Martini Henry drawn case but why no headstamp?

[Rrickoshae]

good morning, and yes its still a wet and miserable day so a query on a Martini Henry round that I've long puzzled over. Its a standard drawn case but has no headsatmp. From memory it came with mainly naval rounds (.45 Gardners, 1" Nordenfelt, .5 Vickers, 1pd pom poms) so I presume it to be military. But why no headstamp?

Any thoughts appreciated as always

Dave

 

[Jimiles]

Hi Dave, I'm afraid I can't answer your question as to why no headstamp but I will offer my thoughts. I have the same cartridge and I am confident that it is a military load. I have Peter Labbett's 'British Small Arms Ammunition 1864-1938' and based on the information in that book I've concluded that mine is a 'Cartridge Ball Martini-Henry Rifle Solid Case Mk II'. This version was adopted in 1886 and replaced the earlier short-lived Mk I which was introduced the previous year but was found to have a weak case. These Mk I cases were all unheadstamped so I can only surmise that early Mk II's followed on and were also made without headstamp. Jim

 

[Rrickoshae]

thank you Jim, thats good enough for me! Problem solved

regards, Dave