Yesterday's Weapons Forums

I bought a Snider musket several years ago & discovered 1st round it had a bulged chamber. Had to smack the case a LICK to get it out & it was ruined for reloading.

Stood it against the wall and FINALLY found a barreled receiver. Got that in to discover the breech block wouldn't open. Finally drifted the hinge pin out and used a long punch to drive the locking pin forward to release the breech block from the receiver.

Started out like this. Breech block would NOT budge.

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After the steps mentioned above, got it off to find no issues.

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Root cause of the trouble - solidified yak fat. I'm not making this up - not much for petroleum based preservatives or grease in Nepal so they used yak fat. No - it doesn't smell very nice.

Shown here is the hinge pin (top) and locking pin. Both were nearly immovable. Got them soaking in alcohol now. I figure 2 or 3 days should soften the yak fat.

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Side shot of the breech block. What a mess! I think the gun was only given a cursory cleaning when it was removed from the crate. Certainly not in a dedicated parts cleaner. The breech block itself was partially stuck. Took gentle tapping with a nylon hammer to get it out.

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I'm pretty sure this gun was native made. Due to my crappy photography, it's not too clear, but it looks like strips of metal were forge welded around a mandrel. There's no pitting, so it really doesn't worry me about safe firing.
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I was concerned about barrel condition but it was excellent. Yak fat is a great metal preservative. I've never seen a bad yak fat barrel! No bulges, dents or mud dauber nests.

And just for grins, here's a comparison shot of 577 Snider vs 45-70.

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Profuse apologies for the bad photography. I was too lazy to go back downstairs for a reshoot.

Next up - after mucho elbow grease and scrubbing is swapping out parts and test fire. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

nice project , and i think the photos tell the story you were trying to convey

The adventure continues... I meant to have another illustrated post showing completion, but not to be. It's kicking my butt!

Got it cleaned and assembled - no easy job in itself - but can't make the breech locking lug/release lever work. The bulged chamber gun is a Brit Snider - the sound barreled action gun is native made, and the parts don't quite interchange.

I've had 2 other Sniders and looked for any parts in small containers I have scattered around my reloading/working on guns room. Organized? Me? Maybe in the next life.

Found a release lever pivot screw but no release lever. Also found a Type 14 Nambu firing pin for which I searched desperately a couple years ago. But I sold the Nambu so if any of you lurkers need a FP, it's yours for cost of a padded envelope and $3 postage.

Next step - search for a Snider-Enfield parts source. I know - good luck with that. Fortunately, my other 577 Snider works just fine so I have that going for me.

Anybody fancy a Snider that could use a little work? SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

parts can be some of the most frustrating elements of a project , not sure id tackle a snyder - thought of it once , then found a functioning example , i commend you on taking it on ,

i would think there must be some of those yak fat covered nepali units out there to scavange from , good luck

Snider - round 3...

Sitting at my desk in the gun room getting Snider parts in order for reassembly, I noticed something on the floor. Not unusual, but it looked more like a gun part rather than a deceased spidey.

Lo & behold it was the breech locking lug that had fallen from the 'other' Snider without me noticing it. Well! Put the breech block back together and it almost worked.

Messed around and made a filler to give the release lever a better angle and... Bingo! It works now! When I want it to, even!

Started to assemble the entire gun to discover Nepali barreled actions don't interface well with Brit stocks. Rats.

So now comes hand fitting the barreled action to the stock. I don't mind hand fitting work, and I don't think this will take all that much.

My takeaways from this adventure: a) I'd rather be lucky than good and b) it's another 'eat the elephant one bite at a time' adventure.

It might take a while, but I'll get-r-done! SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

congrats - nice when things work out well ,