Just scored a Martini 310 Cadet in what appears to be excellent original condition...

[The Kurgan]

I have been searching high and low for a "companion rifle" for my Swiss 1882 revolver.
The seller is claiming that it will nicely chamber and fire 32-20. I do resize my 32-20 brass in a 30 Carbine die specifically for my Swiss 1882 revolver. Hoping my revolver handloads will chamber. If not, I will be simply reloading 32-20 for this fine little rifle.
Apparently the rifling is sharp and no pits. Bluing is partly intact. Screw heads look very good. She looks to be an honest to goodness survivor.

According to the stock markings, this rifle was issued in September of 1912 and used by the New South Wales Citizen Military Forces ("C.M.F.").
I don't know what the "13.021" stamped under "NSW" means, but perhaps it's some sort of militia code or rack number?
Serial number is in the 21,*** range.

 

[XRCD011]

Amazingly nice, thanks for sharing.

 

[dead meat]

Nice find, looks to be in good condition.

 

[canuck94]

Don't expect too much in the accuracy department with this combination. The little 310 is a fun little gun and I have had several over the years to play with. I had one rebored and rechambered to 357 Mag. and it turned out to be the most accurate 357 that I have ever owned. The 32-20 is, on it's own merit, in the right gun, accurate.

You have a great fine and there are many things that you can do to enjoy. One is as is, because they are getting harder to find. Another is a conversion that doesn't alter the barrel markings. Still another is to rebarrel to a wide variety of target calibers and build your dream target rifle.

Regardless, do enjoy your find because you did find a little treasure.

 

[The Kurgan]

When I receive her, I will let you all know what she chambers. I reload 32-20 uncut brass with .314" soft lead wadcutters (waxed). This may be a large enough bullet to engage the rifling and provide decent accuracy. I guess we'll see. Anyway, I always wanted one of these rifles, but could never find one in original and normal working condition. Of course, I haven't received the rifle yet, so I am taking a chance.

 

[antiqueguy]

the .310 cadet uses a heeled bullet cast bullet engineering makes the proper molds

 

[The Kurgan]

I got the rifle yesterday (BTW, a GOOD CGNer!!). It's in FAR better condition than the crappy photos (above) indicate. I gave it a good (but delicate) cleaning with 0000 steel wool and a quality gun oil. No pits anywhere to speak of! What a nice little action, and I can see why it was so popular as a basis for custom builds. I was planning on refinishing the whole thing, but the original metal finish is 90+%, and while the wood has dings typical of a 103 year old, well used, rifle... it really has character. The bore has no pits, is shiney, and the rifling is still sharp. Even the crown looks good! I think I'll keep it "as is".

The only negative is that the barrel (and therefore sights) are slightly canted to the right, and while only cosmetic, I am going to have my gunsmith re-index the barrel tomorrow. Clearly, this barrel was removed at some point in its life (likely by the company that imported it into Canada) and the chamber was slightly "relieved" to accommodate the 32-20 cartridge. It perfectly chambers 32-20 factory cartridges, and my Swiss model 1882 revolver handloads, aka "7.5x33R" (32-20 uncut cases resized in a 30 Carbine die). I guess you can call my handloads "30 Carbine Rimmed". I now have the perfect companion rifle for my sweet little Swiss 1882 revolver!

From the research I've done, these 32-20 conversions were rather common with the BSA Martini's with the tighter bores (ranged from .315" to .321"), and are called by some as "310 Magnum" conversions. The fire-formed case bears NO resemblance to a 32-20 cartridge as there's no shoulder. As I understand it, the chamber was simply reamed with a 310 Cadet reamer to the length of a typical 32-20 cartridge, and the rim relief slot was slightly deepened to accommodate the thicker 32-20 rim. If I were to fire a factory 310 Cadet cartridge in this rifle, it would probably have headspacing problems. What the conversion has created, in essence, is a 7.5mm Swiss Ordnance rifle. The Swiss revolver cartridge specs are almost identical to 310 Cadet, and the Swiss 1882 bullet diameter of .319" is a dead match to this bore. Of course, I have 38 factory BP 7.5mm Swiss Ordnance cartridges to test out (and yes, they chamber perfectly). Very happy with this purchase !!!

BTW, it has a tighter bore in the .315"-.316" range. My .314" lead wadcutter handloads will likely offer excellent accuracy. I'll report on range results later.

Below are a few (4) examples of my handloads. Two utilize uncut 32-20 brass resized in a 30 Carbine die ("7.5x33R"), two utilize cut 32-20 brass resized in a 30 Carbine die ("7.5x23R"), and one factory BP 7.5mm Swiss Ordnance cartridge (.319" FMJ heeled bullet). All five chamber perfectly, but I will only fire the handloads that utilize the H&N 100 grain .314" soft lead wadcutters (waxed), leaving the .311" 71 grain FMJ (32 ACP) bullets and .312" 98 grain lead SWC (32-20) bullets exclusively for the revolver, which has a much tigher bore (.308" grooves, .305" lands!!).

 

[The Kurgan]

Back from the gunsmith's. Barrel indexed, sights aligned, fully inspected and ready to roll... going to the range tomorrow.

 

[The Kurgan]

After getting the Martini sighted-in, it was shooting point-of-aim. I wasn't really focused on any part of the target, just generally in the head and torso area, and it surprized me with the results. With the sights set at 100 yards, it was definitely shooting high a 50 yards, so I had to compensate. Next time I'm at the range, I'll set the target back a full 100 yards, and see how she groups. As suspected, my .314" H&N waxed lead wadcutters worked very well. This rifle is a real pleasure to shoot, and very well put together, even for 103 year old!

(btw, I incorrectly noted ".410" on the target, when it should read ".310")

 

[The Kurgan]

... on her way back from Oskar Kob... all metal parts polished and colour case hardened, barrel reblued, stock steamed and refinished (with original stamps left intact)... I can hardly wait!

Sorry if I offended any purists, but she's a shooter and appears to be converted to 32-20 anyway... and she shoots well!

 

[John Sukey]

Have one thats rebarreled to .256 Win Mag.

 

[dead meat]

Hey it shoots good and your happy, that's all that matters. Congrats again on the nice find.

 

[woodchopper]

Have one thats rebarreled to .256 Win Mag.

I've got a set of dies for that round, and a 310 cadet. But the 310 is in too good of shape for me to mess with it. Bit of a pain to shoot as 32-20 rims are too thick to fit the chamber.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

... on her way back from Oskar Kob... all metal parts polished and colour case hardened, barrel reblued, stock steamed and refinished (with original stamps left intact)... I can hardly wait!

Oh, you flirt - please post pics when she comes back!

Such a lovely trim wee rifle.

 

[The Kurgan]

I have two coming back, one from Oskar and one from Martini Gunmakers. Though Martini sent it out to Oskar for the case colouring. Will post pics of both when they arrive.

 

[kjohn]

Very nice! I always appreciate people who post their precious stuff for us to drool over.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[englishman_ca]

Just when I thought that I had enough rifles..... now I want one of those and a revolver to go with it!

 

[The Kurgan]

https://flic.kr/p/szTwYU

Flickr won't allow direct links to photos anymore (!), but here are a few low quality phone photos that Oskar sent me today (link above)... very excited.
My small-ring 98 action is the lower one in the photo.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Oh my, yes...

 

[The Kurgan]

My custom small-ring 98 Mauser in 7x57 originally built by Richard Gibbs and barrelled by Denis Sorensen (“Guntech”), but fully refinished by Ralf Martini and Oskar Kob ...

(Not great photos. I will update with better photos once I receive the rifle from Ralf Martini. Ralf still has to polish and nitre blue the extractor.)

********************

My newly acquired BSA Martini .310 Cadet in 32-20 ...

(Low quality phone pics. Oskar makes a much better gunsmith than a photographer. I will update with better photos once I receive the rifle from Oskar)