Snider - Enfield The British . 577 Snider - Enfield was a breech loading rifle . The firearm action was invented by the American Jacob Snider , and the Snider - Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties . It was adopted by British Army as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853 Enfield muzzle - loading rifle s . It was introduced in 1866 , and was used by the British Army until it was superseded by the Martini - Henry rifle in 1871 . The Snider - Enfield was used by the British Indian Army almost to the end of the nineteenth century . Design and manufacture . In trials , the Snider Pattern 1853 conversions proved both more accurate than original Pattern 1853s and much faster firing ; a trained soldier could fire ten aimed rounds per minute with the breech - loader , compared with only three rounds per minute with the muzzle - loading weapon . From 1866 onwards , the Enfield rifles were converted in large numbers at the Royal Small Arms Factory ( RSAF ) Enfield beginning with the initial pattern , the Mark I . The converted rifles received a new breechblock / receiver assembly , but retained the original iron barrel , furniture , lock and hammer . The Mark III rifles were newly made , with steel barrels which were so marked , flat nosed hammers , and featured a latch - locking breech block instead of the simple integral block lifting tang . The Snider - Enfield used a new type of metal cased cartridge called a Boxer cartridge after its designer . The breech block housed a diagonally downward sloping firing pin struck with a front - action lock mounted hammer . To operate the weapon , the rifleman cocked the hammer , flipped the block out of the receiver to the right by grasping the left mounted breech block lever , and then pulled the block back to extract the spent case . There was no ejector , so the case was lifted out by hand or , more usually , the rifle was turned upside - down to allow the case to drop out . ( Perhaps even more usually , the weapon was then shaken vigorously to dislodge hot cartridges or those fouled by dust or grime . ) Service . The Snider first saw action with the British / Indian Army at the battle of Aroghee in Ethiopia on 10 April 1868 , against the forces of Tewodros II of Ethiopia ; during which 10 , 200 rounds were fired by the 4th R . O . Regiment . It served throughout the British Empire , including Cape Colony , India , Australia , New Zealand and Canada , until its gradual phase out by the Martini - Henry , beginning in 1874 but still being used by volunteer and militia forces until the late 1880s . It stayed in service with the Indian Army until the mid - 1890s , because Indian troops between the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and 1905 were kept one weapon generation behind the British . They were issued with the Martini - Henry when the British introduced the Lee - Metford . Large numbers were used by the Ijesas against the Ibadans during the 16 years Yoruba Civil War of 1877 to 1893 . Frank Richards , who served on the Northwest Frontier between 1902 and 1908 , records in " Old Soldier Sahib " that Sniders were still in use by the British army during that period . Night sentries on duty in camps and cantonments would be issued with a Snider and buckshot cartridges . Should tribesmen try to get into the camp to steal rifles , the sentries would have a better chance of hitting the thief , and unlike a . 303 round , there would be less danger of wounding or killing a comrade if they missed . The weapon was notably powerful . Rudyard Kipling recorded in his poem , " The Grave of the Hundred Head " : A Snider squibbed in the jungle - < br > Somebody laughed and fled , < br > And the men of the First Shikaris < br > Picked up their Subaltern dead , < br > With a big blue mark in his forehead < br > And the back blown out of his head . < br > Variants . The Snider - Enfield was produced in several variants . The most commonly encountered variants were the Rifled Musket or Long Rifle , the Short Rifle , and the Cavalry and Artillery Carbines . The Long Rifle has a barrel and three barrel bands . Its total length ( without bayonet ) is in length , longer than most rifles of the time . It was issued to line infantry and has three groove rifling with 1 turn in . The Short Rifle has a 33 inch barrel and two barrel bands with iron furniture . This variant was issued to sergeants of line infantry and rifle units . It has five groove rifling with 1 turn in . The Cavalry Carbine is half stocked and has only one barrel band . It has a barrel , with the same rifling as the Short Rifle . The Artillery Carbine has a barrel with a full stock and two barrel bands , and the same rifling as the Short Rifle and Cavalry Carbine . The Snider was the subject of substantial imitation , in both approved and questionable forms , including the Nepalese Snider , which was a nearly exact copy , the Dutch Snider , Danish Naval Snider , and the " unauthorised " adaptations of the French Tabatière and Russian Krnka . There were also " Trade Pattern " Snider - Enfields , being Snider - Enfields made for private purchase by various English gun - makers . These were often intended for sale to members of volunteer military units , or simply to anyone who might wish to purchase a rifle . Use today . Enthusiasts still use these rifles today , with the number in circulation boosted by the acquisition by Atlanta Cutlery and International Military Antiques of a vast quantity of antique weapons held in the Royal Nepalese Armory in the Lagan Silekhana Palace for over a century . Ammunition is reloaded into either modern production . 577 Snider cases , or reformed 24 gauge brass shotgun shells . Black powder or modern black powder substitutes are used .