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Thread: I just had to buy it! .256 Martini Cadet – Now need advice

  1. #21
    Boolit Master BigEyeBob's Avatar
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    Your Rifle was issued to the Western Australian cadet corps .Fairly hard to find in Australia ,most are Victorian of NSW issue.The trigger safety is a Sportco addition ,Martini Cadet rifles had no safety .They had a cocking indicator than moved up between the breech block and the action frame on the right had side .The martini is a very strong action tested by white labs in the US to 60,000 psi.However the extractor is its weakest feature ,so you need to be mindfull when handloading for it .Sportco company hasnt been operating for a very long time ,but many of thier conversions are still prevelent here in Australia.They converted thousands of Cadet rifles to 22RF , 22RFMag,22hornet , 222 Rimmed ,and many other calibers ,also they converted thousands of surplus Lee Enfields to 303/22 ,303-25 , 303-270 , 22 Hornet and a list of other calibers too long to mention .I love the small frame martini and have quite a few in my safe.I would hazard a guess that your rifle was rebarreled/ rechamberd in the US ,the forend hanger is not of the Sportco type. The action internals are fixed into the frame with a spring pin at the lower front of the frame , knock it out and with the cocking lever pull down at the front the guts will come out in one assembly .To drill a hole in the rear of the action ,the barrel will need to be removed and a threaded drill guide screwed into the barrel recess and the apropriate sized drill used to drill the hole for cleaning rod acess from the rear .The action internals will need to be removed to clean from the rear .
    Last edited by BigEyeBob; 04-06-2020 at 06:52 PM.

  2. #22
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    If your still needing a scope base; I found a Tasco #7005 cantilever base - yours if you want it, Pertnear.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  3. #23
    Boolit Master pertnear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigEyeBob View Post
    Your Rifle was issued to the Western Australian cadet corps .Fairly hard to find in Australia ,most are Victorian of NSW issue.The trigger safety is a Sportco addition ,Martini Cadet rifles had no safety .They had a cocking indicator than moved up between the breech block and the action frame on the right had side .The martini is a very strong action tested by white labs in the US to 60,000 psi.However the extractor is its weakest feature ,so you need to be mindfull when handloading for it .Sportco company hasnt been operating for a very long time ,but many of thier conversions are still prevelent here in Australia.They converted thousands of Cadet rifles to 22RF , 22RFMag,22hornet , 222 Rimmed ,and many other calibers ,also they converted thousands of surplus Lee Enfields to 303/22 ,303-25 , 303-270 , 22 Hornet and a list of other calibers too long to mention .I love the small frame martini and have quite a few in my safe.I would hazard a guess that your rifle was rebarreled/ rechamberd in the US ,the forend hanger is not of the Sportco type. The action internals are fixed into the frame with a spring pin at the lower front of the frame , knock it out and with the cocking lever pull down at the front the guts will come out in one assembly .To drill a hole in the rear of the action ,the barrel will need to be removed and a threaded drill guide screwed into the barrel recess and the apropriate sized drill used to drill the hole for cleaning rod acess from the rear .The action internals will need to be removed to clean from the rear .
    Thanks for the good info! Luckily, my rifle already has the hole drilled to clean from the rear. The safety blocks the hammer & it functions without any slop. Per the previous owner, you must drift the safety out left to right before dropping the internals. No slop that I can feel on lever, safety, extractor or breech block. This rifle has one of the best triggers I've ever owned - it breaks like snapping an icicle at 3 lbs! I have to believe someone that knew what they were doing worked-over the insides. The barrel has no mfg markings other than cartridge designation. Supposedly, it originally was 29" long & the owner had it cut back to 20" & target crowned. Much more appropriate for the little .256 cartridge.

    As Texas-by-God noted, the barrel looks like it had a slotted tongue dovetailed in like you'd see on a muzzle-loader. The forend is very poorly fitted to the barrel & needs some work. You can even see it in the pictures. The front sits lower because the channel is too shallow up front. It is held on by two screws that go directly into the barrel with the "tongue" loosely fitted into a mortise in the stock doing nothing. The screws heads are just sunk in the wood without escutcheons. What would be the best way to fit this forend? It has to go on & then slip back due to the wood "ears" that slip into the receiver face. Is there an attachment method that works best? I'm thinking of drilling & tapping the tongue for a single screw that will hold in the middle. Maybe then float or bed solid(?) Any ideas or experience would be most appreciated!
    Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.

  4. #24
    Boolit Master
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    All the Cadets have a trigger like a target trigger....they are target rifles ,and the Martini action doesnt bash the sear ,but gently cocks the spring.......The two screws through the wood are normal for cadet conversions ,and seem to work ok,shouldnt be too difficult to sand out the channel.......Back in the distant past ,the Australian National Benchrest competition was won year after year with Cadets converted to .222 rimmed .............so the guns have an excellent reputation for accuracy.

  5. #25
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have a beautiful Martini in 22k Hornet.
    The base is a peice of square bar undercut to go over the knox form.
    3/8 dovetail on top.
    Milled concave on the bottom.
    Works a treat and looks like a qtr rib

  6. #26
    Boolit Master BigEyeBob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pertnear View Post
    Thanks for the good info! Luckily, my rifle already has the hole drilled to clean from the rear. The safety blocks the hammer & it functions without any slop. Per the previous owner, you must drift the safety out left to right before dropping the internals. No slop that I can feel on lever, safety, extractor or breech block. This rifle has one of the best triggers I've ever owned - it breaks like snapping an icicle at 3 lbs! I have to believe someone that knew what they were doing worked-over the insides. The barrel has no mfg markings other than cartridge designation. Supposedly, it originally was 29" long & the owner had it cut back to 20" & target crowned. Much more appropriate for the little .256 cartridge.

    As Texas-by-God noted, the barrel looks like it had a slotted tongue dovetailed in like you'd see on a muzzle-loader. The forend is very poorly fitted to the barrel & needs some work. You can even see it in the pictures. The front sits lower because the channel is too shallow up front. It is held on by two screws that go directly into the barrel with the "tongue" loosely fitted into a mortise in the stock doing nothing. The screws heads are just sunk in the wood without escutcheons. What would be the best way to fit this forend? It has to go on & then slip back due to the wood "ears" that slip into the receiver face. Is there an attachment method that works best? I'm thinking of drilling & tapping the tongue for a single screw that will hold in the middle. Maybe then float or bed solid(?) Any ideas or experience would be most appreciated!
    The original cadet forend attachment was by tapered pin through the side of the forend through a rectangular block hard soldered to the barrel.Some conversions have a dovetail machined underthe barrel and a circular "button " for want of a better word ,slides into the dovetail ,the button is threaded and a screw passes through the underside of the fore end and screws into the dovetailed button .My 222 Rimmed has this system .If your fore end is not a tight fit on the action front I dont really see that bedding will help accuraccy if thats what you are asking.My 222 has no tenon that fits into the recess in the action face ,the fore end is soley connected to the barrel with one screw ,by way of the dovetailed button .With the heavy bohler barrel I have no problems with accuracy. Cadet trigger springs can be lightened by filing a waist on the width the original being parralel sided .In later models specifically produced for target shooting there were some modifications made by aftermarket smiths in the uk by fitting ans adjustable trigger mechanism ,military issued cadets triggers were failrly heavy let off , for obvious reasons .
    Last edited by BigEyeBob; 04-19-2020 at 11:52 PM.

  7. #27
    Boolit Master
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    The acknowledged most accurate way to attach a two piece type forend is to a bar extending from the action body ,no contact with the barrel.This makes the whole gun insensitive to hold ,or to rest contact.....However ,due to the lightness of the action ,most Cadets have a heavy profile barrel,and all that Ive done were two screws through the wood into the barrel...For this process I had two jigs ,one for barrel ,one for wood ,to guaranteed the holes lining up exactly.....and done quickly without any measuring.

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy blackbahart's Avatar
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    this is one way to have a forend attached without using the barrel ..But you barrel is heavy enough and you can attach to it
    Click image for larger version. 

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  9. #29
    Boolit Master
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    There's a guy on the ASSRA forums, "Franknore", whom makes an adapter that utilizes Unertl-style bases to mount internal adjustment scopes in place of external adjustment target/small game scopes. Go over there, introduce yourself, and inquire.

    Personally, I would just bite the bullet and seek out an old Unertl/Fecker/Targetspot/Litschert scope and mount it. Their optics are excellent. They can be had from short-ish 4x and 6x small game scopes up to long-ish high magnification scopes. Diligence can reward you with something in the $500 range, and when you stop and think about it that's not a heckuva lot different than what one expects to pay for any decent scope these days.

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    muzzle loader style barrel wedge Yup, old 12ga break action had that, one had a clevis pin to hold barrel on. Recoil and the whole thing fell apart!
    Whatever!

  11. #31
    Boolit Master pertnear's Avatar
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    I've been working on this rifle & I discovered some more info on the underside of the barrel. Don't know if means anything special, but I thought I'd see if means anything to somebody - perhap to our shooter's down-under.

    .257 1-10 D.W.H. 1991

    The first few digits are obviously the caliber & twist & I'm guessing 1991 is when the work was done, but does D.W.H. (probably the gunsmith's) ring a bell?

    TIA
    Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.

  12. #32
    Boolit Master Drm50's Avatar
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    Here’s pic of BSA Cadet I had in 22 Ackley Jet. I know who made it and a couple dozen more floating around the area. All have Douglas barrels and most were chambered 218 Bee.Attachment 261717

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check