The Gahendra rifle

[7 MM]

Well I made the jump from handi-rifle to something I'm not sure I should have.
I bought one of the as-is unrestored Gahendra Martini-Henry rifles advertised on IMA.When it arrived it looked worse than the pictures (which says a lot).
After about a week of cleaning I now have a wallhanger!!
The action is all most perfect..Wish I had blueprints to spec it out with.
I'm impressed with the craftmanship of the gunsmiths who built these rifles.For a cottage industry they had a lot of great craftmanship.
The Barrel is another story.
When they put them up in storage I am told they doused them in "Yak Fat".I believe it .
There is severe pitting along the woodline of the fore grip and pitting in the rifling for the first 5 or 6 inches of barrel past the chamber. the chamber is rusty but could be cleaned up I would guess.
The pitting is severe enough that I will never shoot it with this barrel.
So for now I will build new stocks ( the old forestock crumbled from blood rust and rot.
I have been toying with the idea of rebarreling back to spec of 577/450 but haven't found anyone that makes barrels yet.
I sure would like to see it fire once more!
IMA says they will eventually sell parts for them .
Maybe the best Idea is leave it as parts and make it a safe queen until they do and maybe get a shootable barrel from them.

Am open to anyones suggestions .


7 MM

[longcaribiner]

I'm sorry to hear that you got a bad bore.  I have had a Gahendra for almost 30 years, purchased at Interarms in Alexandria Va.

Although the chamber is a bit sloppy, it shoots fairly well.

I have no clue what threads may have been used or whether barrel threads could be reproduced.  One possible alternative maybe to convert it to 577 Snider.  A monster cartridge, but slightly shorter and the same rim diameter. (sort of a parent cartridge of the 577-450.) 

The interior workings of the Gahendra are a wonder of simplicity in themselves.  For much more info on the Gahendra check in at the British Militaria website at yuku.  You will find a wealth of info on the cartridge as well as the Snider.