Custom Martini Rifle of My Dreams Gun is coming-shots fired

My last one was a BSA Australian Cadet. Douglas barrel chambered for 22 Saber Jet. It was stocked with Fajen wood. Was outstanding shooter, traded it off. It was nice but nothing like OPs.Monkey Tail was rolled up like a lever gun.
 

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Nothing wrong with that!! Greener Martinis tend to be very well made, with nice forged steel and careful fitting.
Is it rechambered from 310 Cadet?

I just got a left hand BSA Martini International MKII with (thankfully) the original Parker Hale match sights. The sights detach for transport and, unfortunately, in many cases get lost.
The sights are left handed as well. Replacements are very difficult to find and expensive!

I believe it was re-chambered to .32-20 from .310 Cadet.

It shoots fine. It holds minute of coke can quite well. :D
 
here is another pic. If you can magnify it, the dovetail filler can be seen. Getting excited, Larry

Ah, now I see it. Thanks, somehow it looked like it was stepped all the way around. I couldn't understand why they'd do that!

(I don't need to be "Mr", btw - any version of "hey you" suffices ... )
 
Realized I never said the gun I am getting was in .22 lr. The check got to the seller, hopefully ship soon.

Here is another that I bid on the wood in a local auction 3 yrs ago. The nice wood ended up being one of the 21 Super Target 22 rifles in 1950 built by Al Freeland, the operating lever has a number 11 on it. The barrel is made by Eric Johnson. I added the scope after discussion on rimfire central. It's my sub 1/4" at 50 yds gun. Larry
 

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"Realized I never said the gun I am getting was in .22 lr. The check got to the seller, hopefully ship soon."

Thanks, that was my question. That must have been an expensive stock blank, even in the 19th century.

Hopefully this is not being rechambered to .32 Magnum?
 
Wow, it's finally here and I saw it earlier. The employee at Cleveland Armory didn't know how to log it in so he will wait till the owner comes in. They are very particular with manufacturer and caliber the way it's written, BATF is very fussy how it's logged in. The gun has O markings on it for who made it and what cartridge it uses. Guess I get it tomorrow, hopefully since they are closed but working on guns.

The BATF that audits them is 2 females that are fussy about spelling and such. Since they are looking for reasons to close gun shops, he doesn't want to loose his license.

The 2nd day shipping took 8 days, I was wondering if it was actually stolen!!!!

Cool gun in person, excited. Probably won't be able to sleep tonight, (Lol) Larry
 
Engineer1911, glad to see another person that likes Martini Rifles.
I am hooked on them, don't mind the slow shooting involved with a single shot like the Martini.

Finally got the gun, the auction ended on the 12th, been 18 days. It's everything I imagined, about the same size as a 310 Cadet. Maybe a tad smaller and light weight. It even has very fine engraving on the receiver, nice tasteful touch. Very happy with it, and glad I finally have it in the basement.

Tried to chamber a round and it wouldn't quite go in all the way. Could it have some minor chamber corrosion?? The gun is 100 years old and actually looks unfired. Since the seller is a custom rifle builder, I asked him in an email what I could possibly do to remedy the problem.

Hopefully have a range report next Tuesday. Larry
 
Happy Easter to those following this thread, enjoy the peace of the day.

Played with the Martini last nite and got a loaded .22 lr to fit in. Used an SK Standard round, didn't try any US .22's. Figured it has a tighter match chamber.

Need help here. Since a full length 22 fi in the chamber, it has to be chambered for 22 lr not 22 short correct? Being made pre WW1 will it be safe to shoot with standard velocity target ammo?? The date of manufacture would be hard to guess with no markings on it. Larry
 
Just an observation from looking / shooting the Martini I have now. If the barrel is 22 rimfire / CB cap, short, long, long rifle; I would believe that the sheer steel mass of the barrel & breech would safely fire any 22 LR cartridge except for the hypervelocity rounds.

Yes, I recognize that heat treating is questionable, non-existent, and unknown. One Half inch of steel will withstand any standard or high (not hyper-) velocity 22 LR rimfire cartridge. Modern cheap, low carbon, low quality steel has a mechanical yield strength = 20, 000 psi. Our Martini rifles can easily handle today's 22 rimfire cartridges less than hypervelocity.
 
Happy Easter to those following this thread, enjoy the peace of the day.

Played with the Martini last nite and got a loaded .22 lr to fit in. Used an SK Standard round, didn't try any US .22's. Figured it has a tighter match chamber.

Need help here. Since a full length 22 fi in the chamber, it has to be chambered for 22 lr not 22 short correct? Being made pre WW1 will it be safe to shoot with standard velocity target ammo?? The date of manufacture would be hard to guess with no markings on it. Larry

Happy Easter Larry!

Brad
 
Took it to the club to shoot with SK standard, standard velocity. First shot fired and wouldn't eject so I put a piece of a 22 cleaning rod in to get it out by tilting the gun up and down. It got stuck, someone had another piece of 22 rod and we tried to push it all out. I think the first piece of rod entered the empty case 22 case expanded it, and sorta jammed it. Brought it all home to work on.

Next time I'll use CB longs. I think the standard velocity case expanded too much when it fired. It's a very tight chamber. Disappointed so far, Larry

PS Need a form or somewhere to find information on the Maker of this gun. Want to learn about what I bought
 
That is one good looking firearm, the art of a professional gunsmith certainly shows in those photo's.
My own Martini, an 1895 .303 model only received a new barrel and a lick of varnish.


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Beautiful rifle. So what is involved with the conversion? I know some of the obvious - rebore the barrel (JES?), refit the extractor. The receiver bolt looks tricky, would seem easiest to find a centerfire one from a .310 cadet.
 
The gun in the opening post isn't being converted, it's will still be 22lr. Andy could convert a 310 cadet to 32 mag by sleeving the barrel with a 32 sleeve. Then make the extractor fit. It's magical. He quoted 400.00. The LGS has a 310 in 38/44 B&D for 600.00.

I went the .310 cadet route with dies and original brass and for some reason it didn't work for me. Larry
 
Here is an answer by the seller of the rifle from GB. Is is a custom rifle maker with a fantastic reputation. I asked him if he restored the rifle, his response.

"To specifically answer your question: no, I did not restore this rifle. In fact, I did not even shoot it. I sold this rifle in the condition in which I received it. Looking back at the description I wrote: "A dovetail insert that perfectly compliments the front sight fills the space vacated by the original rear sight, which was replaced by a Lyman 1A aperture sight installed on the rear tang." indicating that- at the very least- there were changes made to the sighting from its original configuration. Hence, I did not describe the rifle "in original condition". I described the rifle as accurately as possible with no intent to mislead. If, in fact, it was refinished I would say the work done was of world-class quality and not done here in the States. But that is my professional opinion. I agree that if the gun was restored, someone with a great amount of skill performed the work.

You have a remarkable, beautiful, rare and desirable rifle, one that most anyone would be delighted to own. I hope any detractors on the internet forums do not diminish the joy you have in owning such an amazing and unique rifle. I have not heard back from its previous owner regarding what he knows of its history. He is an international business consultant and currently traveling abroad. He did indicate he would contact me upon his return and I will gladly pass on what information he shares. I will be in touch."
 
Shot 22 CB Long out of it today, actually got 5 rounds to fire. Every shot the empty case got harder to pry out with my fingernail. The 5th shot was tough to extract, didn't want to use anything metal to avoid a scratch.

Gonna re-polish the chamber with a drill, turning slowly. Getting there, just need to figure it out.

The shots were 2" high and centered. The last 3 shots I used the set trigger and it worked great.😊 Wanted to try the CCI Quiet but quit, had nothing to get the empty case out. Larry
 
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