My relationship with the venerable BSA Martini International goes back many many years. This was the first model of rimfire rifle I ever shot, it was handed to me and described as a Martini International and that is the name that has stuck in my mind ever since. Yes they are falling blocks however they will always be a Martini action.
Sadly as time passed the Martini International fell from favour and at one point they could be picked up for virtually nothing from schools and clubs and they were often found languishing in the back of cabinets and armouries, then one day small bore Bench rest came to the UK and people started looking for heavy accurate small bore target rifles to press into use as a suitable rifle and the Martini International found a new lease of life.
Of course such rifles do need some work, they were traditionally equipped with open target sights and they flop around when supported on a front bag so a front bag rider is required, a suitable bracket for the ‘scope and rear bag rider for the really serious shooter aspiring to Bench rest
This is a part conversion of a BSA in that it has the front bag rider fitted and the ‘scope bracket however the owner has not opted for the rear rider at this stage.
When building a bracket for the International it is important to take loading and ejection into account and once the bracket was machined and secured in place with the original taper head sight screws it was time to load and eject to confirm access. The dummy round went in without problems and when the lever was pushed forward the round was ejected.
Actually it was ejected with so much force it flew of across the workshop and into an open cardboard box packed with bottles of C2R ready to go which did make me smile. When we were shooting club rifles I knew exactly which ones had the strongest ejectors and I would grab one out of the rack and head to the left hand side of the firing point. A firm flick of the wrist and the spent case would arc out to the right, often clearing the shooter directly to my side before bouncing onto the unsuspecting shooter two lanes up.
Well I was young and it amused me…. :)
Now I have the dimensions and have overcome the issue of using the original sight bracket screws I should be able to make them reasonably quickly and already have a new sleeker version drawn and ready to machine when someone asks for another one.
