Martini Cadets

[GQshayne]

I know what it looks like...infact i have some better pics of it that i can forward to you for nostalgia sake after youve sent the rifle to me...

Nice try!!!!

[Bill]

So a quick range session yesterday in less than ideal conditions (wind 10-15kmh) reveal the 256 to be a shooter, 6 diff loads fired, 3 shot groups, all went moa or better. Finished the session with a backed out primer.... 17.5gr 2207 behind just a tad too much, all cases extracted fine. Will post a few pics later.

[Bill]

[Bill]

I bought a bunch of Cervellati microcell recoil pads a few years ago and my last 1 finally found a home, gunsmith has developed a nice knock off pad set up

[gunnnie]

Now that is a bloody great idea. Makes it easier to access the stock bolt without increased wear & tear on the recoil pad.

[Bill]

tell me about it gunnnie, vaseline on phillips head no longer needed

[Bill]

fore end timber doesnt contact the action, bedding just works

[Bill]

[Stix]

fore end timber doesnt contact the action, bedding just works

So Bill...where is the bedding...?--cant see ot in the pic--is it in the bottom of the hole relieved/housed out for the nut...?
Or is that hole just at the right depth to give clearance between forend & barrel...?

I stuffed my forend trying to get it floated...maybe im a bit slow, but i cant figure how to achieve a floating barrel on that setup... ..

Also, is that nut dovetailed into the barrel like your other one, or is it mechanically fixed somehow...?

Looks a great rifle by the way...

[Bill]

Yeap the tapered barrel lug is bedded into the hole and dovetailed into the barrel, only other contact point is the knox where you can see its been hand chiselled to fit the raised barrel profile

I suspect a spacer was used to get the rest of the barrel free floated when the lug was bedded, either way it works superbly as accuracy is down right better than expected.

So quickload predicted my top load the other day had the 70grs blitzkings doing well over 2900fps which I find bit unbelievable. Really need to get this over a mates chronograph

[Stix]

Thanks Bill...

Yes i think the forend contact at the action end is my problem...!!

Mine is very different though...mine has very little contact & i think i need to bed that end as well to get some decent contact.

Show us some targets Bill...

[Bill]

3 of the 4 shot groups went around 13mm and the other group went 17mm , took the 6.5 Grendel along to let the martini cool down but its hard to get the barrel hot.

[Stix]

Good stuff Bill...

So is that the load you've settled on...?.../...any more testing to do...?

Id like to see it at 100...

[Bill]

Cheers Stix, I only shot 3 shot groups in crappy conditions, still managed 18mm 3 shot groups largest was still 3 shot MOA.

I did some more testing today with diff dies and FLS CBC brass, starting to settle on 16.6gr of 2207 behind the 70gr Sierra, speed should be around 2750fps. So 2 inches high at 100m and about 2 inches down at 200m with more energy than at 223.

next session will be at 100m/200m and with a chrony hopefully

[Bill]

time for a martini update, didnt get a chance over summer to have a play and Ill admit that real world testing with 2207 and the 256 Win case left me more than a little underwhelmed. Even thou Ive only got a handy 19 inch barrel speeds with the 70gr Blitzkings topped out at 2200fps

After grabbing some W296 for the my 357 magnum I decide it was probably worth trying in the 256. I also made the move to Rem 7.5 SR primers after having a few of the CCI's not going off previously.

Start load was 13.0gr, 3 shot groups, 0.3gr increments topping out at 14.8grs, just looking to see what sort of velocities W296 could develop and if there were any accurate loads. Magnetospeed sporter did the velocity duties

I loaded up 1 x 15.0gr just to see if I was getting close to max pressure for the case and to see if I still had easy extraction.



This was the final speed, more to come

[Maxjon]

Love these things too!!

[Bugman]

Started out with one of these, many many moons ago. Very fond memories.

[gunnnie]

Picked up my 222Rimmed not long ago. Had a heap of brass I'd picked up off one of the used gun sites, so went thru & FLS'ed a hundred. Went to check them in the chamber of the Martini only to find I can't close the block! Seems the rims are too thick! This was with both old Super brass and the blank unstamped BB stuff! I had some recent BB stamped stuff & that was also difficult to close the block on. Not impossible, but bloody tight.
So I'll have to wait till things are opened up so I can get it to Swanny to be sorted out.

Nice looking rig Bill.

[Maxjon]

Picked up my 222Rimmed not long ago. Had a heap of brass I'd picked up off one of the used gun sites, so went thru & FLS'ed a hundred. Went to check them in the chamber of the Martini only to find I can't close the block! Seems the rims are too thick! This was with both old Super brass and the blank unstamped BB stuff! I had some recent BB stamped stuff & that was also difficult to close the block on. Not impossible, but bloody tight.
So I'll have to wait till things are opened up so I can get it to Swanny to be sorted out.

Nice looking rig Bill.

Yeah keep us posted. The 222 Rimmed would be a ripper. I'm a bit torn which way to go with my cadet.....I have both dies and brass for 221 Fireball and .357 magnum. Two very different animals I know. I'm thinking the 221 would be a great varminter, and the magnum be a great plinker.......hmmm....dunno....just want to build a cadet I think.....

[Bill]

thanks Gunnie

shame about the brass rim thickness on your 222R

[marksman]

Picked up my 222Rimmed not long ago. Had a heap of brass I'd picked up off one of the used gun sites, so went thru & FLS'ed a hundred. Went to check them in the chamber of the Martini only to find I can't close the block! Seems the rims are too thick! This was with both old Super brass and the blank unstamped BB stuff! I had some recent BB stamped stuff & that was also difficult to close the block on. Not impossible, but bloody tight.
So I'll have to wait till things are opened up so I can get it to Swanny to be sorted out.

Nice looking rig Bill.

you can thin the rims out with a wilson case trimmer putting the case in backwards after squaring up the mouth
l do this all the time squaring off the case heads before fireforming in custom chambers

[gunnnie]

If you're saying what I think you're saying, trim the base, sorry no go! No not a good idea. The only way to' thin' out this problem brass is to reduce the base thickness by thinning the rim from the front face. To reduce the brass by removing material from the base/bottom only serves to reduce the depth of the primer pocket. This leads to the primers sitting proud. While the base may be thinned and allow the block to close, you run the risk of detonating the primer as the block strikes it.
No problem you say, just deepen the primer pocket. Again, no! This will thin the web base of the case and potentially create a weakened area of the case.
The best options are to either have the rim recess in the bbl depended to accept the thicker rims, or ditch the brass and get newer stuff with thinner rims. Though I still think I'd need to have the recess modified to suit.

The 357mag versions of the Martini are a great little single shot. I've yet to get a decent load sorted for mine yet but have been talking to a fellow AHN Martini devotee with one in 357Mag. So I hope to bypass a lot of hassles by tapping into his experience with his Martini 357.

[marksman]

oh well looks like you know what your doing, just trying to help out
this works for me but my cases headspace off the shoulder not the rim
although l did get the idea from much older reloaders and wildcatters many years ago who did this and were probably thining rims down
who knows
good luck with it

[gunnnie]

All good mate. The Martini Cadet actions have been worked over for a lot of years here in Australia. So no doubt there's been an endless number of ways/means of resolving the inevitable problems that will always crop up.
Once this virus shiite wraps up, I'll be sending some time with the gunsmith to get the issue sorted.
Looking fwd to getting several Martini customs out of the safe and on the line.

[Maxjon]

Who has all the cadet spare parts?? Links.....I know Rebel gun works have some......
TIA

[Maxjon]

Very nice cadets indeed!! I'm not interested in scope mounting any of my cadets however. I would like a plain old 32-20 conversion that looks just like the 310 issued rifle.
Also an octagonal barreled 45 Colt would be sweet too! No other open sighted rifle shoulders so good! So much fun to shoot!