well I won an auction for one of them, a Martini action. This will be an interesting experience.

Search out the Seyfried article on Rook rifles, he had a very useful discussion of forming brass.

Thanks - it is a straight walled case, and the receiver is stamped "300" so some research is indicated.

Might be .300 Sherwood. Bertram is the place for brass for stuff like this. Oregon45's right about Seyfried. He's the guy on this stuff.

Are you sure it's a rook rifle? I believe a lot of Martinis were training rifles with sights marked for pretty long range. Neat rifles regardless.

The term "rook rifle" covers a lot of territory. I'll agree .300 Sherwood might be your flavor. Nothing, but nothing, beats a picture in an instance like this!

I looked in Ken Howell's book - the .300 Sherwood would seem preferable as it is a longer, roomier case than the .300 Rook.

oh, here is the completed auction:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=505272165

welllll... the .300 Sherwood dates to 1901, which supposedly is after this rifle was made.

That's no trainer. A nice sporter of some sort. Good snag.

I came very close to buying a Westley Richards rook rifle when I was living in Australia. It was a break open and just beautifully put together and in very good condition. They wanted $2,200.

Love that ovate rib barrel. Very cool.

Patrick, you GOTTA bring that up here and shoot!

Ed

I should have it next week. Brass & bullets shouldn't be too hard.

Cool Rifle

There is an article on Rook rifles in the latest issue of Rifle or Handloader, can't remember which one, that may shed some light on your rifle. It would be worth the read.

I saw that rifle on GB a couple weeks and almost pulled the pin on it then. Those small Martini actions were built by both BSA and Greener for the gunmaking trade, as well as building complete guns under their own names. Westley Richards ditto, but I don't think they sold their actions to the trade, and may have purchased actions from the other guys too. Nice snag!

Keep us posted after you have the rifle.

Thanks - yeah it will be interesting to see if I can contrive flat pointed bullets for it. If I can it should equal or exceed the ability of a .25-20

Im sure you've heard this...but we will be needing to see pics.....

Just saw the pics. That's a sweetheart. Good catch!

Now that I have it in hand, I can tell the rest of the story, and share the video:



I discovered the video after I won the auction.

http://www.buffaloarms.com/300_Rook_Cast_Bullets_it-800266.aspx?CAT=4136

You're reminding me to shoot it, aren't you?

well,.....it"s a firearm, they're fer shootin.

yep. If a .25-20 will kill deer I don't know why it wouldn't as well.

You might want to try these for a low cost plinking load. Seat them flush with the case mouth over a couple grains of Bullseye, then dab a little liquid alox on top for lube.

I shoot buckshot round ball loads in my Cadets and they have a surprising amount of wallop.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Super-Buck-Lead-1-8-lb_jar-300/productinfo/SBK01/

I've been using a 93gr LBT mould for mine, and some AA9 powder. 32long Colt are short, but, will work in them as well.
They are fun on gophers, and are a really sweet handling gun. The one I have is an H&H, that was built in 1887, a side lever break action.

I sold my Rook rifle about 20 years ago. It had been rechambered to .357 Magnum. Not as nice as yours but one I still miss from time to time. Congrats on getting that one.

I just bought a Westley Richards falling block 300 Rook. I have bullets inbound as well as Bertram brass.
I have not shot one but would love to hear about your experiences, you load data etc.
Better tomorrows and Merry Christmas!
Mims (AKA Harry)

Dusting off this project, Buffalo Arms had all the stuff in stock, so I ordered dies, bullets & brass today, so we'll see how it works.

Maybe I can pop a turkey with it this spring season

Tex, I dunno what you're planning, but the old Rook guns were somewhat surprising in velocity with BP. If you load black, let us know what it's doing. The .297-250 ran in the mid to high 1300 fps range.

Think my biggest concern about black is cleaning, since it's a Martini Cadet pattern and you can't clean from the breech with a normal rod. Not real crazy about trying to clean a BP gun with a Bore Snake or similar widget.

Good deal Patrick. Buffalo Arms is about 10 miles from my place in Idaho. Good knowledgeable folks there.

I own a bunch of clean-from-the-muzzle guns. 'Tain't no big deal. fit a rod guide to the muzzle and all is well. When cleaning a Martini I drop the breech block/trigger assembly out of the receiver first for ease of mopping up blackpowder residue. Easy peasy.

Guess I'd better learn how to take it apart, then

Ya know you could put in a gun vice upside down, use a hose clamp to secure a garden hose to the muzzle and...wait...maybe not...



Dan


PS: Muzzle loaders been gettin' cleaned from the front end for a fair spell now. Some of them are precision tools too.

Amazing the things you can find online...

Assuming of course the Davidson comes apart like other Martinis

The research I've seen suggests that the load most folks use is either 10gr of blackpowder, or 4.5gr of Unique under the 80gr RN lead bullets. I'll just have to see how it shoots and how close I can get it to the fixed sights. Mr. Potterfield didn't have any useful info related to shooting it.