Martini Ammo Problem

[Mr AR15]

I just picked up a Martini chamber in .303 and after a good cleaning and inspection I went to chamber a re-sized .303 piece of brass and it would not take it. The case went in smooth enough and then slowed right down until I couldn't push it anymore. At this point I had 1/4" of the base sticking out of the breach face. I tried tapping it with a small hammer ( no primer in the case) and it went almost all the way in but not enough to allow me to close the action. Also it would not eject and I had to put a brass rod down the barrel and give it a tap in order to get it out. I tried some factory .303 and the same thing except I didn't try hitting it with a snall hammer this time.

The rifle looks well kept, no sign of abuse. I field stripped it and made sure everything was working fine. I even dropped a small piece of lead down the barrel and dry fired it to see if the lead would get hit just to ensure the firing pin worked as I couldn't try firing it with a case in the action loaded with just a primer.

Any ideas what might be happening here.

 

[sail32]

Possibly chambered for .303 Savage. Check, " Cartridges of the World", in the British and other sections.

 

[green]

The early .303"s had a tighter chambers than the later ones. Sizing dies seem to be made to size cases to fit the later looser chambers. Try an unfired case.

 

[trevj]

The early .303"s had a tighter chambers than the later ones. Sizing dies seem to be made to size cases to fit the later looser chambers. Try an unfired case.

Definitely try the unfired ammo.

If the fired case was shot in a loose chamber (ie:most 303 chambers), and the dies were not set up correctly to size the case right down to factory size, or were oversize to begin with, that could also cause it to hang up.

With the slow taper of the 303 case, it takes very little oversize on the taper, to cause it to be a long ways from seating.

Cheers
Trev

 

[Dantforth]

I think he said he had tried factory ammo. Next stop is a chamber cast.
Dave

 

[stevejones]

Overall case length?

I know this is a long shot but did you check the overall length of the cartridge? I know new unfired factory cases are not always at spec.

steve

 

[vagrantviking]

check that the sizing die is set up for true full sizing. If not that then it might be time to think about the chamber casting and do a bit of detective work.

Slug the bore too while you're at it.... I'm curious to find out what you've got there now.

 

[trevj]

Hmmm... Yup. I missed the bit about having tried factory ammo.

Chamber cast it is, then.

Maybe a good time to suggest posting some close-up pictures of the markings.

Are any of the letters backwards or out of line with the rest of the words on the markings?

Pondering the possibility that you got a "Khyber Pass" Martini, or worse yet, a faked Khyber Pass gun.
There have been reports of fakes being made and sold as antiques, over in the sandbox countries, and they are generally even less safe to shoot than the "genuine" Khyber Pass guns.

Something to ponder, anyway. Pictures are always good!

Cheers
Trev

 

[Mr AR15]

I called the fellow I bought it from (Gun Show) and explained the problem. He was just selling it for someone and thought it was 100% functional. After describing my problem he apologized for the whole mess and offered to return my money. He's a good guy and I know him a bit from my club so I was please with the response and I will keep looking for a Martini.

Thanks to all for the replies.

BTW, there were no markings on the receiver at all except smith/armory stamps. No date, no nothing. Butt plate was bare as well. there was only a ".303" stamp (really small) on the end of the barrel closest to the action. Very Strange.

Anyways, thanks again and good bye to the Martini.

 

[trevj]

Usually there are several markings on the RH side of the action that tell the history of the gun.
Dates of manufacture, what "Mark" the rifle was, and, usually, the makers name, and the Royal crown mark.

If it was a military gun. There were a few makers of sporting guns that did not follow the same protocol.

I'd still be pretty interested in seeing a couple decent pictures.

The marking may have been a bore size stamp, rather than the caliber outright that we normally find marked on a rifle these days.

Without a pile of further close-up looking, it's hard to tell.

Cheers
Trev

 

[Riflechair]

SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG HERE.
Be careful - Tread cautiously

 

[ben hunchak]

If one was sure it was .303 Brit. I'd just keep taking a bit off the bottom of size die until all was well.

 

[Mr AR15]

I returned it to the owner for a full refund and no problems. He is a good guy and had bought it from a fellow that said it worked fine. I guess he got the s**tty end of the stick unfortunately.

I ended up buying a Sharps 45-70 Cavalry Carbine from Marstar instead. What a lovely rifle. It was so nice I went out and bought the 3 band Pedersoli 45-70 Infantry rifle several days later. I'm just trying my best to spur on this crappy economy

One is for plinking and the other for long range shooting... well as long the range at my club is for now and then will move to 500-1000 yds. and see how it does.

 

[John Sukey]

I just wonder if there was a neck seperation and the front of the cartridge case was still in the chamber. Hard to see unless you know what you are looking for, and the only remedy is a broken shell extractor.
That would cause the exact condition you had.