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Well guys, since moving to Oklahoma City, been on kind of a bender for strange rifles that I had not seen before in California. Mostly a slew of Martini Henry's and Martini Francottes. It is worse than the dreaded Mosinitis .
That brings me to my current love. My 1940's era BSA Martini style 12/15. These were BSA's first Martini action on the market after the war and were sold up until around 1955. A version called the international soldiered on until the 1980s. These are quite heavy, right about 9 pounds with a thick, semi floated barrel. They are fitted with very well made Parker Hale diopter sights. Being a Francotte action, it is much easier to take apart and clean than a standard Martini Henry. Remove one screw and the entire action comes out as an assembly.
Shooting it is a joy. The rifle is heavy and so it has non recoil, and has almost no noise. The firing pin probably makes the most noise. It's a simple rifle, and it being a single shot really makes you slow down and think. The trigger breaks crips and clean.
Accuracy, well I will let the photo speak for it. The target was at 25 yards, and the ammo was CCI Mini Mags. Not a bad 5 shot groups! It does seem a bit picky on ammo not for accuracy but for cycling. The rifle loves the CCI Mini Mags and the Federal .22LR ammo, but standard CCI .22 it seemed to have trouble extracting, even when cycled "smartly" as the manual says
These are fantastic rifles and anyone who wants a vintage C&R that shoots well and would be great to teach folks to shoot on, I would highly recommend it.
That brings me to my current love. My 1940's era BSA Martini style 12/15. These were BSA's first Martini action on the market after the war and were sold up until around 1955. A version called the international soldiered on until the 1980s. These are quite heavy, right about 9 pounds with a thick, semi floated barrel. They are fitted with very well made Parker Hale diopter sights. Being a Francotte action, it is much easier to take apart and clean than a standard Martini Henry. Remove one screw and the entire action comes out as an assembly.
Shooting it is a joy. The rifle is heavy and so it has non recoil, and has almost no noise. The firing pin probably makes the most noise. It's a simple rifle, and it being a single shot really makes you slow down and think. The trigger breaks crips and clean.
Accuracy, well I will let the photo speak for it. The target was at 25 yards, and the ammo was CCI Mini Mags. Not a bad 5 shot groups! It does seem a bit picky on ammo not for accuracy but for cycling. The rifle loves the CCI Mini Mags and the Federal .22LR ammo, but standard CCI .22 it seemed to have trouble extracting, even when cycled "smartly" as the manual says
These are fantastic rifles and anyone who wants a vintage C&R that shoots well and would be great to teach folks to shoot on, I would highly recommend it.
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