1898 Martini ME A.C. I.I. In 303

infideleggwelder

infideleggwelder

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
49   0   0
Location
Go east they said. it will be fun, they said
Picked up this little gem today. Tried posting it earlier, but no dice.
Locks up solid, cernter primer strike, ejects casing quite a distance. Rifling dark but sharp, i`ll polish that up with paper patched bullets.
Going to have to learn stripping, cleaning and assembly.
Missing the cleaning rod...will be looking for one
9y4FGmb.jpg

8fgtKJq.jpg

More pics if interest.
 
Nice catch, looks like a dandy! I've always wanted one myself but I cope with my little rimfire version. Less boom though... JB Bore paste and penetrating oil might be the ticket for you if there is metallic fouling, especially if you don't want to rip up your patches!
 
That's a nice carbine.

I believe the cleaning rods were purposely removed from those rifles by order. Not sure why or if my memory is wrong. You very seldom see them with cleaning rods, and never if they saw foreign service.

That doesn't look like Metford rifling and it's nice/sharp.

That little rifle is really going to bark with issue ammo. It's also going to kick like a mule.

Fun rifles though and that one looks nice.
 
Built as a Martini Henry in 1883. Rebuilt as a Martini Enfield in 1898. It is Enfield rifling. it is interesting the barrel is clocked 180 degrees out of what would be normal time.
 
That barrel is a no1 lee enfield barrel. You can tell by the knox form on it. Its also clocked 180* out, the knox is upside down.

Ill bet that barrel was put on after the fact due to they didnt use that knox until 1902 or 3 when they started smle rifles

Edit you can also see 08 on the knox. Id bet it was made in 1908 then put on after that
 
As Evan said.
Other than having a different extractor slot(s), an SMLE barrel is pretty much a drop-in for the Martini action. Timing should bring the flat on the knox to the top. The rim of the 303 case is enclosed in the Martini Enfield barrel and butts up against the breech face of the SMLE barrel. Perhaps they set the barrel back a half turn and re-chambered to adjust headspace and enclose the rim.
 
green said:
The barrel on this arm is the correct ME Carbine barrel.
Click to expand...

Thats interesting. Ill have to read up on these more.
My carbine has a normal pre smle knox and its not flat on the bottom like this one.

Also why is there an '08 stamp on the barrel. I would have assume that was the date like it is on most all other lee enfield/metford barrels.

Like they say this is always more to learn about these old rifles.
 
Last edited:
Well, live and learn. I have not seen that before. Guess I need to pull the forearm off my Martini Enfield rifle to see if it too has flats on both sides of the knox. Carbines I have owned in the past only had flats on the top of the knox.
Thanks for posting pics.
 
"NOT FOR BALL" was a marking, when used by itself, indicates that this rifle was used in military colleges. it has the sold out of service arrows with CC on either side- Cadet College. an anecdote I found was that the artillery carbines were issued to those of shorter stature that would find a Lee Medford to long.... that could explain the condition of the inside of the barrel- they were rarely if ever fired while at the college. I don`t know why " NOT FOR BALL " would be the indicator. it has been tested with commercial ammo with no issues.

"NOT FOR BALL" when combined with a saw cut on the bottom side of the barrel in front of the knox, and "condemned" stamped on the barrel and receiver, that would be bad and this little rifle would be still where I first saw it 1 year ago. many of those cut ones ended up in France.

I also plan on shooting only cast bullets with lighter loads- red dot/ unique comes to mind.
its a little lighter than a No5 and that kicks like a mule as it is with service loads.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom