Anyone ever attempt a .303/.41 caliber wildcat?

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Evening all I was discussing what to do with a martini enfield with a ruined barrel today with my friend and gunsmith and he said he’d always thought about doing a wildcat using a .303 case blown out straight walled to .41. The more he talked about it the more interesting it sounded I know Elwood Epps did a bunch of .303 wildcats but haven’t heard of this one and was wondering if any of our members had. I know our Australian members including @Bob Nelson 35Whelen have experience with .303 wildcats.

 

[Josh P]

The one I want to try is the 303/375. I can’t find a decent Martini/loaner parts in the States, but restoring a Martini is on the to-do list, so I’ll follow this thread with interest.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

The one I want to try is the 303/375. I can’t find a decent Martini/loaner parts in the States, but restoring a Martini is on the to-do list, so I’ll follow this thread with interest.

If you do go that route Elwood Epps still has the reamers in ontario not sure about shipping barrels back and forth acrossed the border though,

 

[Hunter4752001]

Unless you particularly want a wildcat, maybe talk to your gunsmith about 405 Winchester. Note: I haven't heard of anyone doing it, but the rims are very similar so it should be possible. The overall length of the 405 would be slightly longer but that shouldn't affect a Martini action.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I should have clarified I’m not looking to do it personally, I had the martini in my gunshow stock and will probably end up giving it to him if he wants to tackle the project. I was simply looking for information because it seems like it should have been done already.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Evening all I was discussing what to do with a martini enfield with a ruined barrel today with my friend and gunsmith and he said he’d always thought about doing a wildcat using a .303 case blown out straight walled to .41. The more he talked about it the more interesting it sounded I know Elwood Epps did a bunch of .303 wildcats but haven’t heard of this one and was wondering if any of our members had. I know our Australian members including @Bob Nelson 35Whelen have experience with .303 wildcats.

@Tubby’s Canteen
Would be interesting but why not go for a 444 marlin barrel and screw that in.
Cheaper and easier.
Bob

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

My large frame martini is a 450/400 2 3/8 (European 10.3x60)
Must finish it off, woodwork, mount sights etc
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

The length of the cartridge is very important to consider and I doubt the 405win will feed into the chamber. Any 303 based wildcat is perfectly suitable for the Martini, but I am not sure they are the best choice.
My first large Martini was barreled in 45/70. Reamers are readily available and it works very well. I load it to the same level as a Ruger #1 - no problems apart from the recoil in a 6.5lb rifle.
The second rifle is a work in progress and is based on the 348WIN case, any 348WIN based wildcat will work and has a much better case capacity than either the 45/70 or 303Brit cases. I had a new 416 Sprinter barrel sitting around, so that why I went down that path.

My large frame martini is a 450/400 2 3/8 (European 10.3x60)

This sounds like it might be similar to where I have headed, it probably has a bit more taper which would make it easier to load into the chamber.
4D Reamer rental have a 40/348 Ackley Improved reamer available and a 375 version as well. They also have some "Alaskan" wildcats that would be suitable. Unfortunately they will not rent outside the USA.
Luckily Pacific Tool & Die were happy to manufacture reamers for me and their cost was far more reasonable than other suppliers for custom reamers. You have to be patient though, it was about 6mths from first contact to when the reamers arrived. The current project has been chambered using the reamer detailed below.
Red dot sights are the perfect option for Martini actions as it feeds and ejects through the top, and normal scopes don't work well. I wave 2 small, 2 large and 1 Greener Martini.

 

[AZDAVE]

I built a 40/60 maynard on an enfield a long time ago. The brass was made from 303 brass. Can also use 30/40 krag brass to form the cases too.