Trapdoor or Martini?
- Thread starter Barnaby
- Start date
I would go for a trapdoor with a buffington sight. The sight is one of the best military sights (in my opinion) and all but the early trapdoors are in 45-70 which makes them easy to get shells for and cheap like borscht to load. The martinis use very expensive brass loaded with very expensive dies. Both have to be cleaned from the muzzle which makes them about equal in that regard.
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
X2 on the trapdoor.
Check out Al Fraska's website ww w:trapdoorcollector.com for the best prices, and the very finest trapdoors arround. He literally wrote the book on trapdoors, and he does ship to Canada.
Like mooncoon said, the Buffington sight is a fine sight, but I think that it is a better marksman's sight than it is a battle sight. The sights on the 1874's and 79's are better battle sights I think.
Check out Al Fraska's website ww w:trapdoorcollector.com for the best prices, and the very finest trapdoors arround. He literally wrote the book on trapdoors, and he does ship to Canada.
Like mooncoon said, the Buffington sight is a fine sight, but I think that it is a better marksman's sight than it is a battle sight. The sights on the 1874's and 79's are better battle sights I think.
- Location
- windsor,ontario
trapdoor its cheaper to load for and it matchs the martini perfect
im sorry i ever bought a martini there too addicting and expasive (i have well over $1500 in my 2 mk iv's and all the reloading gear)
i love the martini and the trapdoor but the reason i bought the martini because its differnt and its quicker to load in my opinion
im sorry i ever bought a martini there too addicting and expasive (i have well over $1500 in my 2 mk iv's and all the reloading gear)
i love the martini and the trapdoor but the reason i bought the martini because its differnt and its quicker to load in my opinion
- Location
- windsor,ontario
yes i just found a real rare martini its a canadian issue mk iv(i already have a canadian issue mk iv) turns out these where given to the quebec home guard in 1914
stevejones
Regular
- Location
- Courtenay, BC
Both?
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
Are you planning to use smokeless and how hot do you want to load?
If you stick with black powder (or equivalent pressures) its not an issue but if you want to ramp it up at all the Martini is a much more robust action design.
If you stick with black powder (or equivalent pressures) its not an issue but if you want to ramp it up at all the Martini is a much more robust action design.
stevejones
Regular
- Location
- Courtenay, BC
I've noticed that trapdoors seem to go for higher prices than Martinis. Maybe that's just my experience but the trapdoor seems scarcer and its a lot harder to find one that does not have a poor bore and has been bubba'd.
- Location
- windsor,ontario
the martini has about a 22,000 psi max so when loading smokeless you have to stick to some powders imr 4198 is good but the max is 45gr (id do a 40% nitro for black and start with 34grs)
the military for the martini load is 85gr of fg bp(i use goex) and a 480gr cast bullet (.468-.470 for the british made martinis)
you need a reloading press able to use 1 1/4" dies and the lee .577-450 dies a bullet mold witch you cant just use a off the shelf .45 bullet mold you need a .468"-.470" bullet weighing 480gr and brass is about $5 a piece
id go for the trapdoor .45-70 or .50-70 is alot cheaper to load for
the military for the martini load is 85gr of fg bp(i use goex) and a 480gr cast bullet (.468-.470 for the british made martinis)
you need a reloading press able to use 1 1/4" dies and the lee .577-450 dies a bullet mold witch you cant just use a off the shelf .45 bullet mold you need a .468"-.470" bullet weighing 480gr and brass is about $5 a piece
id go for the trapdoor .45-70 or .50-70 is alot cheaper to load for
- Location
- windsor,ontario
the brit martinis are alot of money and can be $500 up the cheap ones are nepal mde martinis the gahendra and the nepal francotte(the nepal fracotte is not safe to shoot) these guns made in nepal the bores vary alot so it hard to tell but a .470 bullet will blow one up fast(nepal had alot of brit martinis sent there in the 1890's so theres some cheaper ones)
Hmm thanks for all the insight. I know reloading for the Martini would be an expensive option what with the special press and dies. I think maybe, I'll get a trapdoor to start then, just for simplicity sake. I can always go and get a Martini later I suppose. Also, I intend to use black powder only in them, that's what they were built for, and thats what i'll feed em! Thanks guys, you gave me some more to think about.
There are actually two issue involved. The first is thrust on the breach assembly and that is somewhat independant of pressure. It is more a combination of pressure and surface area of the base of the shell. Ie large bases = lower pressures than small bases. Where pressure becomes important is the hole diameter for the firing pin. The large the firing pin and its hole, the less support there is for the primer during shooting. Most guns built in black powder days had large firing pin tips by today's standards. The breach block can be bushed in various ways and a smaller firing pin tip used which permits higher chamber pressures. In the case of the trapdoor, the design itself is adequate for the cartridges it was made for but it is generally not considered strong enough for high pressure loads with a lot of thrust on the breach face
Rockchucker presses come with a threaded bushing which can be removed for large diameter dies although on my press, the bushing is too tight for me to unscrew
cheers mooncoon
- Location
- windsor,ontario
Lol, I guess I should have expected biases for this topic. Do any of you guys have experience making .577-450 out of 24 gauge Brass like this? http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRnSOrPbho&feature=related
a bit there not vary good though and i cant find the brass 24ga stuff here i had to buy in the US(shotshell hulls are exempt from the export regs on the US side)
your better off buying the good brass it will last for ever the shotshells are semi balloon head witch isweeker and cant be neck sized
if you neck size it theres no support for the case head and you will have a case head blow out
ive got 10 loadings on my jamison brass i neck size only and anneal every 3 shots(i use a .480 ruger die sizing die to neck size i have a stop made so i dont go to far and crush the shoulder it made from a piece of pipe )
