Some spotlighting fun

[kombi1976]

Here are some pics of some spotlighting we did tonight.
It didn't turn out as great as I'd hoped, mainly due to the strong winds that kept most game under cover, but I did manage to get my mate Chris out and he seldom gets to hunt.


Here's the little rabbit I took first using my Anschutz .22lr.
It was really close work and quite an easy shot really.


This fox was a bit fiddly and both Chris and I were pretty proud of nailing him.
And believe me, when you hunt with a spotlight the person wielding the light is as important as the shooter.
The fox must've been a good 80yds out which doesn't seem far but the property, which is usually dry, has had a lot of rain recently, so much so there was water in the ruts of the tracks.
The long grass made it hard to spot him in the first place because as anyone knows who has hunted them foxes can hide behind a blade of grass.
On top of that he hardly stopped moving.
I had no scotch whistle with me so I just tried to whistle like a wounded bird, although I probably sounded more like a lame duck!   
Curiosity may or may not have killed the cat but it certainly tolled the bell on this fox.
My first shot was aimed at his chest but he moved at the last minute and instead it ripped into his back, paralysed his back legs and immobilised him.
The second was through the boiler room and an instant death.
I used my Sportco Martini Hornet with handloads using Nosler 40gr Ballistic Tips and I never fail to be impressed by this bullet for small game and predators.


And finally just before we left Chris nailed this rabbit.
It was an 80yd shot using my Anschutz .22lr and to begin with he thought he had missed.
The second shot, at more like 90yds, hit its backlegs and it was curtains from there.
When we got up to the rabbit his first shot had disemboweled the rabbit, pretty impressive considering he hasn't shot for over a year, wasn't using his own rifle and the Anschutz is zeroed to 50yds!
I think his smile says it all. 

[Jacko]

Looks like a good night . One thing I hate about spotlighting is holding the light , roof or frame mounted is the go , much steadier .  I would love a customised Martini cadet , any chance of posting a photo . I did look at having one done for me in 357 a few weeks back but it proved to be half again the price of the new Rossi Lever I ended up buying and am still waiting for my permit to aquire for .

regards Jacko

[kombi1976]

I know what you mean about holding the light.
I actually have a hole in the roof in exactly the right spot and would've fitted a handle but we ran out of money and it's also JUST to tall to get into the garage, even with the light off.
I may see how to get around that when I have the dosh for a handle and new light to fit it.
The Martini is actually a factory conversion made by Sportco in the early '50s.
They were the first rifles Sportco ever made.
They bought a whole stack of 310 Cadets from the NSW Govt, sold half of them to Golden State Arms in the USA for a bucket load of cash, and rebarrelled the other half to .22lr and .22 Hornet.
Here's a pic:



It is the top rifle and is fitted with a Tasco MagIV 3-12x40AO although the scope in the pic is only an old 4x.
Beneath it is my other Cadet sporter, a BSA in 25-20 that has a custom laminate stock carved by a PO and a Weaver K6 mounted on a Weaver rail.
Martinis are a bit of an addiction.
I have another Cadet action in my safe as well as a large frame Martini Enfield and both will be built into rifles one day.
It isn't that hard to pick up Cadets in gunshops, either in original configuration or sporterised.
The sporters are usually chambered to 22 Hornet or 218 Bee or 222 Rimmed although I've seen them in 219 Zipper, 225 Win, 7.62x39, 30-30 standard and AI, 357 Mag and 44 Mag.
But for around the $300 mark you can usually pick one up in one of the .22 centrefire chamberings.
They've usually seen a bit of work but are fun little pieces.
Both of mine shoot about MOA at 100yds and that's fine with me.
Of course, you can go nuts and get one built in a firebreathing cal but it's a little pointless.
They have weak primary extraction and work best in lower pressure loads.
My advice is to keep your eyes open and see what turns up in country gunshops when you're out and about.
I found 2 old original Cadets in a shop at Cooma.
Both had seen better days but one was a complete Greener Mk1 and the other was a BSA although it was missing it's adjustable rear sight.
The price for these little gems......the Greener was $175 and the BSA $150, Australian dollars that is.
For our US friends, that's about US$117 and US$99.
I would've bought at least one of them but the "home office" was looking pretty unimpressed when I mentioned it and we had a big bill coming in so I decided against it.
Besides, a dealer friend is holding a really nice one for me.

[Jacko]

Thanks for the photo's and information Kombi . Nice old girls you got there 

.22 conversions in the Cadets pop up reasonably often as do the standard 310 jobs in my district and an occasional rechamber in 32.20 - shame an oversize bore usally comes with that one , your right a couple of hundred will get you one in good used working order . I have never seen one about in 357 mag but then again I have not put any feelers out either . If I stubbled across a large action Martini in .303 with a good bore I would move heaven and earth to get it , I have a No1 Mk3 SMLE and love it dearly .

I know what you mean with the misses - my wife is being remarkably tolerant with my whinging about now entering the 3rd week I've been waiting for my permit to aquire on my new Rossi Puma , paid for - its just sitting there waiting on bloody red tape . Better let the dust settle on this before I let slip any plans for another toy .

You reminded me about the night my hearing died . First time spotlighting or shooting a centrefire on a hunting trip , 15 years old , my turn to hold the light , sitting in passenger seat of an HQ wagon - we spotted a mob of 5 pigs feeding around a grain silo - The clown in the back seat let rip and emptied the magazine of his .243 bolt action . Fine good on him nailed 3 of the pigs - trouble is Jacko holding the spotlight endured a .243's nasty muzzle blast 6 inches from my left ear and I flinched everytime he shot - didn't matter he was abusing me for not holding the spotlight on the game I couldn't hear him . To this day I have tinitus and degraded hearing which is getting worse today I believe due to that one incident .

regards Jacko

[Skunk]

Congrats Kombi, to you and Chris! You fellows are looking justifiably proud in the pictures. I sure appreciate learning about the rifles that you're using in Australia. I've heard great things about the Martinis.

Jacko, that was terribly irresponsible of the guy that shot the .243 next to your ear. Bet he never went on another hunt with you guys.

[kombi1976]

Thanks lads. We certainly enjoyed the night and shooting old rifles is good, especially when they really perform.

Most 310 Cadets will comfortably chamber and shoot 32-20 ammo without modification but if they don't Bertram brass is only about $75/100 and Hawkesbury River Bullet Co. makes a cast bullet which is the original shape for them. If you want jacketed loads the original .32 cal bullets with light jackets for 32-20 are usually the right size and don't wear down the bbl the way a standard jacketed bullet. Apparently the trick to getting one in .357 Mag is picking up a cheap 2nd hand lever action bbl that's still has plenty of rifling and having it fitted to an action. It's a lot cheaper than a completely new bbl.

But you're dreaming if you think you'll find a Martini Enfield with a good bore. Either it would be REALLY exy (think $750 to $1000) or it would be shot out like most of them. They don't have chrome moly bbls and when people started shooting the MkVII 174grn FMJ spitzer mil ammo through them the heavier jacket and corrosive primers did irrepairable damage. The trick would be to get a decent one with a shotout bbl, take the timber off and restore it yourself and then send the entire rifle to have it re-barreled with an identical countour chrome-moly bbl and the metalwork reblued. You could fit a mount for a scout scope or alternatively an apperture style sight. Either would make a great hunting rifle. You could retain the old bbl for returning to OG condition.

My missus is excellent really. She doesn't like guns at all and would be happy if I sold them tomorrow but she even let me name our middle son Rigby and our youngest is called Remy (although that was a bit of an accident; I don't really like Remingtons). And you wait until #4 is born.....I've got a great name saved up for him! But the real issue was that I've had a Mauser in at Sprinter Arms being re-barreled, etc. You can check out the entire thing on this thread: http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,157500.0.html . So it was a bit much and I got the "Why do you need ANOTHER rifle?!" question. The old "It's an investment, the boys will want to shoot them one day" line didn't wash so well and with the big bill coming I gave it up.

But I'm going to get another rifle later this year and I think I'll have it built on the Martini Enfield action I have. Clem Stevenson near Bathurst does takedown and switch bbl Martinis and I'm very tempted to have it made into a take-down in 303 Brit with 20" heavy sporter bbl, QD scope mounts and iron sights. Later on, depending on funds, I'll also have a it fitted with a 458 cal bbl chambered to 577/450. It means picking up a '450 extractor and brass but a dealer friend has those and using light bullets designed for 45-70 it should be able to really t#### stuff, especially using smokeless loads. Using the QuickLoad computer program a mate worked out that with 104gr of AR2213 it will push a 300gr 458 cal Rem HP at 2400fps and develop 3836 ft-lbs of ME. I'd stick to express sights on the 577/450 and probably use a 26" bbl.

That story about your hearing is terrible. I'm a muso by trade and I ALWAYS wear hearing protection. Once the damage is done there is nothing much you can do to overcome it. I sincerely hope you never shot with that tool again. I always warn people when I'm going to shoot, especially centrefires.

[Jacko]

Fella's I never laid eyes on that fella or his 243 again . I always where muffs now on the range or when plinking but not when I hunt - really should look into a pair of those blast eliminating muffs you can still hear normal sounds through .

I actually just realised that it's been a number of years since I went spotlighting as only in the last 4 months have I started shooting my rifles and shotguns regularly again - will have to remidy this situation on the Easter long weekend .

Kombi I know little of the 310 cadet only bits and pieces I gleamed researching building one to suit and I remember reading its bore is usually .323 and the best way to get them to shoot accuratly in standard trim is to get hold of heeled projectiles like those made by Hawksberry river bullet co . I am told that the 32.20 projectiles are undersized and it's a rare cadet that shoots them well . They are such a cool project rifle - I really like the .22 hornet and see you are pleased as punch with yours . They turn up in .22 hornet regular on gunshop shelves .

Top hint about where to scrounge a 357 barrel for a Martini - pays to think out loud some times . Does not mater now as my permit to aquire arrived this arvo - guess where I'm going tomorrow morning ! Will post how the new Lever shoots soon going to the range on sunday .

Had to smile at the fine names you picked for your kids Kombi , I would not have picked the origin or your thinking on them . I have 2 girls 13 and 10 , the 10 year old had a brief flirt with archery but she just wanted to be with Daddy and gave up archery . I have asked both to come to the rifle range and I would teach them to shoot with my .22 magnum - no go . Both have Bambi syndrome , guess their mother handed on the CITY GIRL gene . I will not push them .

Your Martini Enfield project caught my attention tonight as I type this ZULU is on foxtell

Regards Jacko

[kombi1976]

Fella's I never laid eyes on that fella or his 243 again .

You've gotta wonder how many other people's hearing got damaged by him.
People like that are usually inconsiderate in other ways too.

I always where muffs now on the range or when plinking but not when I hunt - really should look into a pair of those blast eliminating muffs you can still hear normal sounds through .

You can also get plugs moulded for your ears that allow everything in up to 80 or 90 db and no more.
I just use cheap foam plugs but you need something mate.

Kombi I know little of the 310 cadet only bits and pieces I gleamed researching building one to suit and I remember reading its bore is usually .323 and the best way to get them to shoot accuratly in standard trim is to get hold of heeled projectiles like those made by Hawksberry river bullet co . I am told that the 32.20 projectiles are undersized and it's a rare cadet that shoots them well . They are such a cool project rifle - I really like the .22 hornet and see you are pleased as punch with yours . They turn up in .22 hornet regular on gunshop shelves .

You'd think they wouldn't shoot properly with 32-20 ammo but some guys are using standard Cadets and loading them with 125gr .303 (.312 cal) bullets for short range silhouette.
They're clearly accurate enough for that.
You're right about the heeled bullet though and they are actually a .324" call according to Cartridges Of The World.
But yeah, Martinis are great little projects.
Actually I have to ring Clem Stevenson and Geoff Slee again soon and find out their current quotes for the project.
Prices have gone up on everything since the Aussie dollar dropped.

Top hint about where to scrounge a 357 barrel for a Martini - pays to think out loud some times . Does not mater now as my permit to aquire arrived this arvo - guess where I'm going tomorrow morning ! Will post how the new Lever shoots soon going to the range on sunday.

Well, let's see some pics and a range report, eh?
I wouldn't mind one of those in 45 Long Colt or even 454 Casull with a 24" octagonal bbl.

Had to smile at the fine names you picked for your kids Kombi , I would not have picked the origin or your thinking on them . I have 2 girls 13 and 10 , the 10 year old had a brief flirt with archery but she just wanted to be with Daddy and gave up archery . I have asked both to come to the rifle range and I would teach them to shoot with my .22 magnum - no go . Both have Bambi syndrome , guess their mother handed on the CITY GIRL gene . I will not push them.

I guess you have a few years wait then and hope their boyfriends and/or hubbies have a hankering to hunt!   

Your Martini Enfield project caught my attention tonight as I type this ZULU is on foxtell

COOL!!
To quote Sergeant Henry Gallagher of the 24th Regiment of Foot during the defense of Rorkes Drift on Jan 22nd,1879 "Here they come, as thick as grass and as black as thunder!" 

[cccombo]

Good shooting Kombi