AR753 - .577 Greener Snider sporting rifle
A handy .577 Mk.ll Snider sporting rifle by Greener. Round 24” barrel with three-range leaf sights. Slim nosed double lined flat lock plate with W W GREENER engraved to it. It has British proofs to barrel and breechblock and SNIDERS PATENT and Patent mark (Arrow S) to breechblock and barrel. There is an intriguing rack (?) number M1196 on right hand side of the barrel repeated on the butt plate;  and differentially numbered (serial number) to the top of the breech:142, repeated on the tail of the trigger guard. It did occur to me that this may be a private purchase colonial militia carbine.
The stock and wood are generally quite clean with minor usage marks; as one would expect, it has a short, chequered f/end with flat cross key to retain the barrel, with chequering at the wrist. After a little deliberation, I think that this is a Victorian blue and finish – just the right colour and patina. Clean and bright bore. This sort of short, handy rifle will have been used for game and defence across the Empire, the Snider cartridge remaining popular to the turn of the century, with use in many small colonial actions, both Boer Wars, tribal uprisings and Maori rebellion.