Ghosts in the Gun Safe: The Martini
1927, the Great War had ended only nine years earlier. The pace of production had become more relaxed at the BSA factory. The heavy machines were turning out parts for automobiles and motorcycles instead of Lee Enfields and Lewis guns. Never the less, the same skilled hands that had turned out tools of war at a feverish pace a few short years earlier now fashioned sporting and target rifles. So it was that an order of training rifles for the Canadian military made its way to final inspection.
Unlike today with overnight shipping, these rifles had to endure weeks of travel by ship to “the colonies”. Upon arrival at their destination they were marked with the Canadian military C broad arrow and prepared as training rifles for new recruits to learn the basics of marksmanship.
These heavy rugged rifles were smaller .22 calibre versions of the rifles that were common during the Boer War. Simple and robust in design, they were to last several generations.
This particular rifle likely trained many new recruits that went on to lay down their lives for King and country to preserve freedom for future generations. Some of those recruits marched on to victory through Belgium, Holland and France. The lucky ones lived to ripe old ages, but only a few have lived as long as this little rifle.
They say you are not the owner of a BSA Martini rifle, only the custodian during your lifetime. That is a heavy responsibility considering that a great number of those that squeezed her trigger have long since passed on.
I first crossed paths with a rifle like this one about forty years ago. An elderly gentleman, getting too old to shoot, was selling it. At the time there were a number of these around as they had become surplus to the needs of the government. As I grew up, I foolishly sold it. I don’t remember what I needed the money for.....
Forty years later I got another chance. This rifle was on the table of a seller at one of the local gun shows a couple of years ago. A deal was struck and I was once again the custodian of a Martini.
Like many fine old firearms, I shot this one a few times and then it slowly faded to the dark corners at the back of my gun safe. Last weekend I headed to the range to try some new pistol loads I had cooked up. Arriving at the range I found that all the pistol bays were busy, so I contented myself with posting a few targets at the rifle range 50 yard berm.
My eyes were a little rusty with the peep sights, having been spoiled with 24x optics at 50 yards. The first shot I let fly, I couldn’t find in my spotting scope, so I tried again. This time I noticed two holes close to each other about six inches above the X ring. I then realized that the last shooting i had done with the old girl was at 100 yards. I turned the elevation knob of the folding tang sight down several clicks and brought things into line.
What happened next I can only describe as a supernatural experience.
It was as though every hand that had fired a shot from this rifle through the generations were taking their one best shot. After a couple of 100 scores with CCI standard velocity ammo, I switched to SK Standard plus. It took two sighter shots with the better ammo and the rifle settled down to making ragged holes in the X ring. 9X, 10X, 8X, 10X, 8X and a couple of 99’s.
To be fair, the weather conditions were nearly perfect but there was something more at work here. I have had similar conditions with “better” rifles and decent scopes that have not produced such consistent results.
I guess sometimes the Ghosts in the gun safe are just happy to get out and play in the sunshine.
1927, the Great War had ended only nine years earlier. The pace of production had become more relaxed at the BSA factory. The heavy machines were turning out parts for automobiles and motorcycles instead of Lee Enfields and Lewis guns. Never the less, the same skilled hands that had turned out tools of war at a feverish pace a few short years earlier now fashioned sporting and target rifles. So it was that an order of training rifles for the Canadian military made its way to final inspection.
Unlike today with overnight shipping, these rifles had to endure weeks of travel by ship to “the colonies”. Upon arrival at their destination they were marked with the Canadian military C broad arrow and prepared as training rifles for new recruits to learn the basics of marksmanship.
These heavy rugged rifles were smaller .22 calibre versions of the rifles that were common during the Boer War. Simple and robust in design, they were to last several generations.
This particular rifle likely trained many new recruits that went on to lay down their lives for King and country to preserve freedom for future generations. Some of those recruits marched on to victory through Belgium, Holland and France. The lucky ones lived to ripe old ages, but only a few have lived as long as this little rifle.
They say you are not the owner of a BSA Martini rifle, only the custodian during your lifetime. That is a heavy responsibility considering that a great number of those that squeezed her trigger have long since passed on.
I first crossed paths with a rifle like this one about forty years ago. An elderly gentleman, getting too old to shoot, was selling it. At the time there were a number of these around as they had become surplus to the needs of the government. As I grew up, I foolishly sold it. I don’t remember what I needed the money for.....
Forty years later I got another chance. This rifle was on the table of a seller at one of the local gun shows a couple of years ago. A deal was struck and I was once again the custodian of a Martini.
Like many fine old firearms, I shot this one a few times and then it slowly faded to the dark corners at the back of my gun safe. Last weekend I headed to the range to try some new pistol loads I had cooked up. Arriving at the range I found that all the pistol bays were busy, so I contented myself with posting a few targets at the rifle range 50 yard berm.
My eyes were a little rusty with the peep sights, having been spoiled with 24x optics at 50 yards. The first shot I let fly, I couldn’t find in my spotting scope, so I tried again. This time I noticed two holes close to each other about six inches above the X ring. I then realized that the last shooting i had done with the old girl was at 100 yards. I turned the elevation knob of the folding tang sight down several clicks and brought things into line.
What happened next I can only describe as a supernatural experience.
It was as though every hand that had fired a shot from this rifle through the generations were taking their one best shot. After a couple of 100 scores with CCI standard velocity ammo, I switched to SK Standard plus. It took two sighter shots with the better ammo and the rifle settled down to making ragged holes in the X ring. 9X, 10X, 8X, 10X, 8X and a couple of 99’s.
To be fair, the weather conditions were nearly perfect but there was something more at work here. I have had similar conditions with “better” rifles and decent scopes that have not produced such consistent results.
I guess sometimes the Ghosts in the gun safe are just happy to get out and play in the sunshine.
