The Martini Cadet is a
centrefire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i ...
single-shot
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...
cadet rifle
file:Springfield1922.jpg, Springfield Model 1922 cadet rifle
file:Cz452 tangent sight.jpg, A tangent sight on a CZ 452 rifle, with calibrated markings for ranges out to 300 meters
file:Australian Air Force Cadets using the Trainer variant of the CZ ...
produced in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by
BSA and
W.W. Greener for the use of
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
military Cadets. Although considered a miniature version of the
Martini–Henry
The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Mar ...
, the internal mechanism was redesigned by Auguste Francotte to permit removal from the receiver as a single unit. Chambered for the
.310 Cadet cartridge (aka: .310 Greener), it was used from 1891 to 1955. They were also sold to the public thereafter, as the BSA No.4, 4a, 4b and 5 in other calibres like the .297/230 and
.22 rimfire. The rifles will often chamber the similarly sized
.32-20 Winchester and fire with some accuracy. However the 32/20 is actually 0.312 cal and the 310 is 0.323 cal. Due to this 10 thousandths difference the accuracy of a .32/20 round cannot be guaranteed.
After being sold by the Australian government many were converted to sporting or target rifles, often re-barrelled to calibres like
.22 Hornet,
.218 Bee,
.25-20 Winchester,
.222 Rimmed,
.357 Magnum and others to
.22 rimfire by gun makers like
Sportco
Sportco was an Australian manufacturer of rifles and shotguns in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1947 until the early 1980s. Founded by Jack Warne, also known by its full name Sporting Arms Limited, began by manufacturing single shot 22LR rifles. ...
.
Rifleman UK
/ref>
See also
* British military rifles
*Martini–Henry
The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Mar ...
* Martini–Enfield
* Sporterising
References
External links
sportco.org.au
* {{URL, http://www.martinihenry.com/
Early rifles
Falling-block rifles
Hunting rifles
Rifles of the United Kingdom