Martini action 50-70??

[Frank46]

Evening all. Have two large frame martini actions. One if from a greener MKIII police shotgun with automatic safety. And the other is your standard 1875 577/450 only wood is on this one and just the buttstock. I've long wanted a 50-70 and green mountain has blanks with 1x26 twist. If I use the greener who's barrel threads are slightly bigger due to the shotgun barrel. Will have to do something about the safety. Was thinking about plugging up the holes in the sidewalls and getting them tig welded,and same thing with the two holes in the right sidewall where the two springs are located for the safety. I've got 50-70 brass but still unsure about caliber. What say you all. Frank

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I've just rebarrelled a large frame Martini to 577 Snider with a new Lothar-Walther. 92gn FFG and a 620gn boolit will grab your attention. The big '58'is just so much more gun than a mere '50'



L to R - 38/55, 40/65, 45/70, 50/70 & 58/92

[Frank46]

Your 58 caliber cartridge reminds me of the little 37mm shell that was used during WWI. Thanks for sharing. Frank

[Kermit1945]

I'd do the .50/70 in the 1875 action, but either would do. The Greener is more messing around.

If you haven't, spend some time viewing this book. You can "preview" all of it online. Martini eye candy.

http://www.blurb.com/b/4112984-engra...abody-martinis

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Your a good man Kermit!
Thanks for the link

[Frank46]

I've a origional peabody carbine in 56-50 at present this is strickly a rim fire proposition.I have a spare breech block from DGW one of the last that they had.I had visions of converting it to centerfire and having the chamber rechambered for the 50-70 cartrigde but kinda think that maybe or not it just be a little too much oomph in the recoil department. Frank

[Col4570]

I have in the past rebarreled two Greener G P Shotgun actions to 45.70.They make nice BP Rifles and passed Proof with no problems.There is no reason why 50.70 will not tdo the same.Here is one in 32.40 BP.

[Frank46]

Thanks to all for your comments. Frank

[Tackleberry41]

I have a spare martini that I have debated putting a barrel in. Didn't have a lathe big enough before, now I do. Have been looking at doing something in 50-70. Also considered just using a good 458 barrel and going with the 577/450 so no work on extractor is needed. Could use regular bullets without all the extra work.

[johnson1942]

a 50/70 is a real good choise and you will really enjoy shooting it. dave higginbotham who was of lone star rolling blocks helped green mountain develope the twist for their .50 cal barrels. it is 1/24 and isnt a 1/26. he told me it was his favorite cal to develope a gun around. he said he tried many .50 cal twist before he settled in and swore by the 1/24 twist. he shot around a 700 grain bullet he also developed for the big .50. if your going to shoot a 500 grain to 550 grain bullet, have a barrel made at about a 1/27 twist as a 1/24 may over stabilize that size of bullet. i havent checked on badger barrels for quite a while but they used to offer a .50 barrel in 1/27 twist. also i have a question, could your action handle reloder 7 in a 50/70 case. ive been thinking about that combo for a very long time and you really peaked my interest with your post. let us know how it all turns out. thanks for the post.oh yes, i also have a very extensive .50 cal swageing set up. if you want to try paper patch bullets in your gun when you get it built i can help you get started. just send me bullets of the weight you want smaller than .50 cal and i can reswage them to paperpatch. no harder than 30 to one lead. i have .50 .498 .494 and .492 sizes available. i have hollow base 2 styles or a flat base. i have a short round nose or a short pointed nose. your choise on all of these. no charge just to get you started paperpatching bullets. if one works you can make a mould for it. have fun. again keep us updated.

[Frank46]

johnson1942, thanks ever so much for that very kind offer. Still researching twists as most likely will only be shooting 450-500 gr bullets which is the heaviest outside of custom molds. Still have to take off the 577/450 carbine barrel. Badly pitted on the underside and some pitting on the bottom front of the action. Heck, I was even giving thought to getting my Ruger #1 in 45/70 rebarreled. But right now money is tight and will do this in steps as the funds become available. Was going to do it on a greener shotgun action but don't really like the safety setup, plus would have to get the safety shaft plugged and tig'd along with the two detents for the safety. What really gets me is that I bugged my boss (i'm retired) about sending me to welding school and the basic machinist courses. I have a lathe big enough for the barrel just trying to figure out how to cut the slots in the threads for the martini extractor. No milling machine. Frank

[Col4570]

Frank 46.The last Rolling Block extractor groove I cut was as follows.Drill a short blind hole just against the Barrel shoulder.Set your barrel in the Lathe.Grind a Lathe Tool the width of the Groove.Set the Tool on its side at the correct height and broach the groove by winding the slide away from the Lathe Chuck.This way you are using the lathe as a Broaching tool.Take only small cuts each time until you reach the depth required.PS make sure your lathe is switched off.The Martini extractor Grooves are a much easier job and can be done with hacksaw and files.The extractor can be modified to take whatever calibre cartridge you rebarrel to.It was necessary to make a new extractor for the 32.40 rifle.Appologies for drifting to the rolling block from the Martini discussion.

Regards.

[Kermit1945]

Col4570--very handsome rifle. Thanks.