Martini action - what to do?

[joelomunro]

Gday fellas, been a long while since Ive posted here as Ive been in Canada since the end of August. Anyways Ive got a Martini .222 Rimmed in my safe at the moment and Ive been having a headscratch of late as to what to do with it. Its got a Sportco Hornet barrel on it which appears to have some damage in the first couple of inches of the bore from the muzzle end, and I think its a 1:16" twist, so it wont stabilise anything much over 40gn anyways. A few months before I came over here I picked up a Shilen 1:14" used but good shape heavy barrel with the intention of getting it fitted to the cadet action then shaping some new woodwork to suit, however the barrel is a heavier one than I anticipated. Also last year I picked up a Remington 788 in .222 for cheap, that shoots pretty damn well, so I have another .222 in the battery anyways. So the crux of my decision is this, should I get the Sportco barrel trimmed up provided the rest of the bore is ok, shape a new stock for it and use it as a short, light .222 Rimmed and just confine it to 40gn pills and use it for a walk around small game rifle. Or do I get the Shilen barrel rechambered and have it fitted, in which case I end up with a much heavier, but hopefully accurate, not quite walk around rifle. Option 3 as I was thinking the other day was maybe getting a .357 Mag barrel screwed on instead as the rim size is the same as that of the .222 rimmed, in which case I end up with a medium bore, short range, light, small game rifle and plinker. If anyone with a .357 rifle wouldnt mind giving me some indication of their usefulness on game that would also be much appreciated. I spose in summing it up Id like to get the Martini back in action for when I move back from Canada and Im still scratching my head as to the most practical use Ill get from it.

Thanks

Joel

[lowndsie]

Hey mate, I'll be buggered if I wasn't just talking to my gunsmith this afternoon about what to do with my martini. I have one chambered in 218Bee Improved. The problem is that the improved version is a little odd and dies are not obtainable. I have a 22RF barrel fitted to it with a twist of 1:16. It will stabilize 45gr pills but nothing over.

The first thing to understand is that any work being done to them is going to cost you more than the rifle is worth (in monetary value anyways). However, mine was given to me by my father inlaw and it has quite a history to it. So it's value to me is worth spending some dollars on. I'm planning on replacing the old beech stock with a custom walnut job. A new stainless tube will be fitted, but as for the calibre... I have no idea. Going through his reamer collection I found Ackley Hornets, Ackley Bee's, 222 Rimmed, 219 Zipper's and a few others. Not to mention the .17 call versions! If you can find a snapp's rimless extractor, then your options increase by a few more...

If your going to do something, then you may as well do it properly

[joelomunro]

Youre right about doing it properly, however properly in which direction is what Im chewing over at the moment. I like the idea of a .357 in my collection as I can load it down to subsonic with lead pills for cheap as chips shooting or get a little more sting out of it for hunting applications. Otherwise getting the Shilen tube fitted is a very definite possibility and should make for a decent mid range varmint popper. If I didnt have the other .222 or if it didnt shoot, then the decision would be simple, but as it is, Im a little torn. I know the smithing work is worth more than the rifle itself, but I definitely love the little martinis, you got any pics of yours to share?

Joel

[adamjp]

I reckon that the 20 calibre and the K Hornet case are made to go together.

Small, light bunny rifle that will reach out to 200m without too much fuss when you pull the trigger. Take a fox within reason too.

Think about it - 20 KHornet. Like a 19Calhoun, but without the disadvantage of odd bullet size.

[Marco]

question when you first rebarrel from .310 to .222R do you order a new extractor to ?

[lowndsie]

question when you first rebarrel from .310 to .222R do you order a new extractor to ?

I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong.

I haven't used mine for some time, but I found some old scanned pix from an early couple of trips. With the goat was when I first got it and then with the bunny was after I had done a little work to it...

[spinna]

Marco
When converting a Martini to a case that has a bigger rim / base dia than the 310 the original 310 extractor is opened out a bit to suit the larger rim
Spinna

[Con]

Joel,
Given that you already have a few 22cal centrefires that will do whatever your Martini will do ... I'd opt to turn it into a 357Magnum for fun and plinking. Mind you ... dont under-estimate a good Martini with quality barrel. Mine is the closest thing I have to a regular 0.5MOA rifle off the bench.
Cheers...
Con

[joelomunro]

Thanks Con, what was my thinking aswell. Id love a martini hornet, or hornet based, but with the extractor on this one opened up to suit .357/.222 case rim size, then itd be a mission to go back to something smaller. Besides I still have that heavy barrel, which could go on at a later date as nothing will be changed on the action itself.

Nice rifle Lowndsie, what cal is it, hornet or .222?

Thanks for bouncing a few ideas around fellas.

Joel

Edit: I see the file name of your pics is .218Bee, nice, the Martini .218 that I was going to buy once is a rifle Ill always regret not getting, for $300 it was in nice shape with a 4x Pecar on it, but 14yrs ago when I was 16 I couldnt put the coin together, damnit...

[Knackers]

Martini action - what to do

Trade it in on a Remmy

[joelomunro]

Negative Knackers, dunno really why, but I like these little buggers too much.

[Knackers]

I use to have one in .222 rimmed, it was a very handy ute rifle for putting down stock and vermin, if I had room for it I probably would have kept it.
When I got it, it came with 3 boxes of Super ammo and every one of the case's cracked around the mouth. I got new brass from "Janza Arms" in Sydney, it was about $80 per 100 from memory.
If you like it Joel, keep it mate cause your the one that matters.

[joelomunro]

Yeah true that, my biggest debate is whether to keep it .222 Rimmed or go a .357Mag on it, can anyone offer any on game experience with a .357 out of a rifle, I know plenty of people have Rossi lever guns in .357, but are they plinkers or hunters?

Joel

[Jethro]

Joel, Ive got a cadet actioned 357mag. Its short & light and my boy just loves using it to burn powder at the range. We havent shot anything furry with it yet but I,m betting by the way it explodes OJ bottles filled with water it will be devastating when it connects.
Jethro again

[stinkitup]

Hi Joel

How's warm Canada going at the moment Its funny you know I was the other day just thinking I must purchase a book for the Martini's that I was informed of a few years back. Searching online in the past had never been real helpfull but just last week I found it online free

Check out Frank DeHaas's Book, Mr Single Shots Gunsmithing Idea Book.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24995094/Fran ... -Idea-Book

Frank has written a lot about single shots in his books.

Their is a chapter that details the work required with a cadet action, proposed use able chambering's even has the barrel, shank and thread details. Work required for extractor cutouts and trigger work. Frank also says that the cadet action is just as strong as the big martini actions, basically the only weak point is extraction.

Check it out.

I Think the 357 sounds like fun, and should be good for a walkaround. By the way I have found my 222 rimmed with its 1:16 seems to stabilise the 40gr noslers which are about the longest 40gr going, so she's going to get fed 40's exclusively for a while before I think I chamber her to a 20-222 rimmed unless you want to send the shilen on down my way