Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Aussie Martini Cadet in 32-40

Well, I had a Stevens 44 & 1/2 in .32-40. The bore was somewhat rough, so I only shot jacketed bullets in it. I was able to get up to 1970 fps out of the Stevens with 170gr Hornadys and H335. The 44 & 1/2 was a forged action, and considered fairly strong. This is about where Ken Waters said to whoa, and I never tried to go higher. Accuracy was very good. I shot a doe with it at about 40 yards, found a good blood trail, but never found the deer. Only deer I have ever wounded and lost.

For fun shooting it's your gun & your money. I don't know how a Martini cadet compares in strength to a 44 & 1/2, but about 1950-2000 fps is all I would try for for with 170 gr bullets, and an action of similar strength to the Stevens. You'll have to judge if that's enough power to "ring your bell". I would not use one again on deer, unless I had bullets that I knew would expand well.

Sell me the Cadet and use the money as a down payment on a rolling block.

$375 + $30 for shipping.

Hit my PM button if you're interested.

I have a Martini Cadet that has been re barreled to 32-40 with the correct pitch for 170 gr bullets. There is no problem with the cartridge turning the corner at all. It made a light weight little rifle that is fun to shoot. I left the military stock on mine and the barrel has been cut back to just a little longer than the fore end cap. The original bore left a lot to be desired and the stock was pretty beat up. It still is. It needed a new lease on life and the 32-40 barrel was just the thing to do it. A peep sight and new ramp front sight finished it off. It shoots better than I can hold and in close I would not hesitate to use it on deer. I would do it again in a second if the rifle warranted it.

I had one of those back in the 50s rechambered to a .218 Bee worthless little round. But the rifle was a honey. I wish I
kept it around.

Cadet's are a hoot in their original chambering once one learns to properly feed them.

I would guess that a Stevens 44 1/2 and a Martini Cadet are of comparable strength in the sense of the ACTIONS handling high pressure cartridges. Both are hell-for-strong. BUT the Stevens barrel diameter may be considerably larger at the threads than the Martini, and that is where Cadet actions tend to fail--they bulge the threads at that point (creating a gunsmithing mess, not a catastrophic "blowup").

I seem to recall 44 1/2s being chambered for some serious varmint ctgs. in the old days (like 6mm/.30-30, and .225 Win), and suspect they are of comparable strength to a Win 1885 Hiwall--VERY STOUT. Big Martinis meant for the .303 are also very strong, and have thick barrel threads. Cadets have their limitations because of the barrel, not the action itself.

You don't have to get into very high pressure to make the .310 cadet round shoot hard. You just have to use a propellant that takes advantage of it's entire case capacity and 24 inch barrel.

Pretty much the same situation exists with the Thompson Center Contender in 32-20.

It's a 40,000+ CUP firearm chambered for a 16,000 CUP cartridge,...but people load them to 25,000+ CUP.

15 grains of AA1680 will pretty much fill up a .310 Cadet case. I haven't been able to chronograph it yet, but I suspect that it's taking the .322 diameter, 125 grain bullet to somewhere near 1700 fps and the cases just pop right out and still have nicely rounded primers.

I've seen load data for the .310 which pushes a 120 grain bullet to 1500 with Red Dot. I'm quite certain that load is much higher pressure than mine.

I'm definitely not going to work up a 1500 fps load in my Cadet with Red Dot.

I have only owned one of these little Cadets. I would not think that you could chamber a 32-40 due to the length of the case. As I recall they were very short actions. Don't know for sure. Can you get the original 30 cal. brass for these rifles? I know back in the 1960s they sold as new for around $15.00 and there was no ammo. Most were reamed to 32WCF with a drill bit.

It works fine. I've got one and showed a picture of it in the post above. I have had no problems at all with it at all.

re Mathsr- you and I both have one chambered in 32-40, and we know what it is all about----having been a gunsmith for 20-odd years, the one thing I learned while smithing is that you can't convince some people of anything that is outside their realm of reasoning-I give up, how 'bout you?-think I'll go shoot a few 32-40's in my Martini and possibly drink a couple after reading all this BS By the way, I like your rebarrel, it's the way all Martini's should look. I just gave one away to my grandson at Christmas, its a 357 stocked in mesquite with a Neidner butt-plate, its a beauty. Trying to stay ahead of the other Grandpa!! Gave him his first BB gun at birth!!

Bronco, I have Seyfried's Handloader article, "Little Guns, Long Range" that I can email you if you want.

His article has made me want one of the cadets ever since reading the article.

Oldgunsmith mine was made by my brother who was a custom gunsmith for a number of years before he got into computers. I can still talk him into giving me a hand with some specialized work from time to time but mostly I just try to buy what he makes for himself. I get lucky every now and then.

This one was made for just walking the woods with and it's kind of a sleeper. It shoots good and looks like the surplus rifle it is. I like it just fine and it suits the purpose it was made for. Might try to take a doe with it tomorrow afternoon. The 357 sounds sweet. I have thought about one of those to shoot some 200 gr lead sw kind of slow. It would be a hoot on armadillos and easy on the ears. There is a lucky grandson out there that I hope appreciates what he has and mostly who gave it to him.

This is very interesting to me. I've a Cadet that I'm considering rechambering in .32-40. What loads have you found to be accurate in your rifle?

Hey Banduckwallah---if your barrel is clean and free of pits and you can find the proper bullet molds, rechambering to 32-40 is simple and cheap- finding the proper molds are the real challenge. My wife found me one on ebay, a Lyman/Ideal mold; number 32359 it is a plain base and casts a 120gr. FP. Shoots fine with this rifling twist. Bullet mold number 321427 casts a 135gr. gascheck RN that I think could be pushed a little faster. If your barrel is rough, the way to go is like Mathsr to rebarrel. (Octagon is pure sex on these little rifles) I love them because they are light and easy to carry. Many people have taken deer with a 45 cal. muzzleloader-the round ball I think weighs about 142gr. I'm here to tell you that with either rifle, a high shoulder shot will drop them in their tracks. I have invited Bronco over to shoot my rifle, we live less than 2 hours apart. Where the hell are you Bronco???

I think my brother had problems with heavier bullets, like 170 gr, stabilizing in the original barrel. That and the fact that it was a little rough is what led him to rebarrel. I'm still working on a couple of boxes of factory loads trying to turn them into brass and haven't loaded any yet myself. That is coming shortly though since I don't have much left.

Oldgunsmith, thanks for the information: its just what I was looking for. Methinks that I will try standard .308 bullets and paper patch them up to proper diameter. I'll probably use glue-on patches. Somewhere I have a bunch of Crane 100% rag-bond paper for just this purpose. I'll also be on the lookout for some .323 molds in case the paper patching doesn't pan out. I do have a proper .310 Cadet mold from RCBS, the 310-120-RN, that I plan to try in the .32-40. Maybe it will work, especially if I use a partial patch on the back half (the reduced diameter) of the bullet.

cmathews: I don't know all the answers, but I do know that the standard WIN 165gr.SP, keyhole at 30 yds. The barrel on the cadet is marked 310-12-120 this designation is blackpowder. 12gr of black behind a 120gr. bullet might kill a mockingbird. The 310 should be bore diameter, but if you slug the barrel, you'll find that it is probably around 321. At least that is what I sized my cast bullets to. As for brass, I've made quite a few from 30-30. They are a little short, but seat the bullet for overall length.

I posted this on the computer at the shop. I didn't realize that it was signed on under my brother's UN. Sorry for any confusion.

When my brother rebarreled the cadet he used the twist originally for the 32-40 so there is no problem with stabilizing heavier bullets. I am of the old school I guess, I like a heavy bullet going slow to play with. I plan on trying for around 1300 to 1400fps with a 170 grain bullet.