Unmistakably fired through Henry rifling, this bullet is unusual as it has a pronounced step just below the tip, where it is thicker, for the rifling to bite. The base is also flat, rather than featuring the small concave hollow of the service bullets. The base appears to show the impression of the patch, curled over in this location, and imprinted through the combined efforts of heat and pressure during ignition of the powder. Perhaps it was an early trial version of the Martini-Henry bullet, or a commercial enterprise by Alexander Henry, perhaps even a mechanically fitted commercial Henry bullet. Mechanically fitted bullets were used both with and without patches, so the evidence of the patch at the base is not conclusive either way. The rifling does extend, in places, above the top of the step, where they are clearly incised by firing. With thanks to David Harding for information on this projectile.
- Weight: 477 gn (30.9 g)
- Diameter: 0.457 in (11.6 mm)
- Length: 1.189 in (30.2 mm)
mark 4 (1874) and carbine mark 1 (1877), 2 (1878) and 3 (1879)
unusual Martini-Henry bullet
