Martini Enfield redone to 45-70

[Goosehunter82]

Does anyone know if it's possible to rechamber/barrel a Martini Enfield currently in .303 to 45-70? The bores and rifling are usually pretty bad in these anyways because of the original .303 ammo. I know it's sacrilegious to modify antiques but this one has already been spoterized? Is it even possible given the tolerances of the ammo, bore to barrel width etc?

The idea behind this madness is I want to put together an old west rifle/pistol combination with the rifle as mentioned and a reproduction Colt Navy 51/61. (The .303 is a fine round but 45-70 is more authentic to the period I was looking at; 1870's - ish)

Any thoughts or comments are definitely welcomed and appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Win 38-55]

I wonder if the barrel has enough meat to drill it out to .457 groove diameter? Would you still have a decent wall thickness?

 

[antiqueguy]

I wonder if the barrel has enough meat to drill it out to .457 groove diameter? Would you still have a decent wall thickness?

nope its the same as most lee enfield barrels (the thread too) even the lee enfield .410 conversions have thin barrels bored out from .303 to .410 (chamber is the same minus the neck) you would bore it out to the min dia then have it rifled

it needs to be rebarreled

one thing is a .303 martini(any martini really there has been some fake in .577-450) can be a real deal or a fake from khyber pass

real ones will be antique if converted to a cal bigger then .326 measured from land to land (min bore dia). khyber pass is a modern made fake made for afghan fighters and then sold off to soilders and anyone else willing to fall for they're trick there has even been alot imported by someone in the US passing them off as the real deal they are deemed unsafe and id recommend having any khyber pass rifle deactivated

 

[burnt_servo]

juan at north shore barrels was/is making 14 " barrels for a 45 auto conversion of the lee enfield . ( he was using a barrel nut tomake things simple to install )

it shouldn't be that difficult to make a longer barrel chambered in 45-70 .....

you would then need to figure out how to make the extractor work .

 

[tokguy]

The extractor wouldn't be hard to configure, I've got a DP M-H converted to 303 with a Parker-Hale BBL.
If that's the deal breaker...it's not. You could make the extractor work with patience and a set die maker's files, it's pretty simple.

 

[mooncoon]

you can silver solder an addition to the inside of the extractor then file it to fit the cartridge you are converting to.

Khyber Pass guns are not necessarily modern and not necessarily poorly made. I would be suspicious of the quality of the barrel in terms of accuracy but I would expect the actions to stand up to black powder loads. I did at one time have a Khyber Pass Snider and apart from the writing on the rear sight, it was indistinguishable from a british gun

cheers mooncoon

 

[tiriaq]

It is going to need a replacement barrel. That's going to cost.
The .303 extractor will be too small, and will have to be opened out.
One trick sometimes used is to fit the extractor to the barrel, and then use the reamer to cut the extractor at the same time that the chamber is finished.

 

[antiqueguy]

you can silver solder an addition to the inside of the extractor then file it to fit the cartridge you are converting to.

Khyber Pass guns are not necessarily modern and not necessarily poorly made. I would be suspicious of the quality of the barrel in terms of accuracy but I would expect the actions to stand up to black powder loads. I did at one time have a Khyber Pass Snider and apart from the writing on the rear sight, it was indistinguishable from a british gun

cheers mooncoon

all khyber pass guns on the market now are modern made from the 50's till now. they can be easily recognised with poor fit of parts and poor fit of wood.

if you look at the knuckle of a khyber pass martini you will see its not right most are too high this is not good the martini action uses the knuckle seat as a support for the breech block this seat holds all the pressure infact you can fire a normal martini without the pin that holds the breeck block in. the kyhber pass martinis dont have enough metal on the knuckle area to hold the pressure it mite not do anything the first round or the first hundred rounds but its like having a time bomb in your hands

 

[Goosehunter82]

Thanks very much for all the info! I'm going to keep my eyes open for a non-kyhber pass copy but I think I will also start looking for a sporterized snider-enfield in .577. I found some cool reloading instructions for those using 24Ga plastic shotshell husks and 2F powder. Barring I can't find either I'll probably end up with a reproduction of some kind or another.

 

[antiqueguy]

Thanks very much for all the info! I'm going to keep my eyes open for a non-kyhber pass copy but I think I will also start looking for a sporterized snider-enfield in .577. I found some cool reloading instructions for those using 24Ga plastic shotshell husks and 2F powder. Barring I can't find either I'll probably end up with a reproduction of some kind or another.

it may not be a kyhber pass post some pic's with close up's of the markings and close up of where the stock meets the receiver

there is no reproductions of a martini or a snider but there is plenty of both floating around in canada and even more since 2003

 

[Goosehunter82]

it may not be a kyhber pass post some pic's with close up's of the markings and close up of where the stock meets the receiver

there is no reproductions of a martini or a snider but there is plenty of both floating around in canada and even more since 2003

I don't have one to post pictures of at the moment, I was looking at few that were/are coming up for sale in the area and thought I would do a little research in advance. Time spent on recce/research is time well spent.

 

[10x]

I've got a martini Mk III that has been rebarrelled to 45/70. It was done by Don Castle in Edmonton in the late 1970s for Black Powder Cartridge. It is very accurate and a pleasure to shoot. I have a side mount peep sight mounted on it and it can cut cloverleaf groups at 100 metres if I do my part.