Wish I had bought more when they were cheap.

S

SaxonPig

New member
I have a thing for single shot rifles and have acquired a few over the years. I only have two examples of the Martini system and I wish I had bought more before they got so pricey. There still some good $300 Martinis out there biut now they are priced at $800.

Anyway, I have two at extreme ends of caliber range. A 22 target rifle and a 45/70 custom job. The wood on the 22 was horrible so I refinished it.


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Here's a target shot at 100 yards with the 45/70. Sights were actually centered but the wind was blowing so hard that day it pushed those big 'ol slugs about 3". At 50 yards it will cut cloverleaf groups with any load including 250 grain bullets sized .454" for the 45 Colt.

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Huffmanite

New member
Around 7 years ago, when returning back to Texas from a vacation in Tennessee, I stopped in a town in Mississippi on its border with Louisiana, to visit a gunshop that specialized in selling BSA Martini action rifles.....mostly 22s. This gun store doesn't exist anymore.

Anyway, bought a Model 12 BSA Martini 22 rifle in the store. Store had at least 40 of various models of BSA Martini 22 rifles to sell. Paid around $250 for it. It had come from some British shooting club in York, England and the rifle stock had been cut down for young boys to use. Had no firing pin or the firing pin spring. Do woodworking, so repairing the butchered stock no problem for me. My local hardware store had a spring I could fashion to work and just happen to have a broken drill bit in the correct diameter that I could use to replace the broken firing pin. Thank heavens, it still had its original Parker-Hale sights.

I use this Model 12 in our private ranges monthly 22 rifle 50 yd competition for rifles with open/iron sights. I do well with it in the competition against much more modern 22 target rifles.

Advised a fellow range member to buy a BSA Mark II 22 target rifle (a modern martini style action) at a local gun show. LOL, guy keeps beating me in the 22 competition with his Mark II.
 
6

603Country

New member
Some years back, I was in a gunsmith shop in central Texas. The old gunsmith was working on my 223, so I wandered around looking at this and that. In a gunrack he had a Martini actioned rifle in a very odd caliber. Going on memory, I think it was a .14 Bee Ackley Improved. Had a short octagonal barrel and nice wood. Man, it called out to me, but worries about brass and bullets backed me off. I should have bought it anyway. I still think about it, but the old guy died, and who knows where the rifle is now.

Can a fellow even buy 14 caliber bullets? Would have been great for the armadillos in the yard.

Shoulda bought it.
 
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Erno86

New member
I was lucky enough to buy a used BSA Martini Model 12, in 22 long rifle, about 6 years ago for $500, from a fellow shooter at our outdoor firing range --- And I'm still amazed at the accuracy that this rifle can perform --- day in and day out --- especially while shooting offhand at steel spinner targets at 100 yards. The bull barrel really steady's me up when I crack a shot --- Though the sear is worn a bit...where if I snap the lever back to quickly while closing the action --- the sear will trip and the gun will fire if I have a live round in the chamber.

Another shooter at our range told me I could get $2,000 for it --- One is up for sale on GunBroker, with a minimum bid of $700...bids closing 6 days from now.


http://www.gunbroker.com/item/608720919
 
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globemaster3

New member
During my 2012 deployment to Kabul, I had to go to Camp Eggers once-twice a week. There was a shop at the camp that had a number of percussion black powder rifles with neat inlays in the wood, and a ton of Martini rifles with British proofs on them.

Supposedly guys were buying them and somehow shipping them home.

It had me interested and I walked in there more than once, but never pulled the trigger (pun intended).
 
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drjjpdc

New member
Saxon,

You still have some reasonable used choices. The H&R BC series is out there in calibers .45 LC; .38-55 and .45-70. If you like long barrels the latter two are 28" and 32". I've seen them for around $500 or so. The roller was about $800.

I just picked up a Pedersoli copy of a Remington Roller in .45-70 from Dixie that was on GB. It had a 26" barrel and had case coloring on the receiver.

John
 
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