon a Dreyse in firing condition, take my word for it and wear glasses. After 10 shots or so, it shoots back in your face. It seems trapdoors and sniders sealed the breech more effectively than primitive bolt actions such as the Dreyse.
I'd say that is due to the entirely different technology used.
I have a Mk II, 40 cases of Jamison brass, and a bullet mold from CBE that I'll be trying to work with in the spring. As with many others, I look forward to your loading videos and will pay particular attention to how you deal with case neck expansion. Thanks
+Dan Ellis Hi Dan. In short, I don't... Once fire formed, the reloading is done with a Mk I thumb... No resizing at all... just clean, re-prime and load.The .600 bullets are a slip fit in the cases and are basically held in the case by the tackiness of the lube. Works well enough... Check out post No 72 in this thread for just how well... britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/19325/And-So-the-Journey-Begins?page=4
What size is your mould? Is it the bumblebee?
Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Thanks for the link. I have CBE's 590-480 flat bottom bullet mold and have not done any casting from it yet. I'll be looking to the spring before I do.
I know you've mentioned it before but we're did you get your rest from? Also that group is way better than what most get as many just take a .577 minie ball and try to make that work. Anyway great work and can't wait to see the final results!
+murpheysmuskets Hi Murph. I made the rest... there are dimensions in the "Shooting Kit of a Victorian Rifleman" video... As for the bullet, I have stood on the shoulders of those who have out a lot of time an energy into getting their Sniders to work well... The bigger bullet is really the way to go. Cheers.
+britishmuzzleloaders Stunning backdrop btw!
murpheysmuskets The weather was absolutely fantastic..
+britishmuzzleloaders Could it be somewhere in British Columbia? Looks very similar to the logged out areas I shoot at in SW BC.
geegaw14 Shhhh,... it's at a secret country mansion known as,..... The Meadows..... We meet tri-annually...
funnily enough I've only ever heard of this rifle because in the game "Fall of the Samurai" british marines were carrying these rifles
Nice!
Love the new video Rob, its great to see that gorgeous Snider in action. Sniders were very common here in NZ, and I would love to someday shoot one, ideally the shortest variant that saw use in the bush here by the AC. I hope someday that someone will do a repro one, as I am too nervous to shoot my originals. Keep up the good work! =)
+Xavier Temple Unless your originals are in poor condition you should shoot them... They can't be any more "original" than mine... :-)... I can't say that there will ever be a repro..... but there are lots of Sniders out there for prices that are very competitive with a brand new Pedersoli P53... for comparison..
They were in very poor condition when first purchased, lumps of rust, now restored nicely, though the Mk III long rifle like yours needed a whole new stock. I suspect the inside of the barrels are in poor condition. At work we have a Mk I or II carbine converted in Sydney, that is being allowed to corrode into a pile of rust, it is heart breaking.
Xavier Temple Such a shame....
Yeah I begged to be allowed to restore it, and have it mounted on the wall of the office. But no. It was an evil gun and therefore sentenced to death. =(
Good evening, please let me congratulate you on an other excellent video, both interesting and informative. An other beautiful rifle, where do you find them!!!!
Not only have you produced many other excellent videos but you have taken the time answer questions and reply to posts, you are sir, a gentleman.
+Justin Blundell Thanks Justin. For me, the discussion is just as interesting as making the videos... As for the Snider,... I found it at the Snider Store. Don't you guys have one over there? All kidding aside, there are a few good vendors that seem to deal in better quality examples. I always look for the "shootability" vs the collectability so immediately, that takes all the high end, well marked, high provenance examples off the list... Then you can spend money on good bores and good wood. This Mk III is nothing special, markings wise... Just a run of the mill Snider with a great bore... Cheers.
I had one of the Mark III equivalents from the Nepal cache, and just couldn't get it to shoot to my satisfaction, so I sold it in a package, along with the dies, brass and some ammo. But, now you've gone and made me regret it...
+Tom Herbert If it makes you feel any better, the Nepalese Sniders are of notoriously poor construction. Wouldn't compare to a Govt issue or trade pattern Snider. The are out there.. Cheers.
Hope this is a start to a series. Respects
+Gregory Wernke Your hope will come to fruition. Cheers.
Great video. Was the Snider a recent purchase?
+JohnyG29 I've had it for a while... but had to get the ammo components together... What's more, it has seemed to have spawned a little brother... Stand-by... :-)
This must be my first time here ? We now have 2 Snider-Enfields , Bertha- 1870 3 ring , and Bert ( her son ) 1871 carbine with no rear sight ? apparently it was a prison guard's rifle ? We shoot them till we ran out of bullets ! No .578 cast bullets till after October. Both are extremely accurate , I hit the berm every time , never a miss. Wifie actually hits the targets .Of note , I get my 24 gaa. brass from Rustywood in British Columbia , and .578 bullets from JET bullets in Alberta, both have websites.
Nice!
Very Good, Sir. Well done. I have a passion for old mil rifles and I am just starting to put some time into it. Your videos have been encouraging and enlightening. Where to you shoot? The scenery looks like my part of the country in BC. Do you have a website? (and who are these 2 dislike people? I would wager they are French).
Don't find many MKIII snider's in that condition here in Canada, most are MKII's, hope I can find a Joe Salter tier one like yours one day.
One day!
In your experience with both the Snider and the Martini Henry do you feel there is a vast improvement between the two? To my untrained eye it seems as if the Snider has a similar rate of fire? I can't imagine the British spending so much resources on what seems like a marginal upgrade to the Martini Henry? I am interested in your thoughts.
Oh, and great work on your videos!!
+BurkeSchneider Ballistically, the Martini is far superior being 45cal..... Flatter trajectory, higher velocity, greater effective range, etc,.... In places where the enemies of "the Queen" were generally lesser armed, it wasn't much of an issue.. The Indian Army used the Snider for much longer, in keeping with the policy of issuing "one down" firearms technology, used since the Mutiny. Though I haven't yet done a comparison to truly measure it, rate of fire seems, as you observe, to be somewhat similar, if slightly lower, with the Snider. Cheers.
I would love to see a comparison of the 1873 and this mk111. Two rifles made dedicated from an experiment
Not really an experiment…. A trial of many patterns and a winner.
I like your high quality pictures and how you play the part in uniform. I have to ask how much re-enacting do you do and how many different uniforms do you use
I have participated in re-enacting events exactly twice. Both with the Diehards (there is a video about my last trip on the Channel, if you are interested). I prefer to call what I do, Historical Shooting. No live fire in re-enactments... :-) As for kit, I'll leave that to you to peruse through the "Kit" series also on the Channel.
I got my snider and now start the road to getting it ready to fire. I have to take the breach block off first the ejector is stubborn and doesn't move in either direction without some pushing. I have a question, the pin or lug that secures the breech closed that's actuated by the lever on the outside mine is almost a cm long with only the slightest of tapers at the end. The breech block fit is super tight (which pleases me) but it means I have to push the lever to both open and close. I have noticed that you can flip yours closed and that the pin is considerably shorter with a taper. Is that how yours came or is that a modification you made? Thanks!!
Mine has no modification that I know of. Just 150 years of wear. Glad to hear that you are on the road to getting your Snider up and running. You'll have a great time.
The Snider-Enfield was Australian outlaw Ned Kelly's favourite rifle.
Indeed! probably because it was readily available.
@@britishmuzzleloaders I think he stole it off some guys on a hunting trip.
I have a Snider Enfield rifle similar to yours but mine does not have the wooden grip extending to the end of the barrel. It is a flintlock style action, but drops a hammer onto a firing pin instead of black powder/flint. I can see P.G Zulu faintly engraved on the barrel and 1220 on the underside. How might I date something like this? Also, how might I go about checking if it’s safe to fire? Everything looks very solid except for a few hairline cracks in the stock. As for ammunition, what can I use in a rifle like this? I’d love to make this rifle sing again and you seem very knowledgeable in its history, any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
There should be a date on the lock plate for starters.
They did the same exact thing with the Springfield muskets .
Well, not the exact same thing, but similar in concept... :-)
best on the snider I've seen on here, seems that a Minnie ball might work as well, definitely beats the trap door action! while i'm thinking of it, a question keeps popping in my head when I see vids on these old war horses and maybe you'd know the answer, did the Brits view pistols as a secondary weapon? it seems they always had a fairly potent rifle load but a pathetically weak pistol load especially when compared to commercially available loads? even the .455 Webley seems to be about 60% of the .45 schofield? at least on paper let alone compared to the .45 colt.
+keith moore HI Keith. Sniders are notoriously poor performers with .577 minies. They shoot out the barrel well enough, but having them in the casing upon firing seems to hinder their function somewhat. The Snider is a similar concept to the Trapdoor, but lacks the spring actuated extractor. Pistols... Officers bought them for personal use and the Cavalry got them later in the era. Earlier, Lancers were the only troops so armed.. they used big muzzleloading brutes, two of them being carried, on either side of the pommel. You couldn't say that they viewed them as secondary, as nobody was armed with them... (save those already mentioned)... as for the power... they may have been somewhat lesser powered, but they seemed to have been successful enough at the ranges they were intended to be used at. I don't own any, but I have fired Webleys. There is a clip from one of the "Alberta shoot" videos were I am shooing one... (and others are too). Cheers.
britishmuzzleloaders I wasn't talking about the horse pistols but revolvers after the colt's it seems that all the paper on these rounds show they're not the strongest. the only firing with a Webley I've done is with moon clipped .45 a.c.p. so I know the .455 couldn't be that strong. personally i'm of the school of thought that it's better to throw a freight train than a moped when it comes to a pistol , anyway I was just wondering about that thanks
8:15. That perfect shell landing
Haha... Planned it perfectly....
Fantastic video as always. Your attention to detail , knowledge and passion for your subject is just superb. Have you watched any of capnballs videos?They are like yours of very high quality . It wouid be great to see you guys get together somehow for a collaboration.
+Terry Wogan Oh yes, I have. I think that we'd both be into it, if it weren't the fact that we are half a world away from each other... When I visit Hungary, watch out!
The Snider is a very interesting rifle. The main issue with our Trapdoor Springfield models were that they used a copper case with a weak rim. They often broke leaving the remains of the cartridge in the breach. Do you think that may be the reason that the Snider cartridge had that paper wrapping?
I'm sure that the paper was just a residual feature left over from earlier construction techniques.. It also would have assisted to keep the foil from unwrapping. Apart from the Mk I cartridge, all Snider rounds had iron rims.
Just found your channel, nice to see this being fired wearing period knapsack equipment. Dare I ask do you know of a manufacturer of the earlier expense pouch? Looking for someone to manufacture one in brown for RN use.
Hi there. Glad you enjoyed it. There are a couple I know of... the first one is probably your best bet for a brown one.
www.vmaleather.com/Product-List/Expense-Pouch/
www.lepierreleathers.com/1855-british-infantry-expense-pouch
Mine is from heritageleather which is no longer trading (not to be confused with the current company by the same name.)
britishmuzzleloaders Thanks very much!
I'm wondering what rate of fire you have achieved in one minute? I'm trying to find a realistic number since i'm writing a training manuel for my work place.
If you look in the Snider/Martini Rate of Fire video, you can see how fast 10 rounds were fired and can estimate from there... Rates of Fire historically were not the kind of thing that people like to focus on today... Sure, in trials it was a factor but you won't find any reference to rates of fire in the Manual.... speaking of which, what are you doing?
britishmuzzleloaders I work in a museum in Winnipeg MB, where we have a few guns on exhibit and since there is currently no information on them in any of our training books/manuals and since I'm an amateur military historian I'm writing some training material for our staff.
I assume that you are looking for info on the Snider, specifically? If so, I might recommend the book Arms and Equipment of the British Army 1866 (www.abebooks.com/9780947898434/Arms-Equipment-British-Army-1866-0947898433/plp). It has the Manual and Firing Exercise for the Snider for 1867, as well as some useful info on kit and the like for the late 1860s...
britishmuzzleloaders thank you
It's good to see these antiques firing !
But what are the infantry tactics when they have breech loading rifles ? (about late 19th century )
Do they still use line tactics like American civil war ? With the accuracy and a better firing rate , I find it suicidal .
Please reply , and thanks .
It's a complicated process but things do evolve... the Franco-Prussian War is another watershed of improved tactics..
I'm really interested in putting together a historical shooting kit. I've found all the pieces of kit/uniform besides the shirt you are wearing. Where did you source it?
+Braden Robertson The grey back is from India... Replicators. Stan Dolan at Regimental Quartermasters out of San Francisco also has them.... Just google "British Army grey back" and you'll get there.
Good stuff! I am very much looking forward to learning more about all the cartridges.
I'm particularly interested in those hollow nose bullets. I have a theory as to how they were made (which is likely misguided) but I can't imagine why it would have been worth the effort? Ballistic stability?
+RabidMortal1 The bullets were swaged, to the best of my recollection. (must've been a multi step process) The cavity in the nose was either filled with wood or left hollow and some residual lead was "spun" over the hole. They really were extremely destructive rounds.
Interesting! So terminal ballistic performance? I think you need to set up a Patreon account to fund some ballistics gelatin (and some original bullets :)
RabidMortal1 Mmmmm,.... now you have me thinking...