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Buckshot
09-25-2005, 07:40 AM
...........In the early-mid 90's a few places had these Greener Martini actions for sale. I bought a total of 3 actions. Not one had the odd firing pin. Not that I was disappointed you understand, it's just that I was expecting them to be so equipped, and they weren't.

http://www.fototime.com/198CA867994EEA4/standard.jpg
So this is what I built on one of them. GPC had some 24" Douglas 44 cal barrel blanks with 16" twists for like $36 I think it was. If that step in the barrel looks a bit odd, I had the gunsmith turn it like that as I had this idea to have the fat part ground octagon. The wood was from Fajen or Bishop.

http://www.fototime.com/1CCF2B5A587B708/standard.jpg
A rather poor photo, but it shows the cheek piece. That feature busts my chops. I really wish our pal at Midway hadn't messed with Fajen and Bishop.

http://www.fototime.com/337FA4D09FA0114/standard.jpg
The lever was originally for a straight wrist. The way I did this one was to make a cardstock template of the back of the lever. I used that to inlet the pistolgrip. Once that was done I attached the stock to the action and clamped it pointing straight up in a vise.

I had the lever in the action. I wetted the inletting in the wrist and then used a oxy-aceyt torch to heat the lever to bright red, and pulled it straight down into the inletting, and then lifted it out quickly. This formed the lever perfectly to the inletting. I've seen quit a few that have the tail of the lever swept forward, but I've never cared for that.

I've been told it's so as you drop your hand from the wrist your thumb will fall into the forward sweep of the lever's tail. Seems to me that with it bent as I did it you can accomplish about the same thing. I like it better swept back anyway.

http://www.fototime.com/82F9C15B4D54EF4/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/9841AC5F601E671/standard.jpg
I have a BSA Martini 12/15 target 22RF and it has a Parker-Hale #8 rear sight and I felt I could do somehting similar. WRONG! That's the reason for the holes there in the buttstock socket on the action. I backed up and re-grouped for another go. I wanted an apurture rear that was adjustable for elevation and windage. There was nothing easily obtainable or within what I was willing to spend.

The buttstock socket had too many complicated angles and stuff for me to deal with, but there was that whole expanse of a slab sided action right there. I decided I could make a sidemounted deal with an ear extending back behind the breechblock hinge hump, that would carry a sight of some sort. I don't recall now how I hit on the SMLE sight, but I did and ordered one from GPC.

The side mounted base was rough milled and then filed and polished to finish shape. The crossarm is a piece of 1/2" steel that was drilled through lengthwise 1/4" diameter. I then milled a slot in it to accept the base of the Enfield sight. The left end of the rod was turned down to match the hole in the ear of the sidemount.

Two short pieces of 1/4" OD brass was drilled lengthwise and tapped 10-32, then threaded on a piece of 10-32 threaded rod. One piece of brass fitting into the 1/4" hole at either end of the slot in the crossarm, to act as bushings. You can see a bit of the threaded rod was allowed to extend past the end, and a brass washer and nut were applied. This retains the crossarm in the sidebase ear.

The hingepin hole fo the SMLE sight was threaded 10-32. It was actually put into the slot and the threaded rod was run through it at the same time the brass bushings were put on either end. This rod, when turned moves the Enfield sight back and forth in the slot of the cross arm for windage adjustment. I doubt the bushing were needed as the windage screw sees no high RPMS :D

On the far end of the rod a knob was placed on the threaded rod. I had no means to do any knurling at the time, so it's smooth. The knob has a short 1/4" OD spigot to fit into the mating hole at that end of the crossarm. The sleeve has an annular groove around it and there is a pin barely visible in the picture, through the end of the crossarm. The pin rides in the groove to keep the threaded rod in place, and also retains the knob at the same time.

The right photo shows the sight folded down against the wrist. That rounded top part of the side mount running fore and aft, is drilled through to the ear the crossbar pivits on. Inside the hole is an ejector plunger and spring from an M1 Garand. The exposed end of the hole at the front is tapped and has a setscrew to apply pressure to the spring. The plunger nose passes through the hole into the ear and against the spigot of the crossarm. The spigot has 2 slots cut into it which the plunger engages. One to hold the sight upright and the other to keep it laid down.

http://www.fototime.com/C9730B459E8C514/standard.jpg
The 444 cartridge is probably at it best with 265-280gr bullets. Optimum tradeoff of velocity and flatness of trajectory, paper FP/energy and all that. With jacketed bullets the rifle is as nicely accurate as anyone could hope for. Due to the 16" twist I suppose, I haven't had much luck with cast much beyond 1600 fps or so.

I thought I might give some heavier ones a go to see what could be done. Not wanting to spring for a custom mould with no other use to me besides this rifle, I decided I could mangle some RCBS 43-370's intended for the 43 Spanish. So I set about abusing the things. They drop from the mould at about .440" and weigh 410grs . I lube sized them to .439 and then ran them through a .432" push through die.

After that I boiled the lube off'em and paper patched them with 9# 25% cotton paper. Since they were again at .439", they got sprayed with Midway mould dropout and sent back up through the .432" die. Then they got re-sprayed. That one lying on it's side hasn't been sprayed again and you can see how shiney it is form going up through the die again.

You can see the lube groove ripples in the brass of the loaded cartridge. Case had a good hold! I had placed inverted Lyman 44 cal GC's over the charge with the booits on top. I'm at work so can't look at my book but I think that's H335 in the case. There was a bit of powder compression. About the best accuracy I got was 4" at 100 yards.

.............Buckshot

No_1
09-25-2005, 07:49 AM
Very nice Buckshot. In the last few years I have become fonder of single shots and now you have me wanting more.

R.

Frank46
09-26-2005, 02:51 AM
Buckshot, darn it why do you keep teasing??. All in all very nice looking rifle. Frank

Buckshot
09-26-2005, 05:50 AM
............Thanks guys. I should make an effort to shoot it but it hurt so bad the last time I'd just kinda left off. Haven't shot it since we moved to town and November will be 5 years! Just seems I don't get the time to do as much as I'd like to do anymore.

..............Buckshot