.577 Bandolier

I think Grant is right. The tubes on the sergeant's bandolier definitly look bigger than the ones on .303 bandoliers. They look like Mounted Infantry Mk I bandoliers for .577 Snider (or Martini Henry). I believe the relatively few Martini Henrys we used during the NW Rebellion were returned to stores after the Rebellion was over and Sniders were reissued. Regulars and select Non-Permanent units started using Martini Metford Rifles and Carbines in 1893 and Lee Metford Rifles and Carbines replaced those about a year later. If I remember correctly, the Quebec Arsenal was producing .303 ammunition before 1893. The Lee Enfield rifle was issued to the Permanent Force first beginning in 1896 and it took over 4 years to equip all the Non Permanent units. The 43rd Regt. Order Book for 1899 records the issuing of the "new rifles" (Enfields), the Sniders had been replaced by Enfields in Permanent units several years before that.