.22 Martini actions .

The.22guy

The.22guy

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I am looking to get a .22 in Martini preferably a original .22 and not a conversion to .22 how much would an original goo for and how much would a converted one go for. How often do the .22 show up on ee ?. Thanks.
Also I know most have peep sights but are there any scope-able without drastic alteration .
 
The BSAs and others that I see now are $500 or more, and in good condition are worth it, very well made and accurate as long as there is not too much wear, no plastic on these guns and metal work is superb. Scope mounting must be done with both front and rear bases on the barrel and the barrel will have to be drilled and tapped. I'd opt for the std. rear peep, which on mine can be used past 200yds.
 
Martini .22 rifles

There are several grades of .22 Martini rifles that show up occasionally on the EE. As mentioned, usually from $500 and up.

The Canadian Military used the BSA Martini for training, and I can remember some being in the local Armories during the 1950s. They are usually marked with the C-Broad arrow, and bring a premium from the Military collectors. Most have a folding peep sight attached to the back of the receiver.

There are also ones that are a step upward in grade. These are the commercial target rifles, and have a milled back of the receiver for target sight attachment.

There are also the Internationals, and pure target rifles. You will have to really open your wallet for these. Really too heavy for hunting, but superb on a smallbore range.

Since you were contemplating a scope on one, it would be assumed that you want it for a hunting / plinking / informal use rifle. The small Martini actions would be best for this. (At one time, during the late 50s, you could buy the Australian Martini Cadet .310s for $9.95. These still show up at Gun Shows, but are now in the +$300 range) Many of these were converted, some to .22 but most to centerfire cartridges.

Keep checking the Gun Shows. There are lots in the Toronto-Hamilton-Brantford-London area that are a reasonable drive from your home.

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Really interesting things about the few BSAs I have seen is that rimfire and centrefire actions just don't seem to exist: they just made actions.

Centrefire barrels were made as normal and assembled to the action and everything was just peachy-keen and worked fine just so long as you had the right extractor.

The rimfire ones are where they get interesting because the barrels are BORED straight and rifled but then are contoured and threaded with the barrel held between centres and the tailstock OUT enough to put the firing-pin over the RIM of the cartridge instead of over the central cap. Result is a rimfire barrel on a centrefire action. You can pick them out by opening the breech and looking very carefully at precisely WHERE the chamber is in your barrel. If the rimfire chamber is off-centre (usually low), then you can make the swap to a centrefire in nothing flat.

Rimfire rifle can be converted to a centrefire just by replacing the barrel.

One of the smartest tricks I've seen.

Also one of the reasons that original 'rimfire' actions are so scarce; they were just too easy to convert into cute little varminters.
 
I have three BSA Martini 12/15 .22 rifles. These came from a London England shooting club in 1988. I am going to restore them . I have contacted a dealer who has original wood and parts.
 
I have had one for years and it was a steal when I bought it so it was really worth it. My brother and I compete with it whenever we can get together during gopher season. I have peep set at around a hundred yards and we range the gophers and they have to be over that distance to shoot. We get 8 out of 10 easy with cheap bulk federals. We can each shoot under 3 inch ten shot groups at a hundred with it.
 
actualy centre fire rifles were converted to rim fire simply by adjusting the height of the breechblock by stoning the tops of the cocking lever. Converting them back to centrefire was done by reversing the process or replacing the cocking lever.
 
So now we have TWO quick and relatively easy ways to switch these from centrefire to rimfire and back again!

Thanks for this one, John; all I had ever played with were the ones with the barrel done off-centre, and there are a lot of those, at least judgng by what I have seen.

Friend of mine is a machinist and has one, come down from his grandfather. He was asking ME (of all people!) what should have been involved in a conversion to centrefire, so I just flipped the action open and showed him the chamber: it was off-centre by about an eighth of an inch. He made up a centrefire barrel for it in a Hornet, as I recall: had his cake, ate it too.... and didn't wreck Grandfather's old rifle, all into the bargain. Made for a happy guy.
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.. In the 60's ( I think it was ) In Australia, "SPORTCO", made a conversion, probably based on the 310 Martini Cadet Rifles, in both .22 Hornet and .218 Bee. Perhaps a few of them made it over here ? ..... David K
 
I am in contact with a dealer in england who has some original wood, stocks, BSA buttplates and for-ends both long and cut down.
 
I have one thats been 'touched up' a bit that I picked up from a local single shot enthusiast. All I was looking for was a good accurate single shot and this has fit the bill just fine and it seems to do well with any brand of ammo.

BSAMartinicustom.jpg
 
ben hunchak said:
The BSAs and others that I see now are $500 or more, and in good condition are worth it, very well made and accurate as long as there is not too much wear, no plastic on these guns and metal work is superb. Scope mounting must be done with both front and rear bases on the barrel and the barrel will have to be drilled and tapped. I'd opt for the std. rear peep, which on mine can be used past 200yds.
Click to expand...

I sold a M12 BSA, .220 (LR), in excellent condition, same rifle in Stoeger's 1939 catalog at $125 when a the Winchester M52 bolt action sold for less than $70. Mine had the great fold down tang peep sight with the adjustable aperture and windage, both elevation and windage having a vernier scale.

I think that I received $700 for it, is not, close.
 
I just got a BSA Martini 12/15 in VG condition for $549.00.
I've put 200+ rds through it so far, and the accuracy is amazing.
Nice, tight, well-fitted action, and the bore is like new.
Not bad for an 80 yr old (the gun, not me).
 
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