Just after New Year I was tossing up what I should do with the considerable amount of Christmas money I'd accumulated.
I'd promised the wife I wouldn't get anymore guns until 2007 because I desperately had to buy one last year when I wasn't supposed to.
I know......open your mouth and the things that come out. :oops: :roll:
It's a great little rifle but the jury's still out on whether the promise was worth it. :|
Anyhow, I decided that a good action wouldn't be against the rules since it didn't constitute a complete firearm. :wink:
At first I emailed a few stores trying to find a large frame martini but it appeared there were none to be had.
From there I chased a couple of Mauser actions but due to the machinations of Australia Post that deal died. :?
Then, not a week or so later I get an email out of the blue from dealer in Sydney.
"Have complete Large Frame Martini action in decent nick; give us a quick call if you're interested".
Suffice to say I couldn't get on the phone quick enough! :grin:
Some fiddling with the bank account & AUD$200 later it was mine.
It was agreed he'd send it to another dealer in Sydney who's a good mate so I could check it out while I was down over that weekend.
The dealer, Ray Jansa of Jansa Arms, said since I'd bought it sight unseen he wouldn't sign everything over until the Monday afterward and was quite happy to refund my money if I wasn't happy with it.
When I viewed it there was no danger of that. :mrgreen:
Here's some pics:
The fascinating thing was that on inspection it has none of the Crown markings found on normal Martinis. :|
It was clearly a 303 because of the extractor but the only markings were a "
crescent-and-star" with the word CITADEL under it and the numbers 908.
My dealer mate hedged a bet at Turkish or Pakistani origin and I was inclined to agree but we were both wrong.
After internal strife England was "
invited" into Egypt in the mid-1870s to assist and they eventually occupied the country in 1881 with their last troops leaving in 1956.
As such, from 1881 on Whitehall effectively controlled the Egyptian army and dictated what they used.
So in the early 20th century when Britain was exchanging the mighty Martini for Lee Enfields they made a quick buck by refurbishing them and selling them to Egypt.
But, as they were only "helping" and Egypt was still nominally a part of the Ottiman Empire(
at least until WW1 when Turkey arrogantly chose to fight against Britain....imagine that! :shock: ) Britain paid lip service to the Ottimans and scrubbed their own markings from the receivers & restamped them to suggest some semblence of the sovereignty of Egypt as a nation.
908 actually stands for 1908(
the 1 disappeared somewhere along the way due to wear) and CITADEL was the arsenal the rifles were delivered to in Egypt.
This action won't be a part of a restoration but it will make a nice sporter, either in 303 or 303 Improved.
BTW, many thanks to Grant from the Martini Henry forum for the info on the Egyptian contracts.
