Martini-Henry Gunsmithing

[WebleyGreene455]

Hi everyone,

I'm revisiting an idea for a project I've had in mind for a while and I'm in need of suggestions for a gunsmith to help me out with it.

At the moment, the project can take one of two paths: Either rebore or rebarrel a Swedish Remington rolling-block from 8x58 Krag to .405 Wincheste; or rebarrel a sporterized .45-70-converted Martini-Henry with a longer (currently some 23" and would like to be 28" or so) l and/or with a new chambering of .405 Winchester. At the moment I'm leaning towards the latter for looks and English-ness to match my Lee-Speed-type bolt-action, but the former has the benefit of being a less-expensive start at $500-$600 USD for the base gun versus ~$1K USD for the Martini-Henry.

Any suggestions for someone? I've got a couple places I can reach out to but would like to cover more options, especially anyone on here who could help.

Thanks,
~~W.G.455

 

[WebleyGreene455]

As an update on this, the intended donor rifle for the Martini got sold. I'm now looking at doing a rebarrel of a Martini-Greener shotgun, for which I'd also need to have the extractor done.

 

[Sika98k]

As an update on this, the intended donor rifle for the Martini got sold. I'm now looking at doing a rebarrel of a Martini-Greener shotgun, for which I'd also need to have the extractor done.

Is this a Greener GP you are thinking of rebarreling ?

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Is this a Greener GP you are thinking of rebarreling ?

I was looking at a Greener EG Mk III for it. The remaining Egyptian markings appealed to me.

But I may be changing tack towards another rifle I've found, already converted from a standard M-H military action with a 22" octagonal barrel. It's priced a bit higher than I'd like but probably the same as or less than if I went the project route.

The project option isn't off the table yet, but the convenience of merely purchasing a rifle is currently weighing out.

~~W.G.455

 

[Altitude sickness]

I like both ideas.

With the rolling block idea. Donors are cheap. Color case hardening, a shorter, quality barrel. a nice stock, tang sight and you’ve got a reasonably priced LR rifle


top pic is my customized 45-70 and the lower pic is a typical .43 Spanish.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

I like both ideas.

With the rolling block idea. Donors are cheap. Color case hardening, a shorter, quality barrel. a nice stock, tang sight and you’ve got a reasonably priced LR rifle


top pic is my customized 45-70 and the lower pic is a typical .43 Spanish. View attachment 563143View attachment 563144

With a Rolling-Block, I've found some donor rifles that I think could be reamed and sleeved for a different cartridge, if the barrel is good enough and I didn't want to go for a .45-##. Still have the bluing or hardening intact to a degree, wood doesn't look half bad, and of course are low priced enough that I wouldn't necessarily break the bank. It's still plenty appealing and a good option. American cartridge on American action for American game across the board.

But a hammerless English rifle, albeit in an American cartridge, to match my English bolt-action would be pretty spiffy too. I'm waiting for some more info and photos of the finished Martini-Henry I've found. That'll certainly influence my ultimate decision, I think.

As far as gunsmithing... Seems a friend of mine is licensed. Might be he could do the work I'd need, at least for doing the barrel and the extractor for a Martini. But from a project standpoint, it's hard to estimate costs at this stage and I'm not so willing to invest much more than a couple thousand $$ into this at most.