Trying to decide on some Martini Rifles

[Spencer_Murphy]

A gun shop nearby has a few Martini Rifles for sale in 5 different calibers. They are .22 LR, .218 Bee, .25-20 Stevens, .357 Magnum and .41 Magnum. I am trying decide on buying just two of them. One for deer and one for varmit. For the 3 in the under .30 caliber range they are priced $750 for the .22LR, $900 for the .218 Bee and $850 for the 25-20 Stevens. The .357 Magnum is $900 and the .41 Magnum is $1200. The .22LR has a rear ladder and front blade, the .218 Bee has no sights and the .25-20 has a rear ladder and front globe. The .357 Mag has typical Martini Cadet ladder and blade sights and the .41 Mag has a rear peep and front globe sight. Which of these rifle would be best for my buck ? All prices are negotiable so if anyone knows what a good price to offer for each of them is please feel free to share your thoughts the only two I can seem to find values for are the .357 and the .22LR. Thanks for all who share their two cents.

Edit: Only one rifle the .357 as listed above is still in original Martini Cadet condition with full stock and military sights. Condition is 9/10 Kangaroo Rifle from Austrailia.

The .22 LR is a half stock Francotte Martini with the rear ladder sight and front blade sight as listed above. The rifle is in 8/10 condition.

The .218 Bee is a half stock BSA small action not Austrailian Cadet rifle, no sights as listed above. It is 10/10 condition was converted to .218 Bee from .297 Morris in 1998.

The .25-20 Stevens is a rear ladder BSA sight and front globe sight as listed above. It is full stock and a Kangaroo Austrailian Cadet marked. 9/10 condition.

The .41 Magnum is a half stock BSA small action made in 1992. It has a custom rear stock and has a Williams rear peep and front globe sight in 10/10 condition.

No rifles show signs of pitting down their bores, all rifling is strong and the blued finishes are strong on all of them. They are all good looking rifles and were well taken care of their entire lives based on how they look now.

Hope this helps out more, I wasnt allowed to take pictures and post them online per the shop owners request as someone used photos from his shop and posted them on a facebook group and zelle scammed 4 people.

[Jedman]

That’s really not enough information to even guess at what they are worth. A lot depends on condition, then being they are all non original except maybe the 22 what quality of workmanship in the stocks, wood to metal fit, quality of barrel and bore, metal condition before being refinished ect.
They made a bunch of different models in 22 rimfire , models that are complete with the original rear peep and front globe in average condition start at about $ 450 and can easily be double that for a prime example.
Custom guns in any of the calibers you mentioned can start at around $ 400 for something with a cadet stock in average condition and a lot of ding and dents to over 1 K for something stocked in high grade wood ,and in great condition. I own quite a few martinis and am always on the watch for them so I am telling you what I see them sell for.

Jedman

[barrabruce]

My take on it.
The 25-20 Stevens may be hard to get brass for if not expensive.
The Morris barrel the 218 bee was chambered in would be worth looking to see it is not the older soft steel as they are supposed to wear quick with jacketed bullets.
Depends on the twist used to what bullets can be used is something to look at.

22lr and 357 mag be easy to run for up to 100 yrd ferals

Just thoughts.

[john.k]

Prices seem excessive x3 to me ............as for a 297/230 barrel converted to 218 bee ,thats just a bodge IMHO,and I wouldnt touch it.

[coaldust]

I have one in 577/450 and it hurts to shoot it! LOL

[gnoahhh]

Were it me I would look hard at the Francotte .22. They are delightful little rifles and at first blush strikes me as being fairly priced, condition pending. For deer, the .357 Magnum will do the trick with good fairly stiff handloads.

I would shy away from the .41 Magnum as that's pushing things a tad, what with the Martini Cadet's small diameter barrel tenon.

The comments regarding the rest are well founded IMO. .25-20 Single Shot (Stevens) brass is made of unobtanium these days, and I would also be leery of the viability of the .218 Bee barrel.

I sent you a PM, fellow Marylander!

[Bigslug]

.22 LR and .357 Mag

My Cadet is one of the .32-20 rechambers on the original .3185" groove diameter barrel, and I'm working up a load for a new mold that will likely have 155 grains going at 1400-1500 fps. I LOVE the rifle, but would like it even better if it was delivering essentially that same performance out of a "common-as-dirt" .357 case without all the "Weird Science" that the .32-20 Kinda-Sorta requires

[stubshaft]

I converted my Martini 357 Mag (rechambered and re-rifled from a 310 Cadet) to 218 Mashburn Bee. Great cartridge and very accurate. However, the prices they are asking are a little steep.

[john.k]

Ive got a Cadet I bought at a yard sale for $30 and had planned on converting it to a Hornet or Bee using a rimfire barrel.........not as silly as it sounds ,because one breed of rimfire was made with a hard steel barrel,and can be found around for $50 in good condition...........anyway,it was a lot easier to buy a new CZ in Hornet,but I didnt do that either ,because the cheap 22 bullets are all 55 gr ,too heavy for a 16" twist....so I got a CZ in 223 instead.

[Baltimoreed]

Had a Cadet in .357 set up for a scope, no irons. It was very accurate on my limited 40 yd range but I sold it after finding one in a traditional military stock and in .32-20/310 Cadet caliber. Took some creative reloading bench work but it shoots super. If the first gun had been in the original stock and sights and in .357 I would have kept it.

[barrabruce]

Ive got a Cadet I bought at a yard sale for $30 ....

Had it a while then?

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I don't think you can go wrong with any Martini. I own over 30 of them in calibres from 17 to 58!

[gnoahhh]

I don't think you can go wrong with any Martini. I own over 30 of them in calibres from 17 to 58!

So that's where they all got to!! Lucky dog!