Who owns/shoots/hunts with Martinis?

kombi1976

kombi1976

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I'm a bit of a fan of Martinis and presently have 2 in working condition.
One is a sporterised BSA Martini Cadet in 25-20 I picked up very cheaply about 3 years back.
It has a laminated stock with a Weaver K-6 mounted on a Weaver rail.
I had the Weaver rail fitted soon after I bought it and had a trigger job done around the same time dropping the pull down to just under 3 ounces so it's very easy to shoot.
It usually manages MOA accuracy at 100m which is as much as you can expect from a 25-20.
The other is a Sportco Martini Hornet which has a Tasco Mag IV 3-12x40AO in Lynx high mount rings.
It was a factory conversion done in the 50s by local company Sportco and it's a neat little rifle which also groups around MOA.
It has some extractor issues at present but I'll have this fixed shortly and also get the gunsmith to do the same trigger job on it as he did on the 25-20 as it's a little heavy.
Here's a pic of them - first the 25-20:
25-20Cadet_08Scoped.jpg


And the Hornet on my last hunt after it took a bunny.
I must admit the scope looks a little excessive. :redface:
FredDuncansPlace_2-8-08_04.jpg


So who else has a bit of thing for these?
And how about some pics?
 
Well, it's not mine but a shooting buddy has a Cadet with a bull barrel chambered in the virtually obsolete .256 Winchester Magnum. It was built in Australia and he happened to come across it. Kind of a neat gun, heavy but very accurate...Edited - It's not a Martini in the pic, it's a BSA :redface:
118_1850.jpg
 
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I love Martini's and hunt with one quite often.
My Martini's are : 22 hornet on a cadet action
20ga fully rifled on a 14ga Gp action
38-55 on a .303 action still under construction.
22lr BSA with a bull bbl

I would love one in .256 win mag, I have another GP and was planning to put a Browning BPS bbl on it and use it as my turkey gun but I have to get the 38-55 done first.
Regards
 
I really like the cadet actions, but I've got a couple others as well.

I've got a 12 guage police shotgun, a .303, 3 .22 rimfires, a .218 mashburn bee, and I'm working on a shooting buddy to sell me his 297-250. It sure would be nice to get one in a hornet, or k-hornet someday.
 
i have 2 Martinis, both are .22s, one is a 12/15 and the other a Mk11 International with 10x Unertl scope, both are deadly accurate. If I can find another, I will make a .32 Miller short. You Aussies have a much better supply of those beauties then we do.
 
That 256 Win Mag is gorgeous, BC Bigbore.
A friend who used to be a professional roo shooter used to look around for Cadets chambered to 25-20 and have them reamed out to .256 WM as it wasn't much behind a 23-35 and with 60gr or 75gr pills could really launch them.
Although it does appear in that pic that the ####### indicator might be up........ :eek:
Bronco_mudder, it appears you really do have a few although doubleman's collection also seems impressive.
I'd really like a Greener GP 12g and saw one for $450 a couple of years back but didn't have money for guns at the time.
Otherwise I may've bought it.
If I saw one again I probably would.
I'm unsure exactly what I'll do with the 2 actions I have.
The large frame might stay a 303 or I may try converting it to something like 7x65R or even to 577/450 but using a .458" bore and smokeless loads.
The Enfield action is a bit stronger having a steel breech face as opposed to the Henry cast one.
As for the Cadet.....who knows?
It needs a new firing pin and a PO decided to drill a hole right through the frame:)confused:) not that it would be hard to fill.
But I don't know if I shouldn't chamber it to something like 357 Mag or even 357 Max or if I should go weird and consider wildcat.
It's a pity I can't push it out to 44 Mag but there just isn't enough metal in the chamber wall after reaming for it and my gunsmith who did the trigger work looked very dubious when I asked.
Apparently even .400" cal is a tad big.
 
One of my favourite groundhog guns is a Martini made up in 225 Win. Was originaly [when I got it] a K hornet but was shot out. Back in the 70's I bought a Herters barrel and a local, young gunsmith made a reamer and chambered it to 225. Trigger pull is heavy but crisp and it shoots very well. It wears a custom made scope mount and 10X Leupold.
 
I've seen a Cadet in 225 Win too.
I belonged to an old fella I met out in the sticks when I was staying with my best mate's dad at his small property.
It was quite nice although the guy had dropped it into a P14 stock for reasons I can't fathom.
I'd imagine your Martini simply detonates groundhogs in that cal, Willy.
 
I like the martini action and have a few,
Cadet 22LR
Joesph Bourne English Rook rilfe in 32 20
Custom made sporter in 6MM 303 imp
Francotte made sporter in 577 2 3/4 Black powder express
Making a heavy barreled 38 55 and using a cadet actions to make a 25 35 and another in 22 hornet
John
 
kombi1976 said:
Bronco_mudder, it appears you really do have a few although doubleman's collection also seems impressive.
I'd really like a Greener GP 12g and saw one for $450 a couple of years back but didn't have money for guns at the time.
Otherwise I may've bought it.
If I saw one again I probably would.

kombi
The GP 12ga here only sell for $250-$300 and are easy to find it's the cadet thats tougher to locate. I believe that Elwood Epps has a few in now for around $299 too bad you are so far away. My hornet is my favorite but is no comparision to the .256 posted above and is definately in my build plans.
Regards
Click to expand...
 
I've had the GP 12 guage for a few years now, so I don't remember the exact figure that I paid for it, but it was less than $300. It wasn't that long ago that I saw others in the same price range as double man posted. My initial intent when purchasing the 12 guage was to rebarrel it to 45/70, but I've lost interest in the project so will just keep it as an interesting shotgun. Not many people I know have ever seen, or have had the chance to shoot a falling block action shotgun.:D
 
Ahhhh! Martinis. Love em or hate em. They're a lot like Lee Enfields, in that if they fit your stature and are comfortable, they are dreams to shoot.
Many just can't get comfortable with the profiles.

Me, I love them.

303 Brit
30-40 Krag
357 maxi
257 maxi
22 lr
7x65R

They all shoot very well and fit my stubby little body. I probably have the perfect mid range proportions the rifles were originally built for. Maybe that's why I like their fit so well. Makes it very easy to get on the sights.

bearhunter
 
Wow, what an astounding range of Martinis in some great chamberings!
John, I'd particularly like to see some pics of your Joesph Bourne English Rook rifle in 32 20 and the Francotte made sporter in 577 2 3/4 Black powder express.
I managed to get 2 very incomplete Belgian rook rifles made by Pieper.
This one is an octagonal bbl model in 32-20:
PieperRookRifle32-20_01.jpg


And this second one is a sporter model in 297/230:
297-230_Rook_01.jpg


Unfortunately combined they have 2 bbls, 2 receivers, 2 levers, one buttstock and bolt, one extractor (297/230) and one trigger.
Marlinman has a complete 297/230 of the same model and there is another of this action in 380L somewhere in Oz but these are the only other ones I'm aware of that exist.
Pieper were no small company but most of their arms weren't falling block single shots.

Bearhunter, you have 2 chamberings that fascinate me as I've seriously considered having my spare actions chambered to them.
Which action is your 357 Maximum in, a Cadet or a Large Frame?
If a Cadet, how much trouble did you have chambering it and how easy does it load/extract?
What sort of sights do you have......iron, scope, red dot?
And how what sort of set up is your 7x65R?
In fact I'd love to see pics of all of your martinis, those 2 in particular.
 
I have a custom in 225 Win, one in 45/70 ( long range target) , and other cadet in 22, one in 6.5/303IMP., and another in 577/450 - I THINK there is one down there in .303 Brit unless I sold it already!:rolleyes:
Cat
 
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I've lusted over Martinis for as long as I can rember, but they have always eluded me. The one I saw that impressed me most was a Cadet with a bull barrel in .17K Hornet. I recall the neck was short, so it must of been a K.
 
Y'know, I always find it intriging when shooters from north America say they have trouble getting their hands on Cadets.
I handled, shot or seen in the flesh Cadets in 22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 219 Zipper, 222 Rimmed Imp, 225 Win, 25-20, 25-35, 310, 7.62x39 and 30-30 AI.
On top of that I know of guys with Cadets in 357 Mag, 44 Mag & 223 Rem and have seen advertised a number of other cals including 17 K-Hornet.
Most can be had for under $500 and often for half that.
They aren't necessarily fancy conversions with spectacular timber but they're interesting little pieces.
One of the coolest was a switch bbl Cadet in 30-30 and .223 Rem.
It had 2 different extractors and a small take down lever from a pistol that loosened the receiver ring so the bbl could be spun out, much like the old Greener ans S.W.Silvers take down Martinis.
I'd like to have a large frame one built myself and the gunsmith who made the Cadet does them but he insists on using Lothar-Walther bbls which are pricey and not necessarily better than local brands.
 
martini love

I have a custom greener take down in 357 mag with a 28inch shillen bull barell she is a sub moa at 100 yards with the hornady158grain XTP, and a couple of 22s but there so damm heavy you could call them bench guns.
 
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