.310 Cadet ammo

[Cleburne]

Anyone have a source for .310 Cadet ammo? A friend has aquired one of these beautiful little rifles and I'd like to give him a few cartridges for it. He's hoping to fire the gun at least once with his grandkids. Any help would be appreciated. 

[wolverine_1]

If I can find them, I have some un primed/un used brass and some bullets for same. If interested, I'll look this comming week.

[quickdtoo]

Good luck!   

Tim

http://www.martinigallery.com/cadet.htm

[Cleburne]

If I can find them, I have some un primed/un used brass and some bullets for same. If interested, I'll look this comming week.

Wolverine,
 
Yes, I'd be interested. Let me know what you have available and its cost.
 
Regards,
 
Cleburne

[Cleburne]

Good luck!   

Tim

http://www.martinigallery.com/cadet.htm

Thank you sir, much appreciated!

[Gaz-52]

     Hi . Bertram are still making brass down here. I don't know what the situation is in the northern hemisphere though.
 
Gaz

[Bigeasy]

Midway has brass in stock.  Lee makes a mold for the proper bullet.  Red Dot is a popular powder to use.  The link listed here is to a place that has the components, and will load it custom for you..
http://www.gadcustomcartridges.com/#contactus
 
Larry

[wolverine_1]

Sorry it took so long, I have looked and been unable to locate the brass and bullets.  I'll keep looking, but not sure where I could have put them when I moved last.

[SHOOTALL]

the old western scrounger might have some , and someone is importing a stash of arms from the middle east they may have some they have ads in the gun magazines but the name slips me. Bannerman maybe ? They may have ammo ?

[jlwilliams]

  I recently saw one that had been converted to 32-20.  I'm not sure if it was re barreled or if it was just done by reaming the existing barrel.  Either way, it seemed like a good way to keep the antique gun shooting an antique round while still gaining the advantage of at least slightly better availability.  It's worth looking at the cartridge specs to see if it's something you want to consider doing.

[wolverine_1]

Some of the .32-20 conversions work and some don't.  The one I had would shoot jacketed but not cast. The cast all tumbled.  Problem was the bore was .316 which is std for the 310.  Never could figure out a way to load cast sucessfully and finally sold it.

[quickdtoo]

Rechambering to 32-20 isn't always a real solution since groove diameter is .320". 

Tim


http://www.martinigallery.com/cadet.htm

After World War II, the Martini Cadets were sold to the civilian population - I can remember seeing them in disposals stores in the 1960s selling for the equivalent of $6.00. Large numbers of Cadets were sold in the United States and also New Zealand. In the 1950s and 60s, .310 Cadet ammunition was available commercially in Australia, but in USA the nearest available round was the Winchester .32/20. Some Martini Cadets would chamber the .32/20 without modification, but those with tight chambers were generally re-chambered. This was not always an entirely satisfactory procedure, as the groove diameter of a .310 barrel, despite the designation, was .320, while the projectile in the .32/20 round was about .312 in diameter and thus tended to rattle down the oversize barrel. Perhaps the majority of Martini Cadets, both in Australia and elsewhere, have ended up being re-barrelled to suit commercially available ammunition. The most popular of these conversions have been to rimfire calibres, both .22LR and .22WRM, and to small-game centrefire calibres, especially .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .222 Rem and .357 Magnum. Some beautiful sporting stocks of highly figured walnut or maple have been fitted to these converted rifles, and I have seen photographs of some extraordinary customised Cadets fitted with such stocks and with the actions intricately engraved. Despite its antiquity, the Martini Cadet action is a strong one, and many shooters are intrigued, as I am, by its simplicity, safety, ease of use, ingenuity of design, and precision of manufacture. Many are still in use in Australia in the form of a smallbore target rifle, the Sportco Clubman, with a heavy .22LR barrel and aperture sights.

[jlwilliams]

.320!?  Sounds like a loser.  Suggestion retracted  .  Now I see why so many were converted to .357.  You start be adding a brand new barrel and end up with one of the most popular and available revolver rounds.
 
 

[cudatruck]

could it be re chambered to 32 win special? Looks like the special is too much.
 
Donnelly's book says to make .310 cadet cases from .32-20 brass! trim cas to length & chamfer. full length size in .310 die and then fireform. may be a cheaper way to get brass.

[Cleburne]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Not as easy as going to the local gun shop or gun show and picking up a box or two. I'll have to see just how serious my friend is about shooting the little gun. I'd be happy to do the handloading if he fronts the gold for the dies and components. Will see.

[jlwilliams]

  If he gets 'gun shy' about the ammo, he's still in luck because Martini Cadet rifles are pretty sought after.  Some guys buy them because they are less common than many other Martinis, so they round out a collection nicely.  Others buy them to rebarrel.   You see quite a few converted to 357 magnum or 22 Hornet and even converted to rimfire because they are small, lean actions.  If he decides he wants to sell it and buy a .303 Martini to shoot he should be able to do that fairly easily.  As fast and easy as anything is in the snail's pace world of antiques.