Original British Victorian New Zealand Marked Lee–Metford Mk II .303 Black Powder by Sparkbrook — Dated 1892 — Serial 1825 - Unconverted

Original Item: Only One Available. Here is a superb, museum-quality example of an UNCONVERTED British Lee–Metford Mk II in .303 Black Powder Center Fire, manufactured by Sparkbrook and clearly dated 1892 on the receiver with the Mark II stamping. The rifle is further marked NZ (broad arrow) on the chamber, butt plate tang and the stock. It also bears the matching serial number 1825 on both the chamber and the bolt handle, giving this piece clean, verifiable provenance. We cannot locate an HV marking (high velocity) on the barrel and the bore is clearly Metford rifling so we do not think it was converted for smokeless powder use. For the collector who prizes an unmolested firearm that was never converted from its original caliber or black powder use and mechanical and bore condition above all, this example delivers: the bore is mirror bright with crisp lands and grooves and shows very little signs of use. The exterior and stocks are in overall excellent condition and the action is mechanically sound — a rare combination for a service rifle of this vintage.

Here is a link to a wonderful article by expert Gary James published in Gun Digest titled Britain’s Black-Powder .303, the Lee-Metford.

Historically, the Lee–Metford is a landmark British rifle that helped transition the Empire’s forces from single-shot and lever systems into the era of smokeless-powder bolt actions. Combining James Paris Lee’s robust bolt and detachable magazine design with William Metford’s rifling profile optimized for black powder, the Lee–Metford family was the British Army’s primary service arm in the late 19th century and remained influential into the early 20th. Variants such as the Mk II reflect iterative improvements made as the Empire standardized small arms for colonial service and large-scale conflicts. Lee–Metfords equipped British and colonial units through campaigns at the turn of the century — including the Boer War — and examples continued to see service into the First World War, where they stood alongside newer designs until more modern rifling and the iconic Lee–Enfield pattern progressively superseded them. Their place in military small-arms history is secure: they represent the practical marriage of reliable Lee action engineering and period rifling thought, a platform that shaped British marksmanship doctrine and magazine-fed infantry tactics for decades.

This Sparkbrook-made, 1892-dated Mk II with partially matching serials and New Zealand chamber mark is therefore both a historically significant and an aesthetically attractive collectible. Its exceptional bore and sound mechanics make it equally suitable for a display in a museum or for a private collection!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1892
Caliber:  .303 black powder
Cartridge Type: Center-fire Cartridge
Overall Length: 29.5 Inches
Overall Length: 29 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: Single Shot