How to ruin barrels in your old rifles...

[LeftHandGuy]

It'll have to wait till I get home in Feb.
All my pics are on the laptop which I don't bring to work.

Cool. I'll look forward to that!

 

[hybridfiat]

Sorry this took so long.
I got home to chaos and it hasn't let up.
The 2011 target is the only one I have kept, It is after we cropped the barrel 1" and moved the chamber forward 1/2" to regain accuracy.
I had a box of Nosler 50gn and tested it at the range. 600yds and a 10 shot group that measured sub 5".
Not bad for a rifle put together in 1994 and used a lot since.
It still shoots very well, but I don't use the 53gn Sierra BTHP, they shot tiny groups but only at maximum loads and had to be seated 5 thou into the lands. They made extraction difficult. 3450fps. And blew the odd primer.

I shoot 40gn Nosler ballistic tips now at I don't know how fast.
They aren't quite as accurate but do the business at the other end.

 

[Rookandrabbit]

@hybridfiat well worth the wait! Stunning rifle! Superb accuracy. Did you bush the firing pin as higher pressure cartridges can cause the primer to be pierced. I recall reading this in a book by Frank De Haas.

I enjoy using my 310 martini cadet but would still enjoy getting a rook rifle or martini in .32 smith and Wesson long, bet accuracy and ease of use would be sublime! Many, many years ago I had a shoot with a friends Walther gsp superbly accurate with wad cutters in .32………never forgot the joy of looking a the single hole in the targets ten ring!

 

[hybridfiat]

Yes my machinist/gunsmith friend showed me how to reduce the diameter and bush the face of the breechbolt.
I had a Martini Henry action that had been converted to 303 at a British Arsenal, and it had a superbly done dovetailed slip in the face of the bolt.
I have since done a few Martinis but never tackled a dovetailed face.
The picture below of a Marini Henry gives a good idea of where the bush goes in any Martini rifle conversion to a high pressure case.


When converting to rimfire the Cadet keeps the thick pin and a tiny bit is ground off the top of the bolt lever to drop the pin to the rim's level.
Martinis are incredibly strong and although I haven't tested one to destruction I believe they will withstand some frighteningly high pressures.
The reason I believe this is:
a) The area of steel resisting the rearward movement of the Breechblock is substancial.
b) I never had a stretched case despite loading to hot .223 Rem pressures.
My cases lasted an age, as many as 8 or 9 reloads before some cracking of the neck or shoulder meant I had to discard it.
The only thing that really lets the side down is it's poor extraction.

 

[Rookandrabbit]

@hybridfiat yes indeed the Martini action is a work of art in its simplicity and strength. I can vouch for this as I purchased a .22rimfire martini 12/15 from a well known auction house where it was advertised as .22 long rimfire. Collected from local RFD took it to my rifle club that evening only for the cartridge to …….pop it was intact .22 rimfire magnum!
Shocked but no injuries………..solid action indeed !! still waiting for auction house to reimburse rfd fees x2 delivery and return!.
I think martini rifles are a well overlook classic rifle.

 

[hybridfiat]

The biggest cartridge I've used in one was a shortened 30-30 (50mm) necked to 6mm and loaded with 70gn projies.
I didn't chrono it but used something like 22 or 23gns of 2207.
It fairly motored.
The biggest caliber I know is 44 Magnum (full house rifle loads, painful but fun). The barrel has to be sleeved not threaded as there simply isnt enough meat on the barrel to thread.

 

[25 Sharps]

No it was a standard Martini Cadet in .310 which was worn out. Barely any lands showing.
I had an original box of .310 Kynoch rounds and they went all over the place.
So I and a gunsmith friend got together and put this together.
My first rifle conversion, threading chambering. Adaptation of the extractor. Filing the flats on the Knox form.
Mounting a scope and making a stock.
Great fun and very rewarding. This has taken a lot of foxes, rabbits and crows over the years.

How do you find the 53 gr match kings for that, I did read they are a little hard?

Lovely rifle by the way!

 

[LeftHandGuy]

The biggest cartridge I've used in one was a shortened 30-30 (50mm) necked to 6mm and loaded with 70gn projies.
I didn't chrono it but used something like 22 or 23gns of 2207.
It fairly motored.
The biggest caliber I know is 44 Magnum (full house rifle loads, painful but fun). The barrel has to be sleeved not threaded as there simply isnt enough meat on the barrel to thread.

Whilst I was still experimenting with getting mine to shoot OK, one of my fall back options was to have the barrel bored out to .358 and run is as a 35/30-30, but to my relief it was good as it was.

I actually got hold of a long OOP 32 cal bullet mould for an approximately 140 grain GC bullet and am seriously considering working up some black powder loads for it. Just for fun.

Full factory 32 SPL are a wicked combination of unpleasant, inaccurate and very expensive!

 

[hybridfiat]

How do you find the 53 gr match kings for that, I did read they are a little hard?

Lovely rifle by the way!

I used them at the range only after shooting a fox at 200+yds and the 53gn put a tiny neat hole in it's chest.
Fortunately it hit the heart.
From there on I kept a very small batch of Soft Points for hunting.

 

[25 Sharps]

I used them at the range only after shooting a fox at 200+yds and the 53gn put a tiny neat hole in it's chest.
Fortunately it hit the heart.
From there on I kept a very small batch of Soft Points for hunting.

Thought as much, was hoping you’d say they were ok as I can get some quite cheap and they be great through my 1:14 .223 AI.

 

[hybridfiat]

Thought as much, was hoping you’d say they were ok as I can get some quite cheap and they be great through my 1:14 .223 AI.

Sorry no, too hard.
I rarely had a good result when hunting unless the bullet hit a substantial bone, like the head.
They did what they were designed to do and shot tiny groups that gave me great confidence in the rifle.
I drove them pretty hard too, as fast as I could get away with.

 

[25 Sharps]

Sorry no, too hard.
I rarely had a good result when hunting unless the bullet hit a substantial bone, like the head.
They did what they were designed to do and shot tiny groups that gave me great confidence in the rifle.
I drove them pretty hard too, as fast as I could get away with.

No worries, I use 50 gr v’max in that rifle for rabbits, hares and fox. They work very well out to 300 yards plus, with plenty of expansion as the AI drives them just shy of 3600 fps.