Identifying Hindu Kush Guns

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of guns passing through the shop that are copies of British firearms. These copies are generally referred to as "Khyber Pass" guns although they may have been made any place in the Middle East or South Asia. They often incorporate original parts and can range in quality from pretty good to simply terrible. The more you know about these guns the easier it is to recognize what you are looking at and not end up paying the original price for a copy.

Here are some recent examples I have run across. I have often joked that there must be a law that everyone ever touching a British military firearm is required to put a stamp on it. All those stamps have a meaning and usually designate some change in the condition of the gun. For example, the broad arrow means that it has been accepted into service and is the property of the British Government. As the Enfield Number Ones had additional features incorporated into them, they were stamped to indicate that upgrade.

By looking for those markings we can often tell if a gun is an original or a copy. For our first example let’s look at a Snider that I ran into recently. At first glance, it looked like an officer’s carbine, the sort of firearm that an officer might use for hunting. It has a shortened, checkered stock and barrel with an under rib. However, comparing it to another Snider shows some suspicious details. First, the lock has no stamps on it.

The only marking in the lock is marked "Tower" with the year of manufacture and a crown behind the hammer. Secondly, there is no War Department broad arrow on the action and the hammer is not centered on the firing pin. In addition, the checkering on the stock is poorly done, one of the cleaning rod guides is badly shaped, and there are what appears to be Arabic markings on the barrel.

All together these clues suggest that this particular gun is an accumulation of parts, with some original issue parts and some locally made. The real convincing factor was the discovery made when I cleaned the badly fouled barrel and discovered that the gun is a smooth bore. To my knowledge the British never made a smooth bore version of the Snider, however, the Belgians did. Many obsolete military firearms were converted to "Zulu Shotguns" by the Belgians in the early 1900s for the "African Trade".

Both Sniders and French Tabatières are often found marked Zulu. With the Arabic markings on the barrel, I would suspect this specimen to have come out of the Hindu Kush rather than Belgium but my goal was to provide you with information that would allow you to know what you are buying. The second example is a Martini Enfield chambered in 303 British. Although the Brits did indeed rebarrel some Martini rifles to 303 British, Bottom, an unmarked lock of a Snider copy.

Below that is the top of a Snider copy. Note the hammer is not square on the firing pin. there are some suspect features on this one that suggest the conversion was not done by the British. First, it is clear that this Martini has been refinished. However, at first glance, although the receiver seems to be everything it should be, a closer look brings its authenticity into question. The lettering on the side of the receiver seems to be ever so slightly wrong.

The lettering is just not lined up as precisely as you would expect and then there are those broad arrows at the front of the receiver. This is the first time I have seen multiple broad arrows (there are two on the left side also) placed so that they look more like decorations than marks of British Military acceptance. Since British #1 Enfield barrels have the same thread as the Martini it is not an exceedingly difficult task to rebarrel a Martini to 303 British and American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.

it is possible the markings were restamped by hand after they had been partially removed when the gun was polished and reblued. What we are left with is a nice shootable Martini with little to no collector value. As I’ve said before, I have no problem refurbishing old project 303. The front side of the suspected Martini copy with "decorative" broad arrows. guns into shooting condition because if I can afford them, they almost certainly have little or no collector value.

Learning how to iden- On top is a Mk II Martini with proper markings. Below that, a refinished Martini chambered in caliber .303 with lettering that seems slightly askew and two broad arrows at front of receiver. tify guns from the Hindu Kush, or from any other region or era, will help you determine the historical origins of any firearm you restore. Even if there is no significant collector value, knowing its history will enhance the ownership and shooting experience for you and your customers. AG