My Custom Made Martini

[Hank2211]

Some time (a long time actually) ago I posted a hunt report about a wonderful hunt to Benin. https://www.africahunting.com/threa...-with-atacora-safaris-christophe-morio.37064/
I reported that my custom made .300 Win Mag, made by Ralf Martini (Martini Gunmakers), had somehow been broken in half in transit.
Pictures of that can be found under "Media."

https://www.africahunting.com/threa...ra-safaris-christophe-morio.37064/post-348559

PARA45 asked recently if there was a status update on the rifle, and indeed there is. Pictures of the rifle, restocked, are below. Ralf Martini repaired it and we managed to bring it home a while back. The close-up shot evidences a little of the celebration which its return occasioned.

Its first real test in action will be Mozambique in September. Before that, though, I'm taking it to the FTW Ranch in late January for some shooting practice (which Tim Fallon said I needed after our trip to Liberia last May!) and, who knows, it may get a hunt in while there!

 

[geoff rath]

Beautiful "rebuild!!"

 

[BRICKBURN]

Nicely rebuilt.

I wish Air Canada would have been stuck with the entire bill.

 

[Inline6]

The FTW is a nice place.

That country is what contributed to me moving back to Texas.

 

[gillettehunter]

Very nice. Glad you have her back in working conditions. Looks like excellent work.
Bruce

 

[Aaron N]

A piece of art from a true master. Just yesterday I was drooling and dreaming on his site. Glad you have it back home!

 

[rinehart0050]

Congrats! Good to see that fine rifle returned to fighting form. Best of luck on the hunt!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Beautiful work. Congrats.

 

[yhc]

That came out great. But then again I would expect nothing less from Ralf’s workshop.

 

[PARA45]

WOW!!!! Glad you have her back and in great shape. A happy ending to a tragic beginning. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I do not know if I would call it a repair, I believe it is more beautiful than what it was originally.
He is truly a master.

 

[Hank2211]

I do not know if I would call it a repair, I believe it is more beautiful than what it was originally.
He is truly a master.

You might be right!

 

[Mark Audino]

As you have experienced, Ralf is one of the finest gentlemen in the gun making profession with skills to match. He's a true advisor that helps define a project, totally customer centric.

 

[buckmarkhunter]

Beautiful fix, enjoy the pappy also it’s a great pour

 

[One Day...]

You were "lucky" (so to speak) Hank that the rifle was damaged on the way back from the hunt.

As you know, I had a similar experience on the way in. Yes, I was able to borrow a camp rifle from the PH, but I had to do the entire hunt with 3 rounds of ammo if memory serves, it was all the PH had. In my case it "worked" (sort of) because I was on a Grizzly hunt and we ended up not shooting, but I well remember being stressed the entire hunt about the possibility of running out of ammo.

Not to mention that in my case, I lost in excess of $10k (the metal work suffered too)...

From that hunt forward, I never took another walnut stock on an airplane again, and started double stocking my rifles with Bell & Carlson kevlar / full length aluminum bedding block stocks. Ultimately, the 5-figure Dumoulin, Griffin & Howe, etc. stayed home, and instead of magnum Mauser or ZKK 602 actioned custom rifles, I ended up traveling with tuned-up synthetic CZ 550s that cost a mere fraction while providing the same functions... which ultimately started my utilitarian trend that ended up with a Blaser R8 Pro...

Are you planning to take this new stock to Africa, or are you planning to also fit an unbreakable synthetic stock for distant destinations?


PS: interestingly, it could be that unplanned camp rifle ammo availability is more often an issue than folks think. In Zimbabwe last year the PH on my Elephant hunt had a grand total of 7 rounds for his .458 Lott, and loaned a .338 Win to another PH on a Leopard hunt with only 3 rounds. I did not need anything from him, but was glad I did not. I do not know how common this is in Zim, Bots, Zambia, or even less accessible places (e.g. Benin, CAR, Burkina Faso, etc.)? I never encountered this in South Africa. I do not know if this was reflective of the PH or the country?

 

[Hank2211]

You were "lucky" (so to speak) Hank that the rifle was damaged on the way back from the hunt.

As you know, I had a similar experience on the way in. Yes, I was able to borrow a camp rifle from the PH, but I had to do the entire hunt with 3 rounds of ammo if memory serves, it was all the PH had. In my case it "worked" (sort of) because I was on a Grizzly hunt and we ended up not shooting, but I well remember being stressed the entire hunt about the possibility of running out of ammo.

Not to mention that in my case, I lost in excess of $10k (the metal work suffered too)...

From that hunt forward, I never took another walnut stock on an airplane again, and started double stocking my rifles with Bell & Carlson kevlar / full length aluminum bedding block stocks. Ultimately, the 5-figure Dumoulin, Griffin & Howe, etc. stayed home, and instead of magnum Mauser or ZKK 602 actioned custom rifles, I ended up traveling with tuned-up synthetic CZ 550s that cost a mere fraction while providing the same functions... which ultimately started my utilitarian trend that ended up with a Blaser R8 Pro...

Are you planning to take this new stock to Africa, or are you planning to also fit an unbreakable synthetic stock for distant destinations?


PS: interestingly, it could be that unplanned camp rifle ammo availability is more often an issue than folks think. In Zimbabwe last year the PH on my Elephant hunt had a grand total of 7 rounds for his .458 Lott, and loaned a .338 Win to another PH on a Leopard hunt with only 3 rounds. I did not need anything from him, but was glad I did not. I do not know how common this is in Zim, Bots, Zambia, or even less accessible places (e.g. Benin, CAR, Burkina Faso, etc.)? I never encountered this in South Africa. I do not know if this was reflective of the PH or the country?

I’m taking the rifle as is to Mozambique. I understand your perspective, but I like my rifles to have wooden stocks, and I especially like highly figured wooden stocks. So I take a risk, but these are tools, beloved tools, but tools nonetheless.

As for ammo availability, I’ve never found it to be a problem in South Africa. A few years ago when I did a cull hunt in the Karoo for two weeks, the owner of the ranch had five boxes of ammo (.275 Rigby) waiting for me . . . Most of which I ended up using up!

In other countries, I’ve found availability very hit or miss (pun intended!). I can say that in more remote places and countries, PHs are very grateful if you leave unused ammo behind, especially if it’s for more common calibers. And since travelling with ammo can be a pain, whatever is unused by the end of the hunt . . .

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Stunning Rifle. That wood sure is nice.