Small Frame Martini 30-30

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Karamoja

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Hi All,
I was at my smiths recently looking for an old 8x57 barrel he was sure he had. Well eventually we got down to old random stuff..... I was lucky enough to find an old 30-30 barrel, half octagonal to round. I imagine it came from an old Winchester of some kind. The breach end had been plugged for deactivation but is easily savaged. Well immediately I had small frame build going off in flashing lights like Leicester Square on an winter evening. I just need to find the right action!!!
Advice on actions that are suitable and any experiences gratefully received!! Sources for stock sets etc. I will post some pics of the barrel soon. Stupidly I did not take any at the time.
Cheers Rich, UK
 
Hey brother , if you go to the gunsmithing part of this section at the bottom and enter Martini Henry you'll find quite a few good threads on MH spotters . That being said , I'm sure someone will have some ideas in this section as well .
 
I’ve read about them being built in 30-30, but as Guntech suggested they required a fair amount of work to allow feeding. Member pmatuk would be the man I would be talking to - he is a cadet wizard.
 
Not sure if the rifling will be compatible with a lighter bullet but I would consider cutting it back and chamber in 32-20 or similar. I believe modern versions are .308".
That would work great in a small frame.
 
Hi there Anglia,

I'm in Anglia now, back to the hills in the morning! Can admin move this thread? Or I can restart it down there in the right section. I am still finding my way around.
Rich
 
double gun said:
I’ve read about them being built in 30-30, but as Guntech suggested they required a fair amount of work to allow feeding. Member pmatuk would be the man I would be talking to - he is a cadet wizard.
Click to expand...

Good idea , pmatuk has done some very cool things with Martini's and would have some really good suggestions . Shoot him a PM , I'm sure he'll help you out .
 
mbogo3 said:
or .30 Herret I believe is based on a shortened 30-30 so brass will be cheap
Click to expand...

Another good idea . The only problem is karamoja lives in the UK , reamers would be problematic to say the least , but a Herret would be ideal . Karamoja joined gunnutz at my suggestion , I told him he'd get some good advice ........ damned if I wasn't right .
 
Hi all, Thanks for all the advice and help. I was thinking of a BSA action a 12 or 12/15 with the thicker side walls. I realise it will need the pin moving/bushing and extractor cut but wasn't aware of pitfulls to be aware of? I believe that the 30-30 will feed though, but have never tried it. I guess I will have to make up a nylon stub and chamber it to see on the action I get? We will see. I have really dreamnt of a 7-30 waters. But this barrel turned up!

Cheers Rich
 
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WAY, WAY back when the .310 Martinis were sold at the local surplus store for $9.95 each, take your pick, I bought and converted several of them.

They could be fired by using the .32 Smith and Wesson, short or long, but it tended to blow out the cases a bit. Of course, at the time a box of 50 S&W rounds was also very cheap.

I believe Elwood Epps did convert many of them to .357 Magnum, 44 Rem. Magnum and also 30-30. I never saw or used one in 30-30, but my buddy had one of the Epps Martinis in 44 Magnum.

Surplus 30 calibre military barrels were also available. I converted one small Martini to a .30 calibre "Wildcat ?" using .357 Magnum brass but necked down all the cases using a .30 calibre Luger RCBS die set. It only took one pass in the reloading press to do this resizing operation.

It used lighter .30 calibre bullets, around the 100 grain mark, and I fired a lot of cast bullets at Ontario Ground Hogs. Also, Speer "Plinkers" gave acceptable accuracy.

It was a fairly easy conversion, and reloading for it was also no problem.
 
Handled one chambered in 32win special at Bevans .The fellow who owned it was in Dawson creek at the time and now passed away also .It was a auzzie 310 cadet(thin wall) ,with a winchester barrel on it and winchester sights .It was brought up from the states and acording to the owner there was a shop doing it in the 60s and early seventies and I can not recall the outfit

only thing out of the ordinary was the block was milled down and the wood was still original full wood shortened to the new barrel and its probably still floating around western canada somewhere .

Only concern I have as the receiver bore for the barrel is .750 which would be only aprox .160 ish chamber wall ,unless the receiver was bored out to take
the winchester shank .
cheers Peter
 
Yeah , you would have to mill the top of the block to allow for enough " room " for the cartridge to make the turn into the chamber . I don't think it would be too difficult , provided there's enough material between the bottom of the loading groove and the firing pin .
 
Back in the sixties, or perhaps early seventies, Winfield Arms in the US, imported scads of these rifles from Australia. For an extra fee, they would chamber them in .32/20 or .32 Win Special.
If they would work in .32 WS, they would certainly work in .30/30. However, I've never seen one nor read about how well they worked. I have a Cadet that was rebored to .357, wearing a Parker-Hale Sportarget rear sight.
It's a gem, but I think the same rifle in .30/30 wouldn't be too pleasant to shoot.
 
I guided an old time gun maker from Michigan Name was Bob Schnapp ?. He was using a small frame Martini in 7-30 waters. Same thing as 30-30 basically. He specialized in builds on the Martini action. The 30-30 should be fine.
 
For the wood I would contact George Peterson at Treebone Carving in New Mexico
He does semi finished stocks for Martinis and other single shots as well as lever action rifles
i have used his stocks on several projects .
Cat
 
vagrantviking said:
Not sure if the rifling will be compatible with a lighter bullet but I would consider cutting it back and chamber in 32-20 or similar. I believe modern versions are .308".
That would work great in a small frame.
Click to expand...

ditto... I would also go the 32-20 route... which can be handloaded to 1900-2000 fps power levels. Brass is easy to find as are a variety of projectiles.
 
I remember an article in one of the magazines which showed a small Martini converted to .30-30 and stocked up as a bullpup. It had a folding grip (like the foregrip on the old Mossbergs) which covered the trigger when folded. Folding iron sights.
When the Australian training rifles were sold off surplus, they were so unappreciated that they were even being deactivated and sold as toys.
 
Neilm said:
I guided an old time gun maker from Michigan Name was Bob Schnapp ?. He was using a small frame Martini in 7-30 waters. Same thing as 30-30 basically. He specialized in builds on the Martini action. The 30-30 should be fine.
Click to expand...

Looks like Bob Snapp is still in business, as he's listed as an FFL dealer. I believe he also made up rimless extractors for Martinis. That being said, I'd think a 30-30 on a small frame Martini might be a tad unpleasant, and, as suggested, a bit of work to get to fit.
 
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