Sight options for A Martini Henry

[no34570]

Hi Fellas
I have a Martini Henry in .303 British,actually it is a Egyptian Citadel with a mark on it made in 1904.

The action,the barrel are all in very good condition,the action is nice and tight,collectors value is zilch,someone buggered up the wood on it,so I'm putting a SMLE fore-end on it.

I want to change the sights and was wondering would Lyman 66 receiver sight fit,or a Williams Foolproof sight fit and I want to change the front sight,it has already been modified by someone,the barrel is wearing a front ramp with a dovetail sight in it,the barrel has been cut down to 24inches(not by me)and recrowned.

Does anyone know what sights might be able to fit on the Martini Henry,please?

Thanks

[dromia]

For a rear sight on my shooting Martini I use a Ross Rifle Mk 3 rear sight.

Its aperture. windage and elevation adjustable and numrich had them in stock at a reasonable price.

Best of all its a direct fit and replacement of the original sight, no gunsmith or filing. :D

[no34570]

For a rear sight on my shooting Martini I use a Ross Rifle Mk 3 rear sight.

Its aperture. windage and elevation adjustable and numrich had them in stock at a reasonable price.

Best of all its a direct fit and replacement of the original sight, no gunsmith or filing. :D

Thanks Dromia
I'll look into that.
Ever heard of a Central sight?,it has a O through the T and says on it Central No 4, Made in Australia,it is a micrometer sight(I think):veryconfu
I got it off an old mate I knew,his wife gave me(the old fella died) it,with a box of other goodies for No1 MKIII*,other words all the bits to make a rifle,action Heavy barrel made by Lithgow,no wood though,bolt and magazine[smilie=w:
Thanks mate

[NoDakJak]

no34570 By golly, I'm glad to hear that I am not he only person in the world to have owned a Citadel marked Martini. I suspected that mine was Egyptian but never knew for sure. The previous owner told me that it had been built for the Egyptian Camel Corp. I have been unable to find any information on the Citadel or the carbine. It was a carbine chambered for 303 and was encased in what appeared to be beeswax wrapped with cheesecloth. I never cleaned the preservative from it and finally sold it for a pittance. Neil

[no34570]

no34570 By golly, I'm glad to hear that I am not he only person in the world to have owned a Citadel marked Martini. I suspected that mine was Egyptian but never knew for sure. The previous owner told me that it had been built for the Egyptian Camel Corp. I have been unable to find any information on the Citadel or the carbine. It was a carbine chambered for 303 and was encased in what appeared to be beeswax wrapped with cheesecloth. I never cleaned the preservative from it and finally sold it for a pittance. Neil

Neil
What I have read on forums and in books,the Citadel is not as valued as the main Martini Henry is,but that is ok by me,for I intend to return some honor to it by doing it up and using it as a all round shooter,I was going to convert it to .303 Epps,still might,but I decide to go with a different look to it,intend to make the SMLE stock I'm putting on it,look like a fullwood style,but with a sportier look,if I can find parts for it that I need,I should have a good looking old girl on my hands,my little Egypt:razz:

Cheers

[no34570]

For a rear sight on my shooting Martini I use a Ross Rifle Mk 3 rear sight.

Its aperture. windage and elevation adjustable and numrich had them in stock at a reasonable price.

Best of all its a direct fit and replacement of the original sight, no gunsmith or filing. :D


No luck there,out of stock:-(

[Boz330]

My solution to the problem. Also made a slip on front sight held with a set screw that takes a Lyman 17A.

Bob

[no34570]

My solution to the problem. Also made a slip on front sight held with a set screw that takes a Lyman 17A.

Bob
Hey Bob
That is quite nifty mate:smile:
How did you do it? info please.

Cheers

[Hip's Ax]

Ever heard of a Central sight?

I have a Central rear sight on my 30-338 long range target rifle. Its a fine sight and I think they were quite popular here in the 1980's. At least thats when this rifle was built.

[no34570]

Hip's Ax
Nice rifle mate.
I have found out where the Central Sights come from,alot of the .303 range shooters used them,might put it on my old Lithgow 303

[Boz330]

Hey Bob
That is quite nifty mate:smile:
How did you do it? info please.

Cheers

The side plate is just a piece of 1/8 mild steel that I just cut so the angles gave the best positions for the sight. I made up 2 1/4" screws with the same threads as the trigger guard screw. I used these to replace the trigger guard screw and the block retention pin to hold the plate to the side of the receiver. The plate is tapped with that thread from the trigger guard screw, (I believe it is a 1/4-20), but check it.
The rear sight is a Williams 5D that I had sitting around. It is fastened with the standard screws that come with it.
The front sight was made from an old piece of barrel that was bored out to a slip fit over the muzzle. A dovetail was cut for the Lyman 17A globe sight in that piece as well as a slot to go around the existing front sight for indexing it. The set screw to hold the new front sight in place was made from a brass screw so it wouldn't mar the barrel.
If you are not concerned about the collector value of the firearm the sights could be directly attached to the barrel and receiver, eliminating some of the hassle. I have seen some beautiful Martinis that have been sporterized and originals with that action. The only downside to that is you run the chance of being called Bubba. With the SMLE front end though that is a historically correct rifle since they were converted for home guard use in WWII.
BTW that rifle in the picture is a MH in 577-450. I also have a ME in 303 carbine that the barrel is not in the best of shape that I have the parts to convert to that configuration. But the oversize CBE mould that I got shows promise of correcting the problem, so I won't have to convert it. Good luck and please post pics when you are done.

Bob

[no34570]

The side plate is just a piece of 1/8 mild steel that I just cut so the angles gave the best positions for the sight. I made up 2 1/4" screws with the same threads as the trigger guard screw. I used these to replace the trigger guard screw and the block retention pin to hold the plate to the side of the receiver. The plate is tapped with that thread from the trigger guard screw, (I believe it is a 1/4-20), but check it.
The rear sight is a Williams 5D that I had sitting around. It is fastened with the standard screws that come with it.
The front sight was made from an old piece of barrel that was bored out to a slip fit over the muzzle. A dovetail was cut for the Lyman 17A globe sight in that piece as well as a slot to go around the existing front sight for indexing it. The set screw to hold the new front sight in place was made from a brass screw so it wouldn't mar the barrel.
If you are not concerned about the collector value of the firearm the sights could be directly attached to the barrel and receiver, eliminating some of the hassle. I have seen some beautiful Martinis that have been sporterized and originals with that action. The only downside to that is you run the chance of being called Bubba. With the SMLE front end though that is a historically correct rifle since they were converted for home guard use in WWII.
BTW that rifle in the picture is a MH in 577-450. I also have a ME in 303 carbine that the barrel is not in the best of shape that I have the parts to convert to that configuration. But the oversize CBE mould that I got shows promise of correcting the problem, so I won't have to convert it. Good luck and please post pics when you are done.

Bob

Bob
Thanks for the info mate
I'm not to worried about collector value with my Citadel,when I got it,it was butchered by someone else.
I want to get another MH in 577-450,but cannot find one at the moment,but I will.

CBE do some fine work in moulds,I have over 19 of them.:razz:
Going to try your way mate in the adapter plates for the sight.

Will post pics when finished

Cheers