Trego's Mountain Ear

One of the rarest versions of the Martini-Henry rifle is the Gahendra.  It’s probably the rarest because it isn’t really a Martini – it uses flat springs, and is actually a variant of a Wesley-Richards design that lost out to the Martini when the Brits were selecting a new service rifle back in 1871.

The record grants Gahendra Shumsher the honor of being Nepal’s outstanding firearms designer.  Actually, he searched out designs that could be built with the artisans and tooling available in Nepal during his short lifetime – at 14, he was in charge of the ammunition department of Nepal’s army.  Gahendra needed the early start – he was just 35 when he was murdered.  Or choked to death by a boiled egg he was eating.  It all depends on whether you believe the government report or not.

The Gahendra rifle production ended before 1899 – I’m pretty solid on that because they can be sold in the US without going through a FFL.  On the other hand, production is listed as ‘beginning in the 1880’s.  Gahendra was born in 1871, and was put in charge of the ammunition department of Nepal’s army in 1885 (quite a spot for a 14-year-old).  I can’t see production of the rifle starting before 1885 – so, at 4 rifles per day, over no more than 14 years, total production was likely under 20,000 rifles. 

I’m in the process of restoring one of the last of the Gahendra rifles available.  I went through cleaning and repairing several when I was in South Dakota (my dentist liked the Gahendra and nylon stocked Remington 22 rifles).  One of his that I worked on had every internal part marked with 4 – suggesting to me that Gahendra may have started production with a European gunsmith or armorer.  Unlike most American gunsmiths, I had the benefit of Nepali students who could actually read the language stamped on the rifles.

The one I’m working on now needs the rear sight repaired, the action fitted to a replacement (still old stock) lever, and the rear sight repaired.  When I get done, I’ll shoot a light load in 45 Colt through it, using a stainless steel adapter.  That will keep the pressure a lot lower than trying to reload the original 450-577 cartridge.

Gahendra Shumsher also developed the Bira gun – a double-barreled mechanical machine gun, copied from the Gardner gun, that weighed in around half a ton.  I wake from dreams of building a reduced scale 22, with the action laminated from aluminum plates and using a pair of 30 round 22 magazines.  It could be done – but it seems like wasting ammunition.

I would be reluctant to put Gahendra Shumsher on the same level as John Moses Browning or Aimo Lahti – but his ability to modify European designs to something that could be artisan made in Kathmandu was impressive.