BSA martini single shot .22
by Slow Hand 
, Indiana, Friday, October 04, 2013, 19:32 (4060 days ago)
I saw a heavy barreled BSA Martini auctioned .32 at a cabelas on the way up to bird hunt and was wondering about a price range on these. It had ugly refinished wood, with a long fore end. No sights and the front sight doe tail had been filled in. It has an ugly scope rail I stalled in front of the action so I'm assuming the barrel was drilled and tapped at some point. The barrel was marked bsa right in front of the reciever and the bluing looked decent and original. The lever was strapped shut so I couldn't inspect the bore or feel the trigger. I can get it for $330 out the door and I was wondering if this is a decent price. I do t really need it, but I've never had a Martini action and I've got a '71 BSA Thu see bolt sitting in te garage at home!
Thanks for any insight,
Doug K
These were very popular around here this past
by Hobie , Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Friday, October 04, 2013, 22:11 (4060 days ago) @ Slow Hand
year. Depending on condition the high end is about $600 but that is a very nice gun. I have seen several nice guns bought for $450-500.
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Sincerely,
Hobie
BSA martini single shot .22
by Remington40x , SE PA, Monday, October 07, 2013, 13:24 (4058 days ago) @ Slow Hand
This was probably a Martini Cadet rifle, built as an Australian training rifle and originally chambered for the .310 Cadet cartridge, which was similar to, but not interchangeable with, the .32-20 in ballistics. A lot of these were re-chambered to .32-20 when they were imported, but the .310 Cadet round uses a heeled bullet of approximately .321 diameter instead of the .32-20's .312 diameter, which means the .32-20 round leaves a bit to be desired in the accuracy department if the rifle still has the original barrel. You'll be able to tell by looking for the "Commonwealth of Australia" roll mark on the right side of the receiver.
A smaller number of these were re-chambered for the .32 Winchester, which does use a .321 diameter bullet, but the twist rates are not optimal for the much longer and heavier bullet. Plus, the rifle generally weighs only about 5 pounds, which means it come back quite smartly when the .32 Winchester round is discharged. In addition, the firing pin hole in the breech face is quite large and you sometimes get primer flow into the hole, which locks the action up.
If the rifle is chambered for the .32-20, you can have it bored to .357 Magnum or .357 Maximum, both of which will work quite well in the action.
If this was originally a rimfire converted to centerfire, you'll need to check the quality of the work, as it ranges from spectacular to abysmal, depending on who did it.
The Cadet action lends itself to customization and makes up into a nice varmint rifle in a host of different centerfire calibers. I own a number of Cadets which have been customized, ranging from a .20 Tactical up to the .219 Zipper, and I have a custom action that will eventually be built into either a .30-30 or a 7x30 Waters for Pennsylvania whitetail hunting. If you go with a rimless cartridge, you'll need to replace the extractor with one that handles rimless cartridges. Bob Snapp's design seems to be the preferred version. I can confirm from firsthand experience that it works quite well.
The price seems fair for the rifle in the condition you describe, at least in my experience.
Good luck with it.