doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com cartridge choices for Martini

I just picked up a BSA Australian Cadet Martini in 32 20. The barrel is in tough shape and I bought it for the action with the thought of making a nice centerfire rifle to pair with the rimfire Martini that I am already working on. I'm looking for recommendations for cartridges that I should consider when I re-barrel this action. My initial thought is to use the 218 Bee.

Forester

My choice would be the .222 Rimmed. Brass is available from Bertram. This rimmed .222 Remington version was developed by the Aussies for use in the small Martini action.

25-20. If you decide on the 218, might as well go Mashburn.

I just rebored mine to .357 mag. It is a fun gun. Not very loud with mags. Like shooting a rimfire with target 38 specials

Mine is a little unconventional. Painted stock and mounted a red dot sight.

It really us a fun plinker
Used JES boring. Fast turn around. Quality work
Jerry

I'm with Craigster. I would reline the original barrel to 25-20. But to each his own!

I have one using a wildcat round based on the .357 Maximum case, made by running in a .223 Ackley reamer to the depth of a .221 Remington Fireball. It ends up essentially as a rimmed .221 Rem Fireball Improved. I used the original good condition rimfire barrel and shoot .223 bullets instead of .224. Had to change the firing pin to center fire and bush the block. Nice cartridge.

I have one rebored to .357 a long time ago(in the 60's I guess).I have to seat the bullets pretty deep for the cartridges to chamber.I think it was chambered with a "revolver"reamer. If you have it rebored(actually a pretty good choice), I suggest you have it chambered with a "rifle"reamer.I have fun with mine, even with the chamber, by using 38 spec cases and seating the bullets where they should be.
Mike

I've had them in .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .32-20, and .30-30. They were all fun and filled different niches. In the end though, I liked the .22 Hornets the most. I have a Greener small action that should be a Hornet this time next year.

Seems to me that the cartridge choice depends entirely on what you intend to do with the rifle. Plinking, small game, varmint hunting, something to carry on long walks, offhand practice. Or will it just be something for conversation? Plus what is readily available where you live and how much effort you want to put into reloading. Personally, I like the .357/.38 Special suggestion.

If you are looking for a lightweight varmint rifle, any of the small rimmed .22 or .17 cartridges will be a fine choice. If you put a heavier barrel on it, consider installing a rimless extractor and chamber for one of the .22 or .20 caliber rimless cartridges with a .223 case head size. Chamber wall thickness at the barrel threads is the limiting strength factor, not the action itself. For larger game, any of the cartridges in the .30-30 case family work well. Bob Snapp, who specialized in building custom rifles on these actions, had one in 7x30 Waters that he used for years as a deer rifle.